New York – New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) today released its report on the death of Edward Holmes, who died on February 24, 2024, after an encounter with members of the Buffalo Police Department (BPD) in Buffalo. Following a thorough investigation, which included a review of body-worn camera footage, interviews with involved officers, and comprehensive legal analysis, OSI concluded that a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the officers’ actions against Mr. Holmes were justified under New York law.
On the morning of February 24, BPD officers responded to a 911 call reporting a man armed with a shotgun on Reed Street in Buffalo. Upon arrival, BPD officers encountered Mr. Holmes in the middle of the street, armed with a shotgun. Officers got out of their vehicles and repeatedly directed Mr. Holmes to put down his weapon. Mr. Holmes did not comply and fired his weapon. When officers saw the gun pointed at them, they discharged their service weapons in response, striking Mr. Holmes. Mr. Holmes was pronounced dead at the scene.
Under New York’s justification law, a police officer may use physical force to the extent they reasonably believe it to be necessary when arresting or attempting to arrest someone for a crime. The use of deadly physical force is justified under this law when the officer reasonably believes it to be necessary to defend themselves or another person from deadly physical force. In this case, Mr. Holmes was holding a shotgun in public, fired it, and began to point it at the officers, putting both the officers and any bystanders in danger.
Under these circumstances, based on the law and the evidence, a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the officers’ use of force to stop Mr. Holmes was justified; therefore OSI determined that criminal charges could not be pursued in this matter.