Arab American Civil Rights Attorney to Lead Case Against Detroit Police and ICE

posted on: Apr 12, 2017

BY: Diego Reyes/Contributing Writer

Arab American civil rights lawyer and founder of the Arab American Civil Rights League (ACRL), Nabih Ayad, will file a $50 million federal lawsuit against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Detroit police officers who fatally shot unarmed, 20-year-old Terrance Kellom in his father’s home on April 25, 2015.

Nelda Kellom, the mother of Terrance Kellom, stated that ICE Agent Mitchell Quinn had no reason or justification to shoot her son. The complaint also identifies two more Detroit police officers, Darell Fitzgerald and Treva Eaton, as those who killed her son.

“Detroit officers raided the home illegally with an arrest warrant, not a search warrant, before shooting Kellom,” Nabih Ayad told reporters. The arrest warrant was for robbing a pizza delivery man and a probation violation, but according to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, Kellom supposedly displayed a rifle and stole money and pizzas from a delivery man on Detroit’s east side on April 31, 2015.

Ayad focused on the fact that this is another example of the “good old boys network,” where officers protect each other no matter who is in the wrong. He goes on to point out that Agent Quinn was charged with aggravated assault for pointing a gun to his ex-wife’s head and was later suspended from the Detroit Police Department.

Kevin Kellom, Terrance’s dad, became very emotional when describing the last moments with his son while the officers were escorting him down and telling him to comply. That was when Terrance stuck out his arm saying “but Dad,” and Quinn immediately fired at him, according to the father.

“My son had never done nothing wrong for the police to come in this house and kill him like that,” Kellom said. “I’m not going to say he was a saint… but if he’d done wrong, you arrest him, take him to jail, let him get charged and take it from there.”

Nabih Ayad continues to lead the fight in order to get justice for Terrance and his family.