USAID requested a delay in wiping the device for an agency employee killed by an off-duty police officer in Israel

Several Days after a longtime USAID employee was killed by an off-duty Israeli police officer in Jaffa, an employee in the region reported the “seizure” of his government device to the development agency’s information technology office and said the iPhone was with local law enforcement. However, according to an exchange viewed by FedScoop, an official from the agency’s Israel/West Bank mission also requested that the team delay wiping the device due to an ongoing police investigation.

Jacob Toukhy – who had worked for USAID for more than two years He was reportedly shot by an off-duty Israeli police officer during a traffic dispute and was described by local media as an Arab Muslim who volunteered for the Israeli emergency services. The killing in Jaffa, a city on Israel’s central coast, was captured on video.

USAID’s response to the incident raises questions about policies regarding equipment procured by foreign police forces and governments, particularly during criminal investigations, during times of heightened tension and during war. USAID policy states that devices containing sensitive information that are no longer under organizational control should be purged, but FedScoop was unable to identify a specific policy for situations in which another country’s law enforcement agencies come into possession of a U.S. government device.

A former USAID official told FedScoop that the agency’s known protocol is to immediately report lost devices and that these devices will most likely be wiped. The agency did not comment on its protocol for interacting with law enforcement in other countries. In particular, a chapter on information systems security in the USAID Automated Directives System – a guide to the agency’s operations and programs – details USAID’s “Electronic Media Sanitation Standards,” which states that all information systems storage media containing sensitive information , “need to be cleaned up (d)” before “release from organizational control.” It is not clear what category this situation would have fallen into or whether any part of the ADS would have applied.

Emails viewed by FedScoop indicate that both Toukhy’s personal and official phones were located with the Israeli police as part of the ongoing investigation. The document also suggests that the State Department’s Regional Security Office was involved in the investigation.

“We are devastated by the death of our colleague and friend Jacob Toukhy, who was fatally shot by an off-duty police officer in Jaffa,” a USAID spokesperson said in a statement to FedScoop. “The U.S. Embassy in Israel and USAID have longstanding relationships with Israeli law enforcement and are in contact with them regarding their investigation into his death. Due to the ongoing investigation, we cannot comment on details.”

USAID did not respond to a number of questions from FedScoop about how to handle such situations. The State Department did not respond to FedScoop’s questions. A request for comment sent to a fundraiser honoring Toukhy’s life received no response.

Dolev Ben Shetrit, a spokesman for Israel’s Internal Police Investigations Department, told FedScoop that DIPI did not have Toukhy’s device, but did not clarify whether another component of Israel’s law enforcement had it or whether DIPI previously owned Toukhy’s iPhone.

“The investigation in question has been completed,” Shetrit said. “Therefore, in the coming days, the Internal Police Investigations Unit of the Public Prosecutor’s Office will examine the results of the investigation to decide whether there is sufficient evidence to bring charges against the police officer in question.” The deceased Jacob’s mobile phone or other digital possessions Toukhy are not in possession of the internal police investigation.”

In April, the US Embassy in Jerusalem said In a statement, he said it was “heartbroken to report that one of our own, Jacob Toukhy, was tragically killed in Jaffa last night,” adding: “Jacob was a valued member of our embassy community for over two decades.” A video The honor was also shared by the embassy. Jack Lew, the American ambassador to Israel, said that Toukhy was “known among his colleagues as someone who was infinitely kind and compassionate and wholeheartedly committed to making the world a better place.”

Local media reported that there was a protest focused on Israeli police delays in repatriating Toukhy’s body, citing Muslim burial practices.