'Allah can't help you now:' Homeless Muslim mocked as Phoenix cop knelt on him hours before his death in custody
Phoenix police told a homeless Muslim man "Allah can't help you now" as an officer knelt on his neck during his arrest. The man, identified as Muhammad Abdul Muhaymin Jr., later died in police custody. A disturbing bodycam footage of the incident was released on Thursday, August 20, by an advocacy group and shows Muhayim being arrested outside a community center in 2017, Phoenix.
The advocacy group, Muslim Advocates, a national civil rights organization, said that the video shows officer mocking Muhayim's religion as he cried out in pain and called for Allah when he was being taken into custody. One officer can be heard saying in the video: "Allah? He's not going to help you right now. Relax dude. Stop moving. Stop resisting. You understand?" An officer, at the time, could be seen kneeling on the 43-year-old homeless man's neck.
Muhayim, shortly after the incident, died in police custody after he was arrested for having an outstanding criminal warrant. Another body camera footage from the police showed Muhayim pleading with the officers, saying he could not breathe. The clip released by police, however, left out the statements concerning his faith. The 43-year-old's sister, Mussallina Muhaymin, had filed a $10 million lawsuit against the city of Phoenix in 2017 alleging excessive force and wrongful death. None of the officers involved in the incident have faced any internal discipline or were criminally charged for their actions.
"The city of Phoenix and the Phoenix police targeted my brother for his race, they mocked him for his religion and disability, and then brutally killed him," Mussallina said in a statement, according to the Daily Mail. "Muhammad Muhaymin Jr. was a man - a man with a family who loved him." His sister said that her brother was homeless and suffered from schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder.
A lawyer defending the officers in the lawsuit, Daniel O'Connor, in an email statement told the outlet that he is prohibited from discussing ongoing litigation.
The incident has come to light months after George Floyd's killing in police custody in Minneapolis in May. For Muhayim's family, Floyd's death had echoes of their loved one's death. In the 43-year-old's case, the tragic events unfolded after police were called to a community center in the city's Maryvale neighborhood in January 2017. The cops were called after a dispute on whether Muhaymin could bring his service dog into a public bathroom. Although he was allowed to go into the bathroom, officers ran a records check on him and found that he had an outstanding warrant for failing to appear in court over a misdemeanor drug-paraphernalia possession charge.
As he came out of the community center, officers asked Muhayim to put down his dog because he was being arrested. An officer took the dog out of Muhayim's hand after he told the cops that there was no one else to take care of the animal, the lawsuit said. He was then forced to the ground and he began screaming in pain as officers handcuffed him. Officers asked Muhayim to stop moving as he was brought to a police SUV in the parking lot, however, the struggle continued with the cops forcing him to the ground again. Muhayim then said: "I can't breathe. 'I can't breathe." He went into cardiac arrest minutes later, began vomiting and died, the suit claimed.
The Maricopa County Attorney's Office, after a review, declined in February 2018 to criminally charge the officers involved in the incident. The city of Phoenix had reportedly made a request to bar the release of the transcript and video from deposition, however, a federal judge denied their request in June.