DENVER (AP) — An Iraqi refugee charged with shooting a Colorado police officer last week was set for deportation before a 2016 federal appeals court ruled that a portion of immigration law defining violent crime was too vague.
A Department of Homeland Security official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity says Karrar Noaman Al Khammasi was ordered removed from the country on June 13, 2016. The person was not authorized to discuss the case on the record.
Immigration authorities began deportation proceedings in 2015 when Al Khammasi violated probation terms of a felony trespassing plea.
The DHS official says prosecutors ended the proceedings in October 2016, citing a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that immigration law's definition of violent crime was too vague.
Officer Cem Duzel is still in critical condition. He was shot in the head last week while responding to a call near East Platte Ave and East Boulder St. in Colorado Springs.
