Raleigh police officers were captured on home security footage raiding Amir Abboud's home in 2021. (Picture provided by Abboud’s lawyers)
A judge in North Carolina ruled that Raleigh police do not have to share body camera video with the public of a raid at the wrong house, which left a husband, his then-pregnant wife, and 11-month-old son traumatized.
Wake County Superior Court Judge Matthew Houston stated that there was a long period between the 2021 raid at Amir Abboud’s home and the recent hearing. The judge mentioned that although the plaintiffs claim there is something significant about the circumstances of the warrant, the actual execution of the warrant was not remarkable. Abboud and his lawyers received the video but wanted it to be released to the public “for purposes of emotional recovery, accountability, transparency, and policy advocacy.”
Abboud’s lawyers expressed their surprise.
“We believe there is a strong public interest in this matter,” the lawyers from Emancipate North Carolina, an organization against mass incarceration, stated. “At least 10 members of the media were present during the hearing, and many outlets have been covering the issue. We see this as a setback for transparency and accountability to the public.”
No immediate response was received from Law&Crime when they requested comment from media representatives at the Raleigh Police Department.
Court documents detail what happened on April 7, 2021, when Abboud returned home from work to his then-pregnant wife and their 11-month-old son.
Abboud was preparing coffee when officers from the Raleigh Police Department, dressed in military-style gear, forcibly entered the front door with a battering ram, aiming their AR-style rifles at the couple and their crying 11-month-old son, according to the lawsuit. The couple was not suspected of any criminal activity — the raid was the result of “incorrect police work” and a case of mistaken identity, as outlined in court documents.
Officers placed handcuffs on Abboud and took him away from his family, bringing him outside for questioning, as per the lawsuit.
An agent from the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) repeatedly asked Abboud about a man named “Abdullah.” The agent showed Abboud a picture on his phone of an Arab man who bore little resemblance to him, according to the court documents.
The agent then zoomed in and out on the picture multiple times. Abboud was disoriented and confused, and then realized the agent was referring to his neighbor, who had a similar build and race as Abboud but looked different, the lawsuit alleges.
Abboud informed the agent that he had only spoken to his neighbor once. However, the agent insisted that he had some connection with his neighbor and had been observed entering and exiting his house multiple times, despite Abboud’s denial, the court documents stated.
Suddenly, the agent informed Abboud that he needed to speak with his supervisor, before promptly leaving with the other agents, according to the lawsuit.
Abboud later saw the warrant, which showed his address but mistakenly had his neighbor’s name as the person being sought, according to court documents.
Abboud covered the expenses for the repairs to his home when the police department declined to compensate, arguing that the damage occurred during a lawful search authorized by a valid search warrant, as stated in the lawsuit.
The Abbouds still vividly remember that day.
“My wife is still … afraid something like that is going to happen again,” Abboud told a local NBC affiliate WRAL.