On Monday evening the Hennepin County Attorney's Office announced it would not be filing charges against police officers in the death of Khalil Azad who was found dead in a lake after fleeing police earlier this year.
“Our family disagrees with the conclusion of the Hennepin County attorneys office that Khalil died solely of an accidental drowning,” Khalil’s mother, Fatemeh Azad went on to say in a statement released to us “As we have stated before, we are concerned about the obvious dog bites to Khalil's face and the beating that was inflicted on him. My son body tells the story. I feel that my son’s death was a cover up. When I asked to watch videos from that night , the videos blank out. Time lines don’t add up from their reports and videos.”
The question that we still have about the case however is why wasn't body camera footage from all agencies involved released? Especially the footage from the agency who used search dogs? A question that wasn't answered in the press release issued by Moriarty's office.
An issue Khalil's mom says she brought directly to investigators. “We addressed concerns about there being no timeline in the the police reports and Robbinsdale Police video. We did bring up the fact that some videos were edited and Crystal Police did not submit any videos to be reviewed, and no videos were submitted by the helicopters Minnesota State Highway Patrol who were on the scene. Law enforcement was the last to see Khalil alive. Law enforcement had the means, motive, and opportunity to commit the crime that no one else did. We will continue not just for Khalil but for all of Minnesota because the citizens of Minnesota deserve better,” says Fatemeh.
Protests erupted earlier this year after photos of Khalil's deceased body, resembling Emmett Till's surfaced online.
“Khalil was my beautiful son. He looked forward to being a dad. This is devastating to my family. And painful beyond words. When it comes to black men in the community we keep having the same outcome.“