AUBURN – A group planning a protest rally today says Monday’s death of a Somali man at the Androscoggin County Jail was the culmination of months of violence and vandalism against Somali people.
Mohdi Ali of Lewiston, one of the organizers of the rally, said many in the Somali community blame law enforcement authorities for the death of a jail inmate.
State police, who are investigating the death, said they have ruled out physical force as a possible cause. “No significant injury resulted in this individual’s death,” said state police Lt. Brian McDonough. “There has been no inappropriate conduct” by Lewiston police.
Ahmed Hussein Samater, 46, of Lewiston was found unconscious, his breathing labored, shortly after midnight Monday morning. A jail supervisor called for an ambulance. Paramedics tried to revive him using CPR. He was pronounced dead at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.
Initial results of an autopsy were inconclusive. A clerk at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said Thursday that tests are ongoing and likely won’t be complete for up to four months. She released no details on the cause or nature of Samater’s death.
McDonough said state authorities are awaiting results of toxicology tests. He hopes they will help pinpoint the cause of death.
Lewiston police Chief William Welch said Thursday he supports the right of anybody to hold a rally. But, he added, “At this point, they’re not protesting based on facts; they’re protesting based on assumptions and rumors.”
Welch echoed McDonough’s findings clearing Lewiston police of playing any role in Samater’s death.
“We certainly don’t see any wrongdoing on the part of this department,” he said.
Police arrested Samater at roughly 6 p.m. Sunday, charging him with disorderly conduct at a Park Street apartment. They said he was drunk and displayed bizarre behavior when he was booked at the jail and put in a holding cell.
Ali said friends and relatives of Samater are seeking answers and plan to march along Park Street from the Police Department building to City Hall at 2 p.m. to demonstrate their frustration.
“We don’t know anything surround his death,” Ali said. “Nobody’s talking about it. We don’t know why they’re silent. We demand answers.”
Welch said he welcomed the opportunity to meet with members of the Somali community to discuss Samater’s arrest and subsequent death. No one has contacted him to date, he said.
Ali said violence is on the rise in the Somali community. He cited vandalism to cars, such as tire slashing, as well as fires and acid throwing.
Welch said he hasn’t noticed any increase in reported incidents described by Ali, nor has he seen a rise in civil rights violations. Welch said the civil rights officer who’s a member of a local community action group told him there hadn’t been any complaints lately.
Meanwhile, members of the Somali community attended Samater’s burial Thursday afternoon at Gracelawn Memorial Park. At least three dozen mourners, many from across the country, gathered and shoveled dirt into Samater’s grave before kneeling in prayer.
The customs of burial were specific to Islam. The body is first washed by family members and wrapped in a white sheet. After a reading from the Quran, the body is lowered into the ground. Burial stones are engraved with lines from the Quran.
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