CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (WHDH) - A judge has ruled a deadly officer-involved shooting in Cambridge earlier this year was justified, the Middlesex County District Attorney’s office announced on Thursday.
The shooting happened back on Jan. 4.
In his recent report, Judge John Coffey said officers “had been pursuing (Sayed Arif) Faisal through Cambridge streets for approximately ten minutes, during which time Faisal was cutting himself with a knife with a foot-long blade.”
Coffey said Faisel did not respond to officers’ commands to stop and drop the knife and “refused to engage with any of the officers’ attempts to communicate with him.”
Coffey continued, saying Faisel “was not subdued or seemingly affected” by a less-lethal shot and instead turned and walked toward a Cambridge police officer while holding the knife out toward the officer.
At the moment the officer fired his weapon, Coffey said, “a reasonable law enforcement officer in the same position would reasonably believe that he, along with his fellow officers and others, were in imminent danger of being seriously injured or killed.”
Officials previously said Faisel was given medical aid at the scene of the shooting before he was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital. Faisel then died at the hospital.
Friends said Faisel was an immigrant from Bangladesh who was living with his parents in Cambridge. His death prompted an outcry from community members asking for an investigation into whether deadly force was necessary in this incident.
The Cambridge Police Department later announced it would introduce reforms that included body cameras and training on the use of non-lethal solutions when responding to emergency calls.
Months after the shooting, Coffey in his report this week said the court found the shooting was justified and did not constitute a criminal act.
The DA’s office in its statement said District Attorney Marian Ryan had accepted Coffey’s findings and filed a certificate in state Superior Court to close this matter.
“My condolences have been and remain with the family of Sayed Arif Faisal and those who continue to feel the profound pain of his passing,” Ryan said.
Cambridge police officials separately reacted to Thursday’s news in a statement, saying Police Commissioner Christine Elow and the Cambridge Police Department “continue to mourn the loss of Faisal.”
“There is no doubt that this is a tragedy for our entire community,” Elow said. “My heart goes out to Faisal’s family and everyone who has been impacted.”
Cambridge police said Judge Coffey’s report “also outlines how police officers can face incredibly complex, difficult, and dangerous situations.”
“No officer ever wants to be put in the position where they have to use fatal force, and if it happens it stays with each of us forever,” Elow said. “This tragedy has impacted our entire department.”
“Our Police Department remains deeply committed to thorough introspection, learning and growth as an organization,” Cambridge police said.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)