Minneapolis Police Officers Abdiwahab Ali, Mohamed Abdullahi, and Jeanine Brudenell currently serve as board members with the Minneapolis Police Activities League.

In the evening of May 4th 2010 Minneapolis Police Officers Abdiwahab Ali and Mohamed Abdullahi responded to an assault on an 82 year-old Somali man in the street in the Cedar Riverside area of the City.  The suspect, a white male in his 60’s, struck the victim several times with his fists knocking him down in the street as the suspect yelled anti-Muslim and anti-Somali statements during his unprovoked attack.  The two MPD officers were able to preliminarily identify the suspect but were unable to arrest him.

On July 26th 2010 these same two officers were again the Cedar Riverside area when they saw the suspect from the May 4th case, George Loren Thompson (Date of birth 4-10-1947), chasing a 24 year-old Somali man in the street and threatening to kill him.  Officers Ali and Abdullahi took Thompson into custody and found him to be intoxicated and in possession of two handguns.  The officers learned that Thompson had approached the victim, asked him if he was Somali and, upon learning he was, chased the victim while threatening to kill him for being Somali.  The defendant was later charged in Hennepin County District Court with felony level Terroristic Threats in connection with this incident.

The United States Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Inspector General for Investigations, learned of Thompson’s May 2010 conduct as a result of his July 2010 arrest and began an investigation.  This ceremony will recognize Minneapolis Police Officers Abdiwahab Ali, Mohamed Abdullahi and Jeanine Brudenell along with First Precinct Crime Prevention Specialist Ahmed Hassan for their assistance in the successful investigation and prosecution of Mr. Thompson for violation of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.  Recently Mr. Thompson was sentenced to six months Federal incarceration and three years Federal supervised release for the May 2010 attack on the elderly Somali male.

In their letters of appreciation it is noted that the MPD personnel were the key to the Federal case as they used their language skills, community connections and cultural insights to further the Federal investigation.  With the MPD personnel’s assistance the victim was again located and interviewed, additional witnesses located and convinced to provide statements and the Somali community assured that law enforcement would follow through on anti-Somali violence.

The PIO contact for this release was Sergeant William Palmer.