Family of College Student Killed by NYPD Files Lawsuit over Police Handling of Emotionally Ill

The family of a 28-year-old African college student shot dead by New York City police last year has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit seeking changes in how police respond to people with mental health issues. According to the lawsuit, Mohamed Bah was shot at least eight times in his own home in Harlem after his mother called 911 seeking an ambulance to bring her son to the hospital because he seemed depressed. While Bah insisted he was fine and asked police to leave, they allegedly yelled at him over a period of hours, taunted him, kicked his door and eventually forced the door open, tasered him, fired a bean bag and then fatally shot him. Bah’s mother says police ignored her repeated pleas to speak with her son. Police later accused Bah of stabbing two officers. The lawsuit seeks a shift in NYPD policies after a “long series of wrongful death incidents” involving people with emotional disturbances. The suit was filed by the same lawyers who represent the family of Kenneth Chamberlain, a 68-year-old Marine veteran shot dead in his home by White Plains police in 2011 after accidentally activating his medical alert pendant. Click here to see our extensive coverage of the Chamberlain case.