NEW YORK – Today New York Attorney General Letitia James officially opened the Office of Special Investigations (OSI). report on the death of Delroy Morris in Brooklyn. After a thorough investigation, including a review of security camera footage, radio broadcasts, witness statements, and investigations’ In light of the incident, OSI decided not to warrant criminal charges in this case.
On the night of July 25, 2020, two officers with the New York City Police Department (NYPD) responded to a 911 call reporting a man shot at the intersection of Wythe Avenue and Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Officers drove west on Metropolitan Avenue in a marked NYPD car with sirens and lights. The officer driving the car slowed down on Driggs Avenue before running a steady red light. which is allowed under New York’s Motor Vehicle and Vehicle Law when police respond to an emergency. While crossing the intersection, the car hit Mr. Morris, who was traveling south on Driggs Street on a motorcycle. Mr. threw away. Morris from the motorcycle, which was stopped under a car. Morris was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead in the early hours of July 26, 2023.
The NYPD’s Collision Investigation Squad (CIS) reconstructed the incident and confirmed that the NYPD officer was driving approximately 23 MPH, applied the brakes before entering the intersection, and was not impaired. The officer was given a breathalyzer test after the accident, and it was negative. CIS recorded that Mr. Morris was traveling between 37 and 49 MPH before the crash.
Under New York law, the conviction of criminally negligent homicide requires establishing beyond a reasonable doubt that a person could not have known a serious and unprovoked condition that would have caused the death; that failure to recognize the risk of a parent other than the reasonable standard of care of a person; and the person who committed the acts is guilty. In this case, there was no evidence that the officer was acting inappropriately, or that he was speeding or impaired, and therefore the OSI confirmed that it could not pursue criminal charges. against the officer.
NYPD policy requires that, if authorized to do so, a patrol supervisor must administer a breathalyzer test to any officer who a involved in a collision resulting in a fatality. The police supervisor who arrived at the scene a few minutes after the accident, was not qualified to test the driver, so the police were not tested until the last two hours. but, when CIS arrived. Although there is no evidence that the officer in question was impaired or intoxicated, OSI recommends that all patrol officers be trained at four conducting breathalyzer tests to avoid such delays in the future.
OSI also recommends that the NYPD require any officer whose duties involve the use of NYPD vehicles to requalify for an emergency vehicle operator’s license every five years.