Attorneys of Raheem Howard call for fired officer to be arrested for attempted murder
BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - The legal team of Raheem Howard held a press conference Friday afternoon following the firing of Officer Yuseff Hamadeh.
On Thursday, Officer Hamadeh was fired by the Baton Rouge Police Department.
Howard’s legal team is now calling for the arrest of Hamadeh. “We thank Chief Paul for what we feel was doing the right thing. No doubt in our mind that we think he should have been terminated for the action that caused my client, Raheem Howard, to be unjustly arrested, but justice does not stop here. This is one step, as the freedom of Raheem was one step. His termination was another step,” said Ron Haley, one of Howard’s attorneys.
Haley says they’re also calling for every case Officer Hamadeh worked on to be investigated.
At the press conference, Howard also spoke, saying he’s glad BRPD fired the officer and that he thinks BRPD would have “covered up the truth.”
“I just want to thank Chief Paul for firing him and I’m hoping he can get charged for trying to kill me,” Howard said. “And I just want justice served. Justice has been served, but justice has not been served completely until he’s prosecuted.”
Howard also spoke about his time in jail. “I went through hell in jail. That’s no place for no man, no human being,” he said.
Howard’s mother, Tenesia Howard, was also present for the press conference. She also wants Hamadeh arrested. “I’m grateful that Chief Paul terminated him, but another step needs to be taken and he needs to be arrested, and that’s what I’m waiting on: the day that I look at the news and see that he’s been arrested,” she said.
“He [Hamadeh] attempted to kill my client unjustifiably. There’s no reason to shoot at someone if they don’t have a gun. We’re just glad that the police got it right this time and that somebody didn’t get a medal for shooting someone at a traffic stop. This time, somebody gets fired for it," Haley said.
The team also said Howard and his mother are trying to attend a criminal justice event organized by
Roc Nation.
BRPD says Officer Hamadeh was fired following an administrative hearing in relation to a shooting incident that occurred in the 2000 block of N 15th Street back on August 7. The criminal investigation has been turned over to the East Baton Rouge District Attorney’s Office.
Raheem Howard was initially accused of shooting at Officer Hamadeh during a traffic stop. Officer Hamadeh returned fire during the incident. Information was later released by BRPD that showed the officer’s body cam was off during the incident, as was his front-facing dash cam, and that his rear dash cam was facing downward. The East Baton Rouge District Attorney’s Office later declined to prosecute Howard due to lack of evidence. Howard and his attorney maintained Howard did not shoot at Officer Hamadeh and did not have a gun in his possession.
He also says Chief Murphy Paul cleared Hamadeh of any use of force accusations, but there were “other issues” that were brought up during the hearing. He says they plan to appeal the termination with the Municipal Fire and Police Civil Service Board.
The Baton Rouge Union of Police released a statement in light of Hamadeh’s firing.
The members of the Baton Rouge Union of police are disappointed in the decision rendered relative to the Administrative Investigation of Officer Yuseff Hamadeh. Our members are further disappointed that political pressure continues to play such a substantial role in their careers.
Baton Rouge Union of Police
