It’s Thursday, March 28.

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Good morning, readers. 

In December, the INDY and our partner newsroom The Assembly joined on to a lawsuit that a Raleigh family is bringing against the city of Raleigh to release officer-worn body-camera footage of a botched raid of their home. 

In April 2021, an RPD SWAT team “suddenly and without warning” broke through the door of Amir and Mirian Ibrahim Abbouds’ home with a battering ram and pointed their “long, AR-styled firearms” at the Abbouds and their 11-month old son. The search warrant was based on mistaken identity after investigators confused Amir Abboud with a neighbor who was also of Arab descent. 

A remote hearing took place this week in the case which the UNC School of Law’s Civil Legal Assistance Clinic filed on the Abbouds’ (and the news outlets’) behalf. The complaint alleges that police “wrongfully executed a Quick-Knock warrant,” meaning police kicked in the door before the Abbouds had a chance to open it, “terrorizing them and their child.” Releasing the footage will “provide the public with relevant information about the operation of a government-funded police force.”

But the lawyer for RPD argued that the raid was “valid on its face” and said the officers did nothing wrong. She also said releasing the footage would be “dangerous” and might expose confidential information about search warrant execution or damage officers’ reputations. 

The judge, Special Superior Court Judge Matthew T. Houston, is waiting to receive information from a similar case involving a botched raid on a Raleigh family before making a decision in this one. 

Have a good Thursday.

—Jane

Clarification: The 51,435 drug overdose deaths in 2022 cited from CDC data in yesterday’s newsletter is from 30 states, not all 50.

Durham


Duke admitted a record low of 4.1 percent of regular decision applicants to its class of 2028, down from last year’s 4.8 percent. The university had a record number of 47,951 applicants this year.

Wake

Meredith College has named its new president, Aimee Sapp.

 
NC State’s fan base is reinvigorated by its basketball teams’ success this season.

Orange

Carrboro celebrated Braxton Foushee this week, a civil rights leader and the town’s first Black elected official.

North Carolina

Gov. Cooper is speaking out against the state’s school voucher program again. 

A new CEO is bringing outsider energy to family-owned Biscuitville.

Today’s weather

Rainy with a high of 55 degrees.

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