By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
A Manchester teen wanted a deadly confrontation with police when he pulled a BB gun replica of a 9 mm pistol on a police officer, according to the report released Thursday by New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella’s office.
“That BB gun, it was a BB gun, I knew you guys were going to shoot me, I knew the second I raised my BB gun you guys would shoot me, that’s why I did this, that’s why I let you guys catch me,” Waleed Al Thuwayni said moments after he was shot twice by Manchester Police Sgt. Derek Feather, according to the report. He survived the shooting.
Thursday’s report wraps up the Attorney General’s investigation into the March 26, 2023, shooting, which is deemed justified given Feather believed the pistol Al Thuwayni pointed at him was real.
“Sgt. Feather stated that when he saw the gun pointed at him, he was in fear for himself and the other officers that Mr. Al Thuwayni was about to shoot him with a gun, so he reacted based on that fear, and fired his pistol at Mr. Al Thuwayni,” the report states.
The shooting in the Iglesia La Esperanza church parking lot off Maple Street capped a tumultuous night for Al Thuwayni, who engaged in a series of confrontations with police in the hours prior. Al Thuwayni was shot a little before 11:30 p.m.
Around 9 p.m. that night, Manchester Police Officer Dominic Sardo stopped Al Thuwayni for speeding in his Nissan 350z convertible on Central Street. That reportedly upset Al Thuwayni as he was driving under a youth operator’s license and already had several pending traffic violations, according to the report.
Al Thuwayni went to the Manchester Police Station a half hour after the stop to complain about the speeding ticket, according to the report. Sgt. Mark Harrington spoke to Al Thuwayni for about 20 minutes inside the station in an attempt to de-escalate, according to the report.
Al Thuwayni reportedly complained he would lose his license because he was being targeted by police because he’s a “kid with a convertible.”
During his conversation with Harrington, which was recorded on Harrington’s body camera, Al Thuwayni made several statements that he would rather police kill him than continue to be “harassed.”
“Tell your officers next time they pull me over make sure they pull the trigger, tell your whole department that, next time they pull me over they pull that trigger, I’d rather have them kill me,” Al Thuwayni said.
About an hour after Al Thuwayni left the station, police started getting reports of a black Nissan sports car speeding and driving recklessly through the city, according to the report. The personalized license plate on the reportedly reckless car was called in as Al Thuwayni’s LAMAFIA, the report states.
Feather tracked Al Thuwayni down to the church parking lot off Maple Street where he was in his parked car in the middle of the lot, according to the report. Feather waited for backup before he got out of his cruiser to approach the car, according to the report.
Al Thuwayni initially put his hands up, but as Feather got closer he put them down and appeared to be going for something in the car’s center console, the report states. Al Thuwayni refused to obey Feather’s orders to put his hands up, and instead the youth pulled out the pistol and pointed it at Feather.
Al Thuwayni’s BB gun is a realistic looking replica of a 9 mm Sig Sauer P226, sold for training purposes. Feather’s duty weapon that night was a 9mm Sig Sauer P320, a similar weapon.
Feather fired six rounds into the car. Two did not penetrate the Nissan’s door, two penetrated the car but missed Al Thuwayni. Two rounds hit the teen, one in the wrist and the other in the abdomen. Al Thuwayni made several statements as police gave first aid after the shooting that he wanted to die.
“Thank you, whoever shot me,” he said. “Just tell my parents I love them and I’m sorry I became a failure, I picked up the BB gun because I knew you guys were gonna shoot me.”
Al Thuwayni was taken to Elliot Hospital and treated for the gunshot wounds. He survived the shooting and in November pleaded guilty to charges of reckless conduct and criminal threatening related to the events of that night. Al Thuwayni was given suspended sentences of 2-to-4 years and 12-months respectively.
There have been seven officer-involved shooting (OIS) in New Hampshire this year. There were six OIS in the Granite State last year. “We average 4.4 OIS per year over the last ten years,” said Mike Garrity, spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office..
