BOISE, Idaho — Mana Mohamed holds a megaphone and addresses several people in front of Boise City Hall on Tuesday evening during the 'Justice for Mohamud' protest. She’s asking for transparency and accountability from the Boise Police Department.
According to BPD on June 27, officers responded to a child abduction report that resulted in a police shooting. Mana said Mohamud Mkoma, a Somali refugee was the person Boise police officers shot in the area of north 36th street and W Eyrie Street. Some Somali refugee community members and others are now raising their voices and believed MKoma Is being misportrayed.
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“Calling him suspect when he’s really a victim because we deserve to know what’s going on. We want the footage, we want to hear the 911 calls. What led from that six minutes for Mohamud to get shot,” Mohamed said.
Mohamed said Mohamud has been in Boise since 2004, has limited English fluency, and also going through some mental health issues, and now she and others are working to find more answers from the police department, as he recovers at the hospital.
“Accountability, safety and transparency, we just want justice for Mohamud and also justice for everyone that has been in this kind of situation, because our community is very torn,” Mohamed said. “We call Boise home., we came from a country where it was war now we are here. We thought it was safer we feel like this happened and we are taking steps back because we are scared.”
Mana said they’ve had discussions with Boise Mayor Lauren McLean and Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee about the incident. During the protest, McLean and other city council members spoke to the protesters during the city’s council break time.
“We have nothing against the police,” said Fowzia Adan. “We just want this community to be safe for everybody, so when I’m walking out there I don’t have to be nervous.
“The mom also wants peace and justice for her son that’s all she wants,” Mohamud said.
A spokesperson for the The Boise Police Department said it can't provide updates to the investigation as it's being handle by The Ada County Critical Incident Task Force, led by the Garden City Police Department.
BDP says body cam footage can become available once the investigation is over and Chief Lee has been meeting with some of the community members about incident.
"Our relationships with the refugee community have always been a priority for our department and will continue to be so," said Haley Williams, Police Communications Manager for BPD.
