Source: Buffalo Police Department / Buffalo PD
Last Tuesday, a 56-year-old Rohingya refugee from Burma, who was blind, in poor health, and did not speak English, was found dead in Buffalo, N.Y., five days after Border Patrol agents dropped him off on a street corner without notifying his family or making sure he could take care of himself.
According to a police report, Nurul Amin Shah Alam’s body was found on Perry Street, near KeyBank Center, home to the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League. His death was determined by the Erie County Medical Examiner to be “health-related in nature,” but an official cause of death has not yet been determined.
What we do know, however, is that just over a year before his death, Shah Alam had an encounter with Buffalo police officers, which led to him being in Border Patrol custody until a plea deal earlier this month led to his release.
From the Investigative Post:
On the morning of Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, Shah Alam left his West Side home for a walk, according to his attorney and a Buffalo police report, Shah Alam, his wife and two sons had arrived in Buffalo as refugees just weeks prior in December 2024 and were in the country legally. Cooped up due to the cold, his attorney said, Shah Alam set out for a stroll when a sunny day arrived.
In need of a walking stick — and with $20 in hand — Shah Alam went to a store near his home and purchased a curtain rod, his attorney, Benjamin Macaluso of the Legal Aid Bureau, told Investigative Post.
When the weather turned bad, Shah Alam headed for home but got lost, Macaluso said. Shortly before 10:30 a.m. he wandered into the backyard of Tracy Chicone on the 500 block of Tonawanda Street in the Riverside neighborhood.
Chicone reported to Buffalo police that Shah Alam had opened her back gate, let her dog out and damaged her shed door with his curtain rod walking stick. Upon arrival, police alleged Shah Alam was “swinging them in a menacing manner.” Officer Christopher Mordino later wrote he believed Shah Alam intended to hurt police with his curtain rod.
Macaluso said that wasn’t true, and that his client was merely startled by the dog and the commotion.
From there, it was a scene that is all too familiar when it comes to cops dealing with Black people, especially those suffering from disabilities. An officer is heard shouting, “Put it down! You’re going to get tased! Put it in the snow,” to which Shah Alam says, “Okay,” but is still holding the rod, likely because he still needed it to stand.
Then officers pointed their Tasers at Shah Alam as he moved closer to them, and then they tased him. Shah Alam is seen raising one rod as if to defend himself, and then officers tackled and attempted to handcuff him.
Source: Blind Rohingya Refugee Left On Street Corner By Border Patrol Dies In Cold
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