Mariyann Soulemane
Mubarak Soulemane's mother, Omo Mohammed, at his grave.
The arrest of a state trooper for the shooting death of a 19-year-old New Haven man — and what happens next in court — will reverberate nationwide in the ongoing quest for police accountability.
So said a civil rights lawyer representing the family of the late Mubarak Soulemane, the 19-year-old Fair Haven resident and child of Ghanian immigrants shot dead by Trooper Brian North on Jan. 15, 2020.
North was arrested Tuesday and charged with manslaughter in connection with the killing. (Read a full story about that here.)
Thursday morning, the civl rights lawyer, Sanford Rubenstein, planned to join the Soulemane family and others connected to the case for a press conference about their reactions to the arrest. They released comments in advance of the press conference.
They put the case in the context of a statistic: “Since March 31, 2022, U.S law enforcement officers shot and killed 241 people. In 2021, 1,055 people were killed by police officers. In 2020, 1,021 people were killed by law enforcement officers.”
“Let this arrest be an example to police nationwide, that if you use deadly force without justification as alleged by the inspector general, you will be charged criminally. The family of Mubarak Soulemane looks forward to Connecticut State Trooper Brian North’s vigorous prosecution, and subsequent conviction and sentencing to the 20-year maximum,” Rubenstein stated.
“It’s a long road ahead. But this is a good day,” stated the family’s Connecticut counsel, Mark Arons. “The family celebrates the fact that there is now a path towards justice for Mubarak in Connecticut.”
“We have been screaming Justice for Mubarak for over two years and we are glad to hear that state trooper Brian North was arrested. We will be happier when he receives jail time for the crime of killing an innocent black man,” added a family advisor, the Rev. Kevin McCall.