Protesters rally for change at Cambridge Police Department following shooting of college student killed by police

Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside the Cambridge police station on Sunday, calling for change after the death of a 20-year-old college student shot dead by police earlier this month.

Syed Faisal, a student at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, was shot dead on January 4 as he stepped on officers with what police called a kukri knife. The police reportedly tried to subdue Faisal with a “less lethal” form of ammunition before shooting and killing him.

Protesters held up banners reading “Justice for Faisal” and “Justice for all victims” before heading to the Cambridge police headquarters. The crowd sang songs and called for a new police protocol when dealing with people with emotional disorders.

“Now they are on paid leave, on administrative paid leave. What we really need is their immediate dismissal, like the officers who killed Tyre Nichols, and their prosecution to the fullest extent of the law, ”said one Boston 25 protester.

An independent judicial investigation into the shooting has been launched. The results of this investigation will be forwarded to the Middlesex District Attorney’s office to decide whether the charges are justified, a process that could take a year or more.

Faisal, known to the family as Prince, was the only child who had never been violent and had never been involved with law enforcement before, his parents said in a statement released by the Council on American-Islamic Relations earlier this month.

Authorities have not released the name of the officer who opened fire. The officer on paid administrative leave is a seven-year veteran of the department and has never been the subject of citizen complaints, according to the Cambridge Police.

According to a preliminary investigation, police received an emergency call early on January 4 from a resident who said he saw a man jump out of an apartment window with a machete, which he apparently cut himself with.

Officers and paramedics found a man named Faisal bleeding in an alleyway.

Faisal saw the police, who demanded that he drop his weapon, and ran several blocks.

He then reportedly moved towards the police, still holding the gun even as they fired a non-lethal shot at him. He continued advancing and one officer fired a pistol, wounding Faisal, who later died in hospital, authorities said.

This is an evolving story. Stay tuned for updates as more information becomes available.

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