Major Developments in Midway District Fatal Shooting by Police of Fridoon Nehad

Feds to Review Shooting and Victim’s Family Can Release Video of Shooting to the Public

There’s major, major developments in the fatal police shooting of Fridoon Rawshan Nehad last April in the Midway District.

On April 30th, San Diego Police Officer Neal Browder arrived in an alley next to an adult bookstore in the Midway District. There had been a 911 call that reported a man with a knife was outside. Within seconds of his arrival, Officer Browder opened fire, killing Nehan, who – it turns out, was holding a metallic pen, and was having a PTSD episode. A private security camera recorded the entire scene, which up to now has not been made public – but that’s all about to change.

Part of the big news is that the FBI announced that it is reviewing the shooting of Nehan by Browder. This has been confirmed by the police department.

The other big news is that U.S. District Judge William Hayes ruled Wednesday that Nehad’s family can release the camera video to the public (judge did not order the government to release it). The judge is giving time for the ruling to be appealed, however, and stated:

“It is further ordered that this order is stayed for seven days in order to allow any party the opportunity to file a Notice of Appeal.”

In court, both the City of San Diego and Browder’s lawyer argued against making the video public and would be parties that could appeal.

Yet, with a majority of City Council members going on the record that they do not support an appeal, a spokesman for City Attorney Jan Goldsmith stated that his office is not considering an appeal. At this point, it’s unknown whether Browder plans to make an appeal.

This fatal shooting of an unarmed, transient, recent immigrant from Afghanistan by San Diego police has been a thorn in the police ever since. First, it turned out that Browder had failed to turn on his department-issued body camera. This led to policy changes regarding police body cameras by Police Chief Zimmerman – who incidentally came into her position pledging “transparency”.

Then, during the investigation, police obtained surveillance video from a nearby business that apparently recorded what happened. A business employee of KECO, Wesley Doyle, who said he has seen the surveillance video 20 to 30 times, called the footage “shocking” to see. His family has now filed a $20 million suit against the city and the officer, claiming Nehad was 20 feet away and did nothing to prompt the shooting.

In November, DA Bonnie Dumanis rejected filing any charges against Browder, claiming that he had a right to fear for his safety and should have no criminal liability.

All kinds of local major weight media went to court to have the video released. And now it will be – in a week.