The San Diego community is grappling with the loss of Abdul Kamara, a 29-year-old Black man who died in March following an altercation with law enforcement. Kamara, who had relocated to San Diego to attend the Gemological Institute of America in Carlsbad, encountered deputies from the San Diego Sheriff's Office (SDSO) in what began as a request for medical aid and ended in his death hours after being detained.
According to a FOX 5 San Diego report, Kamara was initially found by Carlsbad Police crawling around a parking lot and later arrested by the SDSO, accused of being under the influence of a controlled substance. The incident swiftly escalated after Kamara allegedly began to harm himself in the patrol car and subsequently had to be restrained. It was after these altercations that Kamara "went unconscious and stopped breathing," according to a statement given by the SDSO. Despite attempts to resuscitate him, he was pronounced dead at a local hospital at 4:00 a.m.
Months following the tragic event, Fredrika Nabbie, Kamara's mother, has been adamantly seeking transparency and answers from local authorities. In a distressing moment outside the Vista Detention Facility, Nabbie collapsed at a rally demanding the SDSO release evidence related to her son's death. "I'm asking for justice," Nabbie said, her plea for the body camera footage released by the police on the day in question was covered in a San Diego Union-Tribune interview. Her request has, to date, been denied by the Sheriff’s Office, which cites the ongoing investigation as the reason for withholding such records.
The multi-agency investigations into Kamara's death are underway, with the San Diego Police Homicide Unit leading the inquiry and oversight from various entities, including the Citizens' Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB), the FBI, and the United States Attorney's Office. Despite the ongoing investigations, all the deputies involved in Kamara's detainment remain on active duty, a contentious detail noted by a Hoodline report.
Calls have marked local responses for systemic change and scrutiny over the Sheriff's Office's handling of in-custody deaths. As Fredrika Nabbie and the Kamara family continue to mourn their loss, they have filed a legal claim against San Diego County, alleging wrongful arrest and death. While the District Attorney's Office has foregone criminal charges based on the toxicology report indicating methamphetamine in Kamara's system, concerns about the appropriateness of force used and the deputies' decision-making remain unanswered. The unclear and complicated circumstances surrounding Abdul Kamara's final hours have illustrated the ongoing struggle for accountability in carceral systems and the profound, often underestimated, toll on the families left behind seeking their version of truth and justice.
