Charges have been dropped against a Baton Rouge man who was accused of shooting at a police officer during a traffic stop, after prosecutors said they did not have enough evidence to move forward.
On August 7, Raheem, 21, was stopped on North 16th Street by Officer Yuseff Hamadeh. According to the initial police report, which led to charges of attempted murder of a police officer and illegal use of a weapon, Officer Hamadeh said Raheem ran, that Raheem fired at him first, and that he returned fire during the chase.
Raheem has maintained that he never had a gun. Witnesses in the area told reporters they heard only one shot. The officer’s body camera and the patrol car’s dash camera were both turned off during the incident, according to The Advocate.
After reviewing the case, officials said no gun was found at the scene, and there were no shell casings other than the officer’s and no bullet holes. “Based on the review of that, I didn’t have sufficient evidence to continue on those charges at this time,” East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore III said Tuesday as he announced the charges were dropped. He added that the investigation is still ongoing.
For now, Raheem remains in custody over outstanding bench warrants, and it is not clear how long he will be held. The Advocate also reported that Officer Hamadeh was involved in a fatal shooting after a traffic stop in June of last year. Officials said at the time that the man in that case turned to fire at officers, and that incident was not captured on video either.
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