Atlanta officer involved in fatal shooting received prior complaints

(Photo: APD/Facebook)

Investigator Yasin Abdulahad, who shot and killed Deaundre Phillips outside an Atlanta police annex on Jan. 25, had received prior complaints alleging that he used unnecessary force, but none of them led to any disciplinary action.

The 11-year veteran is currently under investigation for the shooting of Phillips. Abdulahad reportedly fired into Phillips’ car after smelling marijuana in the vehicle, which Phillips then drove off in. Abdulahad had claimed that Phillips drove off while he was hanging out of the passenger door, but surveillance footage showed that the officer was entirely inside the car.

Abdulahad is also under investigation for an incident in which he allegedly beat a man outside a night club while he was moonlighting as a security guard. Anthony Walters was charged with resisting arrest, and Abdulahad claimed that his severe facial injuries were the result of having fallen after his arrest.

There were also two complaints during a two-week period of time in 2007. The first complaint yielded “insufficient evidence … that the employee committed the violation,” according to APD’s Office of Professional Standards. Abdulahad was exonerated in the second complaint. Police, however, have not released details for either of those complaints.