Nearly two months after Abdul Rahman Waziri was shot over a parking dispute in Houston. Yesterday, the office of Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare announced that the case will be "referred to a grand jury."
DA Teare has prosecutorial discretion. He could file charges now. Instead, he’s choosing the political safety of a grand jury referral- despite video evidence, eyewitness testimony, and a direct admission by the shooter at the scene. This is not justice: it is a calculated political risk mitigation.
Use this tool to demand justice for Adul Rahman in recognition of his service to the US.
As for the shooter? He claimed self-defense; after initiating the altercation, vandalizing Waziri’s car, and retrieving a weapon after a brief scuffle. Multiple witnesses, including a woman who viewed the entire event from a balcony, corroborate that Abdul raised his hands and pleaded “please, don’t shoot” before being executed.
DA Teare and Mayor Whitmire’s office have offered no public statement to assuage the concerns of the 10,000 Afghans residing in the Houston area. Nor have they offered the Afghan community words of support following recent arrests by ICE. Furthermore, despite reaching out to the DA’s office multiple times, the Waziri family (both of his brothers also worked with US soldiers) received no official contact from the DA’s office until Green Berets of the 1208 Foundation organized and released a formal letter demanding accountability. This silence speaks volumes -- and to a two-tiered system of justice where Afghans who served alongside US Soldiers are treated with disregard.
As a member of the National Mine Reduction Group (NMRG), he served our country as faithfully as any American. The silence from Mayor Whitmore and DA Teare would never stand if Abdul Rahman Waziri wore a US uniform.
This deliberate lack of transparency and risk-adverse leadership has gone on long enough. It is time that Harris County and the City of Houston take a leading role in the affairs of their own jurisdictions, and not let political risk guide their decision making.
Use this tool to demand justice for Adul Rahman in recognition of his service to the US.