New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) released its report on the death of Sofia Gomez, who died on October 8, 2020 following an encounter with a member of Highway District 1 of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) on October 5, 2020 in Bronx County. Following a thorough investigation, including review of dashboard camera footage from the NYPD vehicle and a civilian vehicle, interviews with witnesses and the involved officer, and interviews with an expert in motor vehicle incidents and NYPD officials, OSI concluded that a prosecutor would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that criminal charges are warranted in this case.
On the afternoon of October 5, 2020, an NYPD officer assigned to Highway District 1 responded to a call for backup on the Throgs Neck Bridge in the Bronx. The officer was driving in a marked NYPD vehicle with the sirens on and turret lights activated. As the officer was in transit to the Throgs Neck Bridge, he received a transmission over the radio stating, “shots fired,” and so he increased his speed. While driving eastbound on Pelham Parkway South, the officer approached the intersection at Wallace Avenue while traveling at a speed of more than 60 MPH and went through a standing red light. At that moment, Ms. Gomez was crossing Pelham Parkway South in the crosswalk and the officer struck her with his vehicle. Ms. Gomez was taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead on October 8, 2020.
Under OSI’s analysis of New York’s Vehicle & Traffic Law, and Penal Law, and case law articulated by New York’s highest court, a police officer who causes a death while properly responding in a police vehicle to an emergency 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 actor 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 is responsible for Ms. Gomez’s death, the evidence does not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer’s conduct was a gross deviation of 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 he was responding to an emergency, including a report of “shots fired.” He took precautions before passing through the red light by activating his emergency lights and sirens and, when the officer did see Ms. Gomez, he braked, slowing from 65 MPH to 58 MPH, and turned the wheel to avoid the collision. There was no evidence that the officer was impaired by drugs or alcohol, or was texting or on a phone call or otherwise distracted. Therefore, OSI concluded that there was insufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges.
The NYPD’s patrol guide requires that if qualified to do so, the patrol supervisor must administer an alcohol test to any police officer involved in a collision that results in a death, and if not qualified, the patrol supervisor should request a qualified Highway Unit officer to administer the test. A test was not administered to the officer until almost two hours after the collision. While there is no evidence the officer in question was impaired or intoxicated, OSI recommends that all patrol supervisors be trained in administering alcohol breath tests to avoid similar delays in the future.
The OSI also recommends that NYPD heighten the security of their radio transmissions. The officer increased his speed after a radio transmission indicated shots had been fired. The OSI investigation revealed that this transmission came from an unknown source and that the NYPD should heighten radio security to decrease the risk of outside transmissions, such as this one, that may affect police investigations and emergency responses.
Finally, OSI recommends that every NYPD officer receive Emergency Vehicle Operator Course (EVOC) training once per year in an effort to prevent future collisions between police cars and civilians.
Original source can be found here.