BOROUGHWIDE – STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation on Friday released its report on the death of Royston Bacchus, who was shot last year by police officers.
After an investigation, which included interviews with the involved officers, reviews of bodycam footage and forensic and ballistics evidence, and legal analysis, OSI determined that the officers would likely not be proven unjustified in the shooting, and declined to pursue charges.
At 9:11 a.m. on Oct. 5, police officers responding to a 911 call reporting a violation of an order of protection on East 86th Street found Bacchus exiting the building, then pursued him on foot to Coventry Road, where he stopped running. Bacchus was holding a gun and waving it from side to side. When officers commanded him to drop the gun, he said, “Shoot me,” while continuing to point the gun at them. One officer then fired, striking Bacchus. He was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
In New York, police officers may use deadly physical force when the officer reasonably believes it to be necessary to defend against the use of deadly physical force by another.
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