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 dismissed Thursday after being on administrative leave for over a year, according to spokesperson Donna-maria Harris.
It appears Abdullah may be fighting the process. The News & Observer requested a copy of the written notice about his firing outlining the basis of the dismissal.
Harris said a final determination hasn’t been made by the city and emailed a copy of the city’s appeals process for employee grievances.
Abdullah, who earned $69,373, started at the Raleigh Police Department in February 2009, according to information provided by police. In 2017, he was promoted from senior officer to police detective. He was put on administrative duty on Aug. 26, 2020, and then administrative leave about a week later.
Soon after Abdullah was put on leave, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said her office was investigating false evidence being used to make more than a dozen arrests, The N&O reported.
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, Williams 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.
In September, Williams was charged with five counts of obstructing justice in the fake drugs scheme. The case is pending.
Freeman has said there isn’t any evidence that shows Abdullah knew the drugs were fake.
On Monday she wrote in a text there were no changes in the case but the matter remains pending and her office has asked the State Bureau of Investigation to follow up on some issues identified in the case.
“We want to ensure that every detail has been considered prior to closing the matter due to the serious nature of the allegations,” she wrote. “As I’ve stated previously a conclusion that there is insufficient evidence of criminal intent by Detective Abdullah is not the same thing as saying there are not grave concerns by me of the way this matter unfolded.”
‘I’m not satisfied’
Robin Mills, whose son was jailed in the scheme, said there should be more transparency in the process to discipline officers.
“They should tell the public what happened; it shouldn’t be private,” she said.
Mills also expressed concern about whether other officers would face discipline.
“I am not satisfied at all,” she said.
It’s laughable that no officers have been charged, Mills said.
“There is all kind of proof that says that they knew,” she said.
This story was originally published November 1, 2021 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Raleigh fires police detective accused of framing men on fake drug charges."
