NORTHAMPTON — Those close to Zakaria Fakhir say he, too, was a victim of the accident in which he struck Northampton Detective Brendan McKinney with his vehicle last month.
Fakhir, 61, of Easthampton,died last week after he began suffering liver failure in the days following the July 5 crash. McKinney remains on leave as he heals from his injuries.
“He’s doing OK,” police Capt. John Cartledge said Thursday of McKinney, saying privacy laws prevent him from getting more specific. “He’s still out and recovering at home.”
Friends of Fakhir say he was treated harshly by the criminal justice system in Hampshire County during the last weeks of his life. Meriam Elgarf, a longtime friend and caregiver to Fakhir, said a mere glance at his yellow complexion in Gazette photos taken of him in court show he was too sick to be brought there. She said the whole ordeal accelerated his already-pending death.
Fakhir was diagnosed with liver cancer 18 months ago.
“I think this is what caused his situation to get worse, because he felt humiliated,” she said of Fakhir, who worked part-time as an auxiliary police officer with the Holyoke Police Department. “For him to be thrown in jail with criminals, for him as a captain, it wasn’t easy.”
Fakhir also worked full-time at ServiceNet, but friends say law enforcement was long a passion. Fakhir had a black belt in martial arts and was always the type to defend his friends against bad actors. They said he’d wanted to be a police officer since he was a child.
“He was really heartbroken,” Elgarf said of the accident, adding she wished officers took him to the hospital instead of to prison. “They didn’t consider his illness.”
Elgarf said his pain reached a new level the day of the crash, and that Fakhir was heading to get more medication when he hit McKinney. She said he was always a very proud man, and had difficulty admitting weakness and asking friends for help.
“I wish — if he called one of us to get his prescription this wouldn’t have happened,” she said.
Mary Carey, a spokeswoman for the Northwestern district attorney’s office, said charges against Fakhir were dropped.
“We are sorry for the family’s loss,” she said in a statement. “There is no way of knowing what effect, if any, the criminal charges against Mr. Fakhir had on his already declining health. We are relieved that the Northampton police officer who was struck is on the road to recovery.”
Elgarf said Fakhir spent two nights in jail without his medication.
Hampshire County Sheriff Patrick Cahillane said privacy laws prevent him from commenting on the medical needs of inmates, but spoke generally of practices at the Hampshire County Jail and House of Correction.
“Once an individual arrives at the jail they are usually evaluated by the medical department, especially in the case if there’s a medical issue,” he said. “And then any medical issues would be addressed at that time.”
Officer Andrew Kohl, who witnessed the crash, wrote in his report that McKinney flew into the air when he was hit and was pinned between Fakhir’s Hummer and the cruiser. He wrote that McKinney, who retained consciousness, had road rash on his legs, a cut beneath the chin, and bruising to the ribcage.
Police reports show Fakhir informed officers on scene of his cancer, and told them he took 10 milligrams of oxycodone about an hour and a half prior to the incident. When struggling to perform what was required during a field sobriety test, Fakhir told Officer Jeffrey Staples that he “used medication and was tired.”
“We found him to be impaired and he was arrested,” Cartledge said.
Later during booking, Staples wrote that he found a prescription bottle of lorazepam, at which time Fakhir said he’d also taken one of those with his oxycodone.
Elgarf said Fakhir continued working until the day of the accident.
“Even though he was suffering he didn’t want to give up,” she said.
She said probation officers instructed him on July 19 to come for an appointment and drug testing, but Fakhir was too sick to come. She said they threatened to come arrest him. She said he stopped talking and walking after that.
“He was in shock,” she said. “If this accident didn’t happen he could last for a while.”
Friends called him a hard worker. They said he would often crack jokes and he loved to sing.
He was a very, very good, gentle man,” Elgarf said.
“He’d walk into a cafe, buy a bunch of cookies and hand them out to people,” said another friend, Hassan Oulbeid, of Easthampton.
For Hafid Assab, owner of Mosaic Cafe in Northampton, Fakhir was honorary “Uncle Zak” to his son.
“I’ve never heard something bad about him,” said Assab, who helped take him to doctors’ offices in the past few weeks. “He was like my brother.”
Jean Dietrich, a colonel with the auxiliary police department in Holyoke, said the department is planning a service for Fakhir, who served the department for 17 years.
“Everyone felt his passing,” she said. “Everyone felt bad, because like we said, we’re family.”
Elgarf said she’d never seen Fakhir cry like he did talking about the accident and its aftermath.
“It’s not easy for a man to cry,” she said. “This impacted his dignity, and his health.”
Oulbeid said it was a shame to see what happened to his friend.
“He’s a very strong person,” he said. “Just too many things at once — it kind of breaks you down.”
Amanda Drane can be contacted at adrane@gazettenet.com.