Suffolk DA: No Charges For Officers Who Shot Terror Suspect In Roslindale

BOSTON (CBS) -- Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley said Wednesday afternoon that his office will not seek criminal charges against the officers who shot and killed Usaama Rahim in Roslindale in June 2015.

Rahim was under surveillance by the FBI for allegedly plotting with two other men to behead Pamela Geller, an outspoken critic of Islam, in New York City. Conley said investigators learned that Rahim was going to abandon that plan to attack police officers at the nearby Forest Hills MBTA station, and moved to arrest him.

Rahim was shot and killed by a Boston Police detective and an FBI agent in the parking lot of a Roslindale CVS after they say he charged at them with a military-style knife.

Two other men, Nicholas Rovinski of Warwick, Rhode Island, and David Wright of Everett, were indicted in an alleged conspiracy to help ISIS and Rahim.

Conley said his office's investigation proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Rahim was armed with a knife and posed a threat to officers, and that their use of deadly force was lawful.

He said he met with Rahim's family and their lawyers earlier Wednesday to inform them of his decision.

Conley said that, when officers ordered Rahim to drop his weapon, he responded, "You drop yours ... why don't you shoot me?"

At the press conference, surveillance footage was played that showed the moment Rahim dropped to the ground after being shot.

In keeping with what Conley called the "unique" level of transparency shown by his office, he announced he would release the entire investigative file, comprising some 770 pages and over 300 images.

Because Rovinski and Wright remain charged, Conley said, certain documents about the investigation into their alleged plot can't be released.

Conley also said the names of the FBI agent and police detective who shot Rahim, as well as the names of witnesses, would not be released, as it would put them at risk.

The DA added that Rahim was being investigated "for his actions, not for his faith."

After Conley's press conference, Rahim's family addressed media outside.

The family said they had concerns that police didn't do enough to de-escalate the situation leading to Rahim's shooting. They also spoke about the importance of police body cameras.

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