Newly obtained body‑camera footage shows a tense encounter from last February that ultimately led to more than a year behind bars for Nurul Amin Shah Alam.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — More details are emerging after the death of 56-year-old Nurul Amin Shah Alam, who was found dead Tuesday night.

The refugee was found dead Tuesday night on Perry Street in downtown Buffalo. His body was found days after he was released from jail, handed over to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers, dropped off at a Tim Hortons that was reportedly closed, and reported missing.

Shah Alam, who was reportedly nearly blind, was arrested last February. 2 On Your Side on Thursday received new body camera footage from the incident that landed him behind bars for more than a year.

Police records show on that on Feb. 15, 2025, officers were called to a Tonawanda Street home by someone reporting a stranger trespassing in their yard. That stranger was Shah Alam.

Body camera footage shows two responding officers approaching Shah Alam, who was carrying two slender black poles. The officers repeatedly ordered him to drop the poles.

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“Put it down! Put it down! Put that down! Down! On the ground!” they said.

At one point, he sticks them into the ground but never fully lets go, eventually waving the poles in the air in the direction of the officers. That’s when both officers fire their tasers.  One hits Shah Alam but has no effect. The other appears to malfunction.

The officers then tackle Shah Alam to the ground and handcuff him. 

During the struggle, he bites both officers. More officers arrive along with an ambulance. Once subdued, Shah Alam is placed on a stretcher, where officers said they smelled alcohol.

Officers attempted to communicate with him, but it appeared that they could not understand the language he is speaking. The only English words he speaks are “OK” and “I love you,” which he sings from the back of the ambulance.

The video ends as EMS takes Shah Alam into Erie County Medical Center.