Mohammad Usman Chaudhry, 21

Mohammad Usman Chaudhry, a 21-year-old young Pakistani American, who was a  Muslim, according to family, was fatally shot at 1435 N. Curson St. in Hollywood at 4 a.m. Tuesday, March 25. According to police, Officer Joseph Cruz and his partner were patrolling the street when they saw a dark figure by an apartment complex. The officers approached to investigate and encountered Chaudhry lying behind some bushes. As Cruz was questioning Chaudhry, he pulled out a folding knife and stabbed Cruz on the left hand. Cruz pulled out his gun and fired several rounds at Chaudhry. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics pronounced Chaudhry dead at the scene at 4:21 a.m. Cruz was transported to Cedars Sinai Medical Center, where he was treated for lacerations and released, authorities said.

UPDATE: Initially the L.A. County Coroner identified Chaudhry as a black man, but family said he is a Pakistani American and a Muslim.

Comments

[Interesting]

I'm just wondering why they found it important to point out that his was Muslim. They didn't point out any of the religions of the other people involved. I am a non-practicing Catholic and personally couldn't care less what a persons religion is. I just love the propaganda of having to point out a person's religion if it happens to be Muslim.

[micheal]

the police officer was totally justified in shooting him. to the family members, you have no idea what it is like to be a police officer or even being in a life or death situation for that matter. therefore you have no right to judge the police officer. you kep calling him brave in a sarcastic matter, but in reality he is brave he puts his life on the line everyday to serve and protect, have some respect.
its a good thing that this man is off the streets, what if he had come after someone with no protection, then it would be someone who is actually inocent dead not this criminal. if you dont like the law enforcement in america, go back to pakistan. try stabbing a cop there, youll end up tied upsidedown from a bridge on fire

[A fan]

Okay, after reading through this and posting this in March I have decided that yes the police officer had a right to decide to use deadly force. One should not be sleeping on the street at that time in the morning and not understandably accept that danger is increased exponentially. Mr. Cruz must have access to the use of deadly force even if it is a knife; I would not want him to doubt and compromise his life when faced with another possible knife attack. Responsibility lies with the individual. Mr. Cruz has a serious duty to perform that is not to be taken lightly by himself or a perpetrator of a crime. One must see that an officer of the law must protect himself and his interest.

[ruben]

i have 1 question for the Family, WHY WAS HE LIVING ON THE STREET??????

If you guys loved him so much WHY is he Not in YOUR bed in YOUR house or in some hospital being paid by YOU???

[emilio]

To this Kevin guy a few comments down, YOU ARE AN IDIOT!!!

Kevin wrote,
“What the hell. He was on no rampage, so where on earth did people get the idea that this random kid was a crazed, hostile, and dangerous combat expert lurking in the bushes??? Think people, don't assume.”

Me:
Because he stabbed a police officer, YOU IDIOT!!! He was crazy!!! He was hostile!!! You’re probably right about him not being a combat expert, but he was still lurking in the bushes. How many times a week do you lurk in the bushes? LAME BRAIN!!!

[John O]

Sad story but if you pull a knife on a police officer you are asking to be shot.

[Mom in Fresno]

I live in Fresno and we recently had a similar situation here at a high school in broad daylight. What happened here was a student(17 yrs.old) unprovoked, attacked a police officer with a bat that he had shaved down so it was shorter. He also was found to have a knife on him. He intentionally hit this officer so the officer would strike back. Tthe officer was caught off guard and hit on the back of his head, he only shot to defend himself from another strike of the bat. It just so happened that the officer killed this young man. In the case of Usman, from what I understand from the news, he was laying down or sleeping on the ground face down. How can the officer say he was fearing for his life when Usman was laying down.......there were two officers, between the two of them they couldn't have subdued Usman?? I overheard a friend say that now adays officers are "trained to kll" whether it be in Fresno or Los Angeles. These officers need to decide what is a life threatening situation and deal with the situation. They shouldn't be so quick to judge...........Usman was mentally impaired, he probably was scared for his life as well. The officer didn't have to shoot 3 times, the first shot was probably the fatal one. He wanted to make sure he wasn't going to bleed to death with a superficia hand wound???? Here in Fresno the officer shot once and that was the fatal shot, but he had every right to shoot the officer was in fear for his life. I don't know what this world is coming to but I hope it gets better for the sake of my grown children and my grandchildren. We shouldn't live like we're fearing for our lives.

I would like to keep Usman's family in my prayers.

[Humaira Lateef]

During this time of trial and despair, I seek comfort and guidance in the words of Allah in the Qur’an. God reminds people that we are being tested in life and we must bear these trials with “patient, perseverance and prayer.”

"Seek Allah's help with patient perseverance and prayer. It is indeed hard except for those who are humble." (2:45)

"Oh you who believe! Seek help with patient perseverance and prayer, for God is with those who patiently persevere." (2:153)

It is difficult to not feel helpless and discouraged. But our faith and trust must lift our spirits and not let us fall into hopelessness. We must continue to believe that it is destiny and God encompasses all knowledge of what has happened and what will happen.

When I lay my head on my pillow and say my nightly prayers. I pray for Usman and I can’t help thinking about the tragedy that caused his life to end. He was a gentle, sweet, and a very nice young man. No one was there when this happened but this story doesn’t add up. When you enter the full name in recordsarea.com and perform a people search, Usman’s parents are the first name on the list including phone number and address. It’s surprising that it took the police that long to find the relatives. Despite the plot for whatever reason/s it took over 20 days to inform his parents. An Amazing thing happened! With Allah’s grace, we were able to see Usman one last time, and all the family from hours away showed up to shower him with love and prayers. He was blessed to have a proper Muslim burial. He didn’t leave home, he just now got HOME. His homecoming was inspirational and he looked so peaceful with a smile. May Usman reach Janah with a smile! A Beautiful Soul!!!

Verily, with every difficulty there is relief.
Verily, with every difficulty there is relief.
Qur'an 94:5-6

I wonder, the officer who pulled the trigger and shot Usman in the chest. Does he lose any sleep over this? I pray that something comes out of this so not another full of life young person is killed at the hands of ignorance and cruelty.

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL, I pray that you glance with compassion on the whole humanity; take away the controversial teachings of arrogance, eliminate these hatreds which have badly infected our hearts; break down these walls and unite us in bonds of love and consideration for each other. Oh Allah, work through us to show the goodness and give us courage to overcome anything that may hinder us in serving you. May Allah help us work through this confusion to prevail the truth. (Amen)

[Sister]

First of all I would like to thank everyone who has been showing support, the family greatly appreciates it and are touched by the heartfelt responses. To the people leaving negative comments, I have nothing against you, you are responding to whatever information you have been told, so it is not entirely your fault. But I wish you would research and find out the truth before saying such harsh things.

Hopefully we will find out the truth one day, but for right now we just pray that my brother goes to heaven and justice is served. He still had his trademark smile on his face even after being dead for 20 days, just goes to show how innocent he was.

[Peter Young]

To the family of Usman Chaudhry, you have my condolences on your great loss.

I hope that your questions about the killing of this mentally impaired young man are answered satisfactorily one way or another. I must say, however, that it seems to me, after 40 years of living in Los Angeles, that the answer to all of them is that the LAPD shoots at the slightest sign of possible danger and asks questions later, that when the shooting is unjustified the LAPD does all within its power to cover up the circumstances, even if that means delay in informing the decedent's family of the death, and that, as revealed by some of the comments, a substantial portion of the citizenry supports the LAPD no matter what, which allows the LAPD to continue to get away with unjustified killings.

I am so sorry you have had to endure this horrible tragedy.

[talat kausar]

Now look at the picture and honestly tell does this person look like a black person to anyone? Color is not a problem here but the lie police tell to every news channel and also misguided. One channel is showing that building complex where they found him and shot him and rest of the channels are showing a sidewalk where according to them he was laying down. Police found his identity on the very first day but I think they FORGOT to inform the family.

[Saleha Hashmat]

The people on here who are here just to argue and justify people's actions, please leave and stop wasting your time. Thank you for your time, but we do not need it. Truly, ignorance is not bliss. As for the family members +1(me), there's every right to have people become aware of the truth. May Allah bless us with more and more patience in times of calamities. Ameen.
All I wanted to comment on was to tell those whose ignorance is getting ahead of them, speak good or remain silent. Who said you were there? You weren't. So please, save yourself time. It's not like we were there either, but obviously, it is still wrong, cop or no cop, to kill someone, for petty reasons like this. It is also wrong to tell the family 20 days after, which has been said, therefore, we have reasons to speak. Anyone else..please give up.
There's a reason why all these stories say "allegedly", is because you and me don't even know. But one thing I do know, is the corrupted system of soceity, and the times of disrespect for humans, the times of the blindfold on half the people around us, who are listening and going along with whatevever they hear. What I do know, is the character of this man, and it was nothing like this. To make excuses for your brother is like forgiving him. Leave the immaturity at home, and come and comment with knowledge. Before you hurt the feelings of the familiy of this beloved brother. Save yourself from making ruthless comments and show the world and god you have a heart. Thank you.

What I will say before I go, is directed to my family and anyone who is muslim. Life on earth is like a prison for the believer, and heaven for the disbeliever. Verily, Allah is the most Just. This sentence speaks for itself.

The All-KNOWING, the All-SEEING, the All-FORGIVING will grant justice on the day of judgement, which is when we will all know the truth, and how Just He truly is. May Allah bless the family and grant them and Usman Jannat al firdous. and May Allah protect us all from the hellfire and punishments of the grave. Ameen.

Last but not least, May Allah have Usman's face SHINING on the day of judgment. AMEEN.

[Jack Daniels]

It is tough to be a cop, I'm sure they have a hard job and it's hard to make good judgements every single time. But almost every officer involved shooting I've read about has led to the other person's death. A knife can be deadly of course, but these officers aren't and shouldn't be just some random dudes, they are well-trained, both physically and with arms. I don't believe it was awfully hard for the officer to neutralize the guy. I don't believe the cops are doing a good job, or even care to do a decent job in aiming for less-lethal spots to shoot at.

[O'Dawg]

This just shows that anatomy needs to be a required class. I see many people who think that a knife (or other sharp object) attack isn't lethal. Well, if you survived one, you're lucky. All it takes is an artery hit or knick, and you can be dead in 10 minutes or less.

If someone is attacking you with a knife, and you have a gun, what would you do? Refuse to shoot while saying, "Please, sir, stop stabbing me! I might be really badly hurt if you don't stop".

[jonathan jones]

mohammed stayed with us from 2003 to 2007, in that time he was nice never violent, stayed to his self, and made many friends while living at friends helping friends. he will be dearly missed. for information on friends helping friends go to http://www.fhfstl.org/index.html.

[Matt]

Family or not, "mentally ill" or not, what are you crazy people talking about? Dark, in bushes, and the man attacks a person---a police officer on that, who most likely had a flashlight out. Of course he got shot. You stab me from some bushes in the dark, and I'm going to shoot you several times too. Is the officer supposed to apologize for not taking the time to carefully aim for his hand? No! And a "pen-knife" is still a knife. Good job police, get criminals and crazies off of the streets.

[Mike]

RE: SHAHIDA,U.K.

THIS IS WHAT U CALL JUSTICE

COMMENT: No, this is what you call officer survival.

Why did they call him a black man, when he was a pakistani, was the police officer blind?

COMMENT: Don't be so harsh. We don't have a large Pakistani population in the US. Many people not exposed to Pakistanis can't tell the difference because blacks come in all shades. To the casual observer, I think it may be pretty normal for some to confuse a Pakistani with a black man.

If and i mean If,he did pull out a pocket knife, surely the officers would have time to disarm him without having to use a GUN

COMMENT: It's very easy to second guess what happened. Each of us has a different level of belief when it comes to a perception of "serious bodily harm or death." Apparently for this officer, when he was initially slashed, he was in fear of serious bodily harm or death. Officers are not required to disarm people with knives prior to using deadly force to protect themselves and few are expert in such disarming methods. Most of the time, officers who try to disarm knife-wielding suspects are seriously hurt in the process. The officer had already been slashed once -- using deadly force to stop a suspect from hurting you further with a knife is perfectly justifiable.

Was this officer half asleep or just to stupid to read the situation, if this is the sort of reaction he has under these sort of conditions,he should call it aday.

COMMENT: If you think it's so easy to be an officer, I encourage you to go through the hiring/training process. You will quickly learn it's not easy at all.

I know the circus are hiring may be the police officer should try and get a job there

COMMENT: No need to be nasty about this. How about some intelligent discussion for a change?

WILL WE EVER KNOW THE TRUE MOTIVE BEHIND THIS MURDER

COMMENT: First of all, it's not murder...secondly, let's give the conspiracy theory track a rest, OK? I am soooo tired of the "cops plotted the whole thing" mantra.

[Otis]

Wow, some of these comments are very ignorant. Those cops had every right to shoot this guy dead. Knives of any size are extremely dangerous, and those cops have their whole careers ahead of them to deal with maniacs like this. If the cops handled every attacker with extreme care, then being a police officer would be suicide. The cops are at least well-meaning, and have families and lives too. The people who say "the cops should have tried to wrestle the knife from him" would probably change their story if they had to spend a day in those cops' shoes. I agree with some of the other comments: Americans learn too much from Hollywood, and live in a fantasy land where actions should somehow have no consequences.

[Daniel D]

People saying this cop is unjustified are ridiculous. If this job seems so easy and clear cut then why don't you do it? I am a professional fire fighter and have close friends who are police officers who put their lives in danger every single day. I lost a friend to a teenager who had a butter knife in his pocket, when he was frisked the kid stabbed him under the armpit severing an artery. Now, if this happened to this officer he would not have been able to even handle his weapon, due to the tearing of the ligaments your coordination and reflexes will be reduced significantly.

Now if the officer was severly wounded would he have even been able to defend himself against a guy who pulled out a knife? People seem to think a guy gives warning prior to attacking or something. Someone can bring out a knife, open it and stab you in a matter of seconds. Let me ask you something, before you defend yourself against an attacker will you wait for them to injury you severly? Also, in these areas of high violence wearing a police uniform is more dangerous than wearing the wrong colors. Everyone hates you, not just a certain group and if someone is attacking you then you have every right to defend yourselves and they are taught to return force with force.

I do feel for the family of the victim as well but if he was mentally ill then they should not let him disappear for days at a time because he is obviously not of sound mind and can get himself into problematic situations such as this. I truly am saddened to hear of this occurence and also realize that this officer has to live with the fact he took another life. It is hard on me when I lose someone to their injuries of an accident or in a fire and I can only imagine how it must feel to know that you are the reason this person did not live. Cops are not just putting on a uniform in the morning and thinking "who can I kill today?" They SERVE AND PROTECT. I truly feel for everyone affected in this situation and hope that they all can move on with their lives and take this as a learning experience.

[LEO Supporter]

It appears the police were justified in returning a knife attacker's direct stabbing of a cop with deadly force, of course.

I mean, come on - lurk in a bush, pull out a knife and stab a police officer, what do you expect? Officers put their lives on the line every day; being attacked with a knife is more than enough justifiication for a deadly force response, as the officer's life was in imminent danger.

Support the police - and don't try and attack them, numbskulls. The cops are our friends.

[Seeking Truth]

Please consider,

- Shot to stomach ... a very well documented method to torture a victim. Allows infliction of intense pain and allows the assailant to place demands by withholding access to medical care.

- 21 days next of kin reporting delay ... Was there rainfall during these 21 days? Destroys evidence at the scene of the crime. Particularly blood flow quantity and pattern.

- Face down ... Implies potential custody before murder.

This is heinous conduct. Someone misunderstood or misidentified a mentally impaired human being and did this to him.

************************************************ Family's blog ****

Name of Deceased: Mohammed Usman Chaudhry
DOB: 07/17/1986
Age: 21

Brief background of Usman Chaudhry:
Usman would frequently leave his parents house and live with friends/acquaintances in the downtown Hollywood area. He would come home to the parents every couple of months or so. His last visit was thanksgiving of 2007.
He did have a mental disability that made him leave the home and stay outside of the family which no one could ever understand why.
There was never any reason for Usman to leave the house other than by his own choice. No reported or actual history of any family member causing Usman duress to leave his home. He was a very loved and protected member of the immediate and extended family/amongst his cousins/uncles and aunts.

Summary of Details Known To Date

1. On April 15th made aware by police as well as a case worker that our son, Usman Chaudhry had been shot and killed by police back in March 15th @ 0400 HRS and that we could go and claim his body from the mortuary
2. When later questioning the LAPD Force officer it was disclosed that his ID was found on his body
3. When researching the newscasts from that day, multiple news channels reported the event and that the name of the deceased would be disclosed only after the next of kin were informed
4. Same research shows that his name and age (accurate) were disclosed and a news article was run in the LA Times

Point A:
a) Why did it take either the police or the coroner’s office 21 days to notify the next of kin when they had all the details on how to contact his family and notify them about the death.
b) What new information did they receive or find in the 21 days that then allowed them to contact the family?
c) Was this deliberate to hide any other physical abuse that he may have suffered as his body has deteriorated after being kept refrigerated for 21 days
d) Upon speaking with a case officer for the LAPD Force – we were told that the case was being investigate and that it could take upwards to 7-8 months before any final reports/conclusions were made.

5. With respect to the shooting itself – there are contradictory reports (albeit news media reports) that the police on a routine patrol found a transient sleeping (a) behind bushes (b) under an apartment complex (c) in an enclave on the sidewalk.
6. When they attempted to wake Usman up – he pulled a knife and stabbed the officer in his hand (claimed) at which point the police officers shot him 3 times at point blank range in his upper chest.
7. News media interviews of residents – two loud shots were fired in succession and then a third gun shot was heard

Point B:
e) Why did the police stop and attempt to wake up Usman @ 4:00 in the morning when NO reports were made by residents or other parties when obviously Usman was asleep. Probable cause other than he was a transient sleeping downtown Hollywood
f) How can someone asleep laying down on his face (by reports of the police and media) be woken up and suddenly pull a knife and be able to stab an officer
g) Why were they not able to direct him/pin him down or let him know exactly what they wanted him to do i.e. spread his hands – not reach for pockets etc which is supposed to be standard police procedure
h) How come 2 fully uniformed police officers were not able to (if Usman did make a threatening move) – subdue him using other methods such a pepper spray or even a taser
i) Why was a fatal shot or shots fired at his stomach/point blank – and all together 3
j) What warnings or other techniques/methods were applied before a gun was drawn and discharged
k) What was the partner of the police officer (Joseph Cruz – who supposedly fired the fatal shots) doing while this event unfolded

8. Usman has never had an aggressive history throughout his life. He has no past record of being violent or showing any violent tendencies to outsiders or even family members
9. Contrarily Usman would avoid confrontation at all times – he would physically tremble even if spoken to with a loud voice
10. He had previously disclosed to his sister to avoid the police at all times and that if he saw them to walk away from them and not confront them

Point C:
l) The family feels as though this was excessive use of force by the police, in this case by officer Joseph Cruz. Was this the first time the officer had been put on leave for using excessive force.
m) How many other fatal shootings or excessive force investigations have been made against the same officer
n) Which hand and what was the exact nature of the injury to the officer which prompted him to draw and discharge his weapon when so claimed that he was stabbed in his hand. Why was it not the other officer that carried out actions if officer Joseph Cruz was wounded
o) There was no just cause in fatally shooting Usman that we know of – for a person that at all times had shied away from violence and confrontation it makes NO sense whatsoever that the events unfolded as reportedly told by the police in their press statements.

The family would like closure. They believe this was an unjustified shooting and homicide. There are discrepancies in what information we have gotten to know over the course of the last 48 hrs.
There is a total blackout of information forthcoming from the police dept.
The family seeks guidance from CAIR or any other organization as to what to do next. We (the family) will pursue the case till we get complete closure and are satisfied with the report/findings and vehemently deny that the story went down as told by the police.

Posted by Moe at 12:12 PM - No Comments Add a Comment


Wednesday April 16, 2008

July 17, 1985 - March 25, 2008

My brother, Mohammad Usman Chaudhry, was shot and killed by the Los Angeles Police Department on March 25, 2008.

He was twenty-one years old and living on streets since he was eighteen because that is where he found his freedom and independence.

The coroner's office contacted my mother yesterday, April 15, 2008 around 4 pm. The person calling my mother told her that he had been killed by the police and would not give further details.

Right away, a person that my brother had been staying, known only as Jonathan and having a reputation for taking in homeless people, called my mother and told her that we should file a wrongful death lawsuit. He said there was no way my brother could have incited a conflict the police.

All of this in a matter of minutes…

The police have yet to tell us what happened. We had to go online to find the info, or at least their side of the story.

Here are the facts according to the LAPD blog:

1. Usman was shot and killed on March 25, 2008 around 4:00 am in the morning.

2. The location was the 1400 block of Curson Avenue in West Hollywood.

3. Two LAPD officers approached him. They claim that as they went to see if Usman was okay, he pulled out a knife and stabbed Officer Joseph Cruz in his left hand.

4. Officer Cruz, allegedly worried for his safety, pulled out his weapon and shot Usman in the chest several times.

5. Usman was pronounced dead on the scene.

After doing some online searching today, it appears that the whole world knew my brother was dead but it took the police 20 days to inform us. There was a story on every channel about him with details on who he was. But the police took this long to inform us, claiming they couldn’t find our phone number.

Here are the links to all the news available on the incident:

a. NBC 4 – NBC 4 News Clip
b. KTLA 5 – Part of the LA Times Article KTLA 5 News Clip
c. CBS 2 / KCAL 9 - CBS 2 / KCAL 9 News Clip
d. CBS 2 – CBS 2
e. MSNBC – MSNBC Article/Video

I will be contacting the webmaster to get copies of these clips so I can place them in this blog.

Here are other websites and blogs that have a story on him. Most of them are a direct cut-and-paste from the LAPD blog site.

a. Los Angeles Times – Los Angeles Times Article
b. Los Angeles Times Blogs – Homocide Report – LA Times Blog
c. LAPD Online – LAPD Online
d. ABC 7 – ABC 7 Local
e. Officer.com – Officer.com
f. Palmetto Cops – Palmetto Cops

Today, after a Muslim mortuary service received the body, we were finally able to see it. Twenty days after being killed, he is still smiling. Those twenty days can do a lot…

[MLH]

From Indianapolis, Indiana---
I see both sides of the story---sure the Police Officers should of realized this was a mental health issue...and called for an ambulance. Here in Indiana we have--situations which they call Mental-Emotional--which means both police and ambulance people need to respond.

but also these Police Officers are under alot of STRESS--day in and day out.....and they always need to be prepared to protect themselves.

this world has gotten more crazier----which means more STRESS on everyone--and that means more deaths in society.

My condolences to the family---my thoughts and prayers

[GetReal]

If someone stabbed me I'd shoot them as well. A pen knife is plenty to take a human life and the police officer was 100% correct in responding with deadly force to a potentially deadly attack.

[SHAHIDA,U.K]

WHY,WHY,WHY, THIS IS WHAT U CALL JUSTICE.

Why did it take 20 days for the police to informe his family of his death,why?

Why did they call him a black man, when he was a pakistani, was the police officer blind?

Why did they not let the family identify the body?

If and i mean If,he did pull out a pocket knife, surely the officers would have time to disarm him without having to use a GUN, by the time u put you hand in your pocket and find the knife , pull it ,out open it,and threaten the police officer.
What was the police officer blind ? he could not see it was a pen knife, could he not of stepped back and used another mean of disarming him?

was this officer half asleep or just to stupid to read the situation, if this is the sort of reaction he has under these sort of conditions,he should call it aday.

I know the circus are hiring may be the police officer should try and get a job there.

WILL WE EVER KNOW THE TRUE MOTIVE BEHIND THIS MURDER.

[andrea]

What a tragedy. The real problem here is the state of mental health care in our society. I'd guess that this young man's familiy had been struggling for many years with how best to care for him. There are precious few choices for families of mentally ill people. My deepest condolences to Mohommad's familiy.