Family questions man’s death in police custody

The last time Seteria Abdulai saw her husband last Friday, he was running back up the stairs of their Athens home last to grab a hat. On his way out, Abdul Abdulai said he’d be back before 8 p.m.

“We were supposed to go to the movies,” she said.

That was the last time she would see him alive.

Mrs. Abdulai said she was unsure of husband’s whereabouts until someone from the Gwinnett County medical examiner’s office called Saturday night. They informed her that Abdulai, 32, had died Friday while in police custody.

“I don’t know what happened,” she said, adding that she still hadn’t talked to police as of Thursday morning. “It’s just hard to talk right now.”

Gwinnett County police are conducting an internal investigation into Abdulai’s death. He died while being processed at the Gwinnett County Detention Center. Earlier he had been involved in a brief foot chase after police responded to a 911 call at a Norcross dealership, according to police.

An employee at the CarMax on Beaver Ruin Road called authorities to report that a man going by the name Neel Kamal was attempting to purchase a BMW 550 using fraudulent identification, police said. When an officer arrived and approached, Abdulai fled. Police reported that Abdulai, who was in his 30s, jumped over a sport-utility vehicle, scaled an 8-foot-high fence topped with barbed wire and ran into a nearby wooded area. Other officers responding to the scene found Abdulai lying in an area of tall grass a short time later.

Abdulai reportedly told officers he couldn’t feel his legs but police said that Abdulai “could stand and walk in some instances.” An emergency medical team from Gwinnett County Medical Center responded and examined Abdulai, advising that his vital signs were fine and reporting no visible injuries, according to police.

Abdulai was then transported to police headquarters and interviewed before being taken to the detention center to be booked. Police said he became unconscious and unresponsive while sitting in a holding area. Medical personnel at the detention center rendered aid until an ambulance arrived and transported Abdulai to Gwinnett Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, police said.

A preliminary autopsy performed by the medical examiner’s office reported there was no evidence of trauma that could have contributed to Abdulai’s death, according to police. It could be 10 to 12 weeks before the medical examiner can determine the exact cause of death, they said.

Abdulai’s mother-in-law, Evelyn Slack of Tifton, said he immigrated to the U.S. from Ghana. She admitted that he had been in trouble with the law befor,e but said she knew of no medical problems that would have led to his death after a foot chase.

“We feel likes it’s foul play,” she said. “We just want to know what has happened.”