Cambridge reels after police killing of sayed arif Faisal

by Ariana Phillips Deputy News Editor

Originally published Jan. 24

The Cambridge City Council held a special meeting on Jan. 18 to discuss the protocols of the Cambridge Police Department after police fatally shot Sayed Arif Faisal earlier this month. Faisal was a 20-year-old Cambridge resident and engineering student at UMass Boston.

Since his death, the Bangladesh Association of New England has raised over $61,000 for Faisal’s family. In a statement released earlier this month, Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui offered her condolences to Faisal’s family.

“I did not have the opportunity to know Faisal in life, but I have learned from his loved ones over the past week that he was a kind and thoughtful friend with a warm smile and big heart,” Siddiqui wrote. “At his funeral on Saturday, I heard about a bridge builder who was generous and deeply commit- ted to his community. Everyone knew him as a support system with big plans and great potential. Instead, his parents had to bury their only child—who they lovingly called Prince—at the age of twenty. I know this grief is felt across our city.”

Siddiqui called a Jan. 12 community meeting and the city council meeting to provide information about the incident and uplift the voices and concerns of residents and the Bengali community. Representatives from the Cambridge Police Department, Cambridge Holistic Emergency Alternative Response Team and Muslim Justice League were also present at the city council meeting.

Cambridge Police Commissioner Christine Elow provided a description of the incident to the City Council. According to Elow, on Jan. 4 the department received reports of a man, later identified as Faisal, who jumped out of a window