A white Connecticut state trooper was acquitted of all charges Friday in the death of Mubarak Soulemane, a Black 19-year-old community college student who was shot as he sat behind the wheel of a stopped stolen car holding a kitchen knife and apparen
tly in the throes of a mental health crisis.
Relatives and friends of Soulemane, including his mother and sister, declined to comment while leaving the courthouse. Mark Arons, a lawyer for the family, said they were devastated by the verdict. The case caught the attention of the local NAACP and the Rev. Al Sharpton, but race was not raised as a factor in the shooting during the trial.
North testified that he fired when Soulemane pulled out a 9-inch knife and made a threatening movement. He said he believed Soulemane posed a danger to police officers who were on the other side of the car and had just broken the passenger door window. Soulemane struggled with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, according to his family. His mother, sister and girlfriend, who testified at the trial, said in the days leading up to the shooting, Soulemane’s mental health problems were worsening and he was acting paranoid and erratically — behavior he previously displayed when he went off his medications.
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