Raleigh fires police detective accused of framing men on fake drug charges
A Raleigh police detective accused of framing local men in a fake heroin scheme was fired last week, a police department spokesperson confirmed Monday.
Omar Abdullah was fired Thursday after being on administrative leave for over a year, according to spokesperson Donna-maria Harris,
It appears that Abdullah may be fighting the process. The News & Observer requested a copy of the written notice about Abdullah’s firing outlining the basis of the dismissal.
Harris said a final determination hadn’t been made by the city, and emailed a copy of the city’s appeals process for employee grievances.
In September the city of Raleigh agreed to pay $2 million to 15 plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit alleging Abdullah and other officers worked with a confidential informant to frame people on drug trafficking charges, The N&O reported.
None of the other officers named in the lawsuit were placed on administrative leave or duty, according to information provided by the Raleigh Police Department.
The 15 people paid in the settlement were arrested or affected by arrests and jail time that followed a Raleigh police informant contending people had sold him heroin, or in one case marijuana, that turned out to be fake.
Abraham Rubert-Schewel, one of the attorneys representing plaintiffs, said at least six more people who were harmed by the scheme have come forward.
“These individuals are all women and children who were detained or had guns pointed at them during SWAT style raids of their homes,” he wrote in a statement. “We intend to seek justice for them as well.”
Charges dismissed
In August 2018, Raleigh police officers including Abdullah arrested Dennis Leon Williams, according to court records. He was charged with selling a counterfeit controlled substance.
The charge was dismissed at the end of February 2019, “in the interest of justice,” court records indicate.
From October 2018 to May 15, 2020, the informant claimed, at least 15 people had sold him drugs that turned out to be fake, the lawsuit states.
All of the charges were dismissed by July 30, 2020.
District Attorney Lorrin Freeman has said there isn’t any evidence that shows Abdullah knew the drugs were fake. On Monday Freemon wrote in a text that there were no changes in the case but the matter remains pending.
