Incident

Incident Description

On the morning of Saturday, February 15, 2025, Buffalo police tasered, beat and arrested Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a Burmese refugee who was nearly blind and spoke very little English. Nearly a year later, Shah Alam and was found dead after being turned over to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol following his release from the Erie County Holding Center.

Original Arrest

Shah Alam, his wife and two sons arrived in Buffalo as refugees escaping a genocide just weeks prior to his original arrest in December 2024 and were in the country legally.

Cooped up due to the cold, Shah Alam went out for a walk when a sunny day arrived. In need of a mobility assistance device, Shah Alam went to a store near his home and purchased a curtain rod. Shah Alam headed home but got lost. Shortly before 10:30 AM, he wandered into the backyard of Tracy Chicone on the 500 block of Tonawanda Street in the Riverside neighborhood.

Chicone called the police and reported that Shah Alam had opened her back gate, let her dog out and damaged her shed door with the curtain rod he just purchased. Upon arrival, police alleged Shah Alam was “swinging at them in a menacing manner.” No effort was made to provide an interpreter, identify what language Shah Alam spoke, or if he needed accommodations.

Body camera footage shows a Buffalo police officer arriving at the Chicone’s home, walking down a sidewalk along the side of the house and entering a gate into the backyard. The officers immediately begin escalating the situation, shouting at Shah Alam to drop his curtain rod.

“Put it down!” the officer is heard shouting. “You’re going to get Tased! Put it in the snow!”

Shah Alam can be heard saying “okay” and lets one end of the rods drop onto the ground. He holds his free hand out in what appears to be an attempt to calm the officer.

Officers point their Tasers at Shah Alam, and fire. Shah Alam then raises one rod as if to defend himself. At that point, the officers tackle and attempt to handcuff Shah Alam.

“Get on the fucking ground,” one of the officers shouts repeatedly.

Once on the ground, one officer calls Shah Alam a “fucking asshole” and punches him at least 10 times. The police officers allege that Shah Alam bit them, causing minor injuries.

In the process of getting beat and having pink handcuffs put on, Shah Alam appears to say “I can’t breathe” in English. Shah Alam is also heard speaking in Rohingya and Malay. He asks for God’s help and tries to explain to the uncomprehending officers that he lives nearby and was going to the store. He pleads with the officers not to throw away his phone.

In the aftermath, one officer, speaking to others who had arrived on scene, can be heard saying, “He’s gonna be injured. I don’t know how bad. He got hit by all four [Tasers] and still came at us with the fucking poles. He almost got shot.”

A Buffalo police officer Darcie Brown is later heard saying, “I almost had to pull my gun out.”

Prosecution, Detention, and Release

Shah Alam was eventually charged with assault, trespass and possession of a weapon – the curtain rods. Attorneys said ICE had placed an immigration detainer on him once he was booked into the Erie County Holding Center.

It was four months before District Attorney Michael Keane’s office issued an indictment via Grand Jury on the charges, according to a statement from Keane’s office. Bail was originally set at $25,000 and was then lowered to $5,000 in May 2025. Fearing that ICE would take custody and transfer him out of state if they bailed him out, Shah Alam’s family opted to keep him in the jail where they could visit him.

After months of hearings, the case was nearing trial. On February 9, Keane’s office agreed to offer Shah Alam a plea deal.

Keane claimed his, “decision was the result of a comprehensive evaluation of his conduct, criminal history, acceptance of responsibility, medical condition, time served in pre-trial custody, and the proposed resolution.” He also claimed in a statement that he, “also considered the significant collateral consequences that would result from a felony conviction — including mandatory deportation.”

Shah Alam pled guilty to two misdemeanors and was scheduled to be sentenced in March. The district attorney said the reduced plea in Shah Alam’s case was “in the interest of justice.”

On Thursday, February 19th, 2026, bond was posted for Shah Alam, a spokesman for the Erie County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. His wife, and two of his sons who also have refugee status in the US, waited outside the Erie County Holding Center to pick him upon his release. “We were ready with food, clothing, everything,” his wife said. “We thought he would be able to break fast with us. He was so close, so close to my hand.” But the sheriff’s office instead released Shah Alam into the custody of Border Patrol at 4:39 PM.

Border Patrol and Missing Person's Case

Border Patrol realized that Shah Alam was not deportable. Around 8:20 PM, after being in the custody of Border Patrol for nearly four hours, they drove him to a Tim Hortons 5 miles away from his home. The coffe shop has a 24/7 drive through, but the indoor cafe had been closed for more than an hour. Border Patrol released Shah Alam wearing the clothes he wore when he was beaten nearly year earlier and shoes given to people incarcerated in the Erie County Holding Center that are not weather appropriate. Border Patrol left him in an unfamiliar environment, on a Buffalo night when temperatures fell below freezing, without notifying his family or lawyers.

Shah Alam's lawyer spent all day Friday, February 20th attempting to locate his client to get him released believing he was transferred to the custody of federal immigration detention facility in Batavia. Agents at the detention center said he never arrived. Family and community then spent the rest of Friday, Saturday, into Sunday searching everywhere they could think of for their loved one to no avail. Shah Alam's lawyer filed a missing persons report on Sunday, February 22, 2026 at 2:30 PM. He didn't find out until Monday afternoon, February 23rd, 2026 that Border Patrol had left Shah Alam at the Tim Hortons parking lot.

Detective Richard Hy, who is well known for having an atrocious record of misconduct both on duty and off duty, was assigned to Shah Alam's missing person's case. Hy alleged that he saw the ICE detainer, assumed Shah Alam was in federal custody and closed the case on Monday, February 23rd at 12:29 PM. Three and a half hours later, at 4:05 PM, Hy re-opened the case, after receiving subsequent information the Shah Alam was not in the custody of ICE.

Tuesday, February 24th, 2026 at 7:45 AM, Hy issued a Be On the Look Out(BOLO) notice and a social media post with Shah Alam's missing person information. The same day, Shah Alam's lifeless body was found.

Shah Alam’s body was found on Perry Street, near KeyBank Center, home to the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League, which is several miles away from where Border Patrol left him. A passerby called 911 to report an unresponsive man wearing a dark parka and khaki pants who appeared not to be breathing, with his hands described as gray in color. The women informed responding officers that she observed the man moving at approximately 5:30 PM. When she passed by the location again at approximately 8:30 PM, she observed that he was no longer moving, at which time she contacted 911. Buffalo Fire Department personnel initiated chest compressions, and Buffalo Police officers administered Narcan. AMR responded to the scene and subsequently pronounced the Shah Alam deceased.

Outcomes and Investigations

The county medical examiner is investigating the cause of death, health officials said. The Buffalo Police Department told reporters that the medical examiner had concluded that the death was “health related” and ruled out exposure or homicide, but the Erie County Department of Health later disputed that account, saying no determination had been made. “We have not provided that information to anyone,” the county health office said in a statement, and the investigation remains underway.

Buffalo Police said the detective Hy who made the error on Alam’s missing persons case that led to the case being closed for a few hours will not face disciplinary action.

This incident has resulted in both national and international media attention, local and national condemnation by community and elected officials, and public outcry of the systemic failures and violence that Shah Alam faced. Elected officials have, for the most part, called for investigations into the actions of federal agencies involved and have failed to highlight the complicity of the Buffalo Police, the Erie County District Attorney, and the Erie County Sheriff's Office played in the death of Shah Alam.

Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan released the following statement:

“A vulnerable man — nearly blind and unable to speak English — was left alone on a cold winter night with no known attempt to leave him in a safe, secure location. That decision from U.S. Customs and Border Protection was unprofessional and inhumane. U.S. Customs and Border Protection must answer for how and why this happened. Buffalo is a city that welcomes refugees and believes government should protect human dignity, not endanger it. U.S. Customs and Border Protection failed that basic standard.”

U.S. Rep. Tim Kennedy, whose jurisdiction includes Buffalo, released the following statement:

"The death of Nurul Amin Shah Alam is a horrific and heartbreaking tragedy," his statement said. "Mr. Alam should be alive and with his loved ones today. Instead, after days of fear and uncertainty, his family is now grieving an unimaginable loss. There must be a full and transparent investigation at the local, state, and federal levels. The public and Mr. Alam's family deserve answers immediately."

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, released the following statement:

“Border Patrol took a nearly blind father, barely able to communicate, and seemingly abandoned him in the cold far from his home without telling his loved ones,” Schumer said. “My heart breaks for Nurul Amin Shah Alam’s family. He should be alive — and this should have never happened. Alam’s family deserves answers from ICE and CBP and we must have an immediate independent investigation.”

Grace Meng, a Democrat representing areas of New York City, described a “shocking breach of responsibility and basic humanity by federal enforcement”.

New York State Attorney General Letitia wrote in a letter in response to to Rep. Tim Kennedy that her “office is continuing to gather and review facts as to any state or local involvement in this tragedy” and is prepared to coordinate with federal authorities as necessary. James also said her office is coordinating with the Buffalo Police Department to “canvass for additional witnesses and surveillance footage” that may help her office understand what happened to Shah Alam.

In a statement, Buffalo police spokesperson Timothy Richards said the department is not subject to James’ investigation and confirmed it is working alongside her office. “We are happy to work with our law enforcement partners to ascertain what occurred,” Richards said.

Kaitlyn Munro, a spokesperson for Erie County District Attorney Michael Keane, said their office, too, is assisting with the investigation.