Attorney General James’ Office of Special Investigation Releases Report on Death of a Civilian in Suffolk County

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) today released its report on the death of A.S., a minor, who died on September 13, 2023, following a motor vehicle collision involving a member of the Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD) in Suffolk County on September 9, 2023. Following a thorough investigation, which included review and analysis of video footage from a nearby residence, interviews with the involved officer and civilian witnesses, and comprehensive legal analysis, OSI determined that a prosecutor would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the involved officer committed a crime, and therefore criminal charges would not be pursued in this matter.

On the evening of September 9, an SCPD officer was driving southbound on William Floyd Parkway responding to a medical emergency in a marked police vehicle with the emergency lights and siren activated. William Floyd Parkway has four main lanes – two southbound and two northbound – divided by a grass median. The southbound roadway, north of Adobe Drive, has two additional lanes, a left-turn lane and a right-turn lane. The posted speed limit on William Floyd Parkway in the vicinity of Adobe Drive is 30 MPH. As the officer approached the intersection with Adobe Drive/Beacon Street, she maneuvered around a car stopped ahead of her and entered the travel lane to the right of the left-turn lane and proceeded into the intersection through a green traffic light, traveling at a speed over 85 MPH. When the officer entered the intersection, she struck A.S., who was riding his bicycle east from Beacon Street across William Floyd Parkway. A.S. was transported to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries on September 13, 2023.

Under OSI’s analysis of New York’s Vehicle and Traffic Law, Penal Law, and case law from New York’s highest court, a police officer who causes a death while properly responding to an emergency in a police vehicle cannot be charged with a crime unless the officer acts recklessly or intentionally. The criminal charge that requires recklessness is Manslaughter in the Second Degree, in which a person is guilty when they recklessly cause the death of another person. “Recklessly” means that the person consciously disregards a “substantial and unjustifiable” risk of death and that their actions are a “gross deviation” from a reasonable standard of conduct.

In this case, while the officer caused A.S.’s death, the evidence does not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer’s conduct was a gross deviation from the standard that would have been observed by a reasonable officer in the same circumstances, or that the officer consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death. The officer was speeding because she was responding to an emergency. She took precautionary measures by activating her vehicle’s emergency lights and siren, and when the officer saw A.S., she attempted to swerve around him. There was not any evidence that the officer was impaired by drugs or alcohol, or that she was otherwise distracted at the time of the crash. OSI therefore will not pursue charges against the officer.

Determining the possibility of alcohol impairment is an essential component of investigating vehicular crashes. In this case, the officer was never administered a Portable Breath Test (PBT) after the incident. While there is no evidence that the officer driving the car was impaired by drugs or alcohol, OSI recommends that all precinct supervisors be trained in the administration of PBTs and field sobriety tests so that any on-duty or off-duty police officer, or any civilian, involved in a motor vehicle collision can be tested as close to the time of the collision as practicable to ensure the most accurate results.

OSI also recommends that SCPD equip all police vehicles with dashboard cameras that automatically record when officers activate the police car’s emergency lights to foster transparency, accountability, and evidence gathering. In this case, the officer’s vehicle was equipped with a dashcam, but the officer did not activate the dashcam when she activated the car’s emergency lights or sirens.