The New York Attorney General's Office of Special Investigation (OSI) has launched an investigation into the death of a civilian following an encounter with New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers in Queens. The incident, which occurred on April 14, 2025, involved NYPD's response to multiple 911 calls about a man reportedly wielding a knife on 31st Street.
According to a statement, the confrontation happened around 6:21 a.m. Officers on the scene found the man walking under the elevated train tracks, allegedly carrying a knife. Despite being ordered to drop the weapon, the man did not comply, leading officers to discharge their service weapons. The man was hit and later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. A knife was reportedly recovered at the scene.
Under New York State Executive Law Section 70-b, OSI investigates any incident involving a police or peace officer where an action or inaction may have resulted in death. This applies regardless of whether the officer was on duty, and whether the deceased was armed, and includes both cases where the individual was in custody and not incarcerated. If the preliminary assessment by OSI suggests an officer may have played a role in the death, a full investigation into the incident is conducted.
The details currently available are preliminary and may change as the investigation continues.