Newly available police bodycam footage shows the encounter last February between two officers and Burmese refugee Nurul Amin Shah Alam, which set into motion the chain of events that ended in Shah Alam’s death. The footage from February 2025 showed Buffalo police tasing, beating and arresting Shah Alam, who had legally arrived in the country just a few weeks prior.  The man, who was nearly blind and spoke no English, was arrested after wandering into someone’s backyard. Police reported that he was “menacingly” swinging a curtain rod he was using as a walking stick. After being detained and spending months in jail, he accepted a plea deal that allowed him to remain in the United States. Instead of being placed in the county’s holding center, he was handed over to Border Patrol.

Police body cam of the confrontation between police and Nurul Amin Shah Alam in February of last year. 

The federal agents dumped him at a coffee shop miles from his home, and Shah Alam was found dead downtown a week later. This story has made national news, continuing the conversation about accountability within immigration enforcement. New York’s Attorney General is now investigating Shah Alam’s death.

Adam Smith-Perez is a Report For America corps member covering urban affairs for the Investigative Post in Buffalo, New York.