Two New York City police officers will not be charged A 19-year-old man was shot dead His mother and brother pleaded with officers during a mental health crisis last year not to open fire, state Attorney General Letitia James’ office said Thursday.
Police body camera video showed Wayne Rosario being shot five times by officers at his family home in Queens on March 27, 2024, when he approached them holding a pair of scissors in his hand. According to police, someone at the home called 911 and told a dispatcher, “I think my son is on drugs and is acting erratic.”
“The District Attorney will not be able to refute beyond a reasonable doubt that the officers’ use of deadly force against Mr. Rosario was justified and, therefore, will not seek charges,” James’s Office of Special Investigations concluded in its report.
The report also stated that the plausibility of the fear felt by the two officers, Salvatore Alongi and Matthew Cianfrucco, when Rosario attacked them with scissors could not be refuted beyond a reasonable doubt. However, both officers still face internal disciplinary proceedings over allegations of excessive force by the city’s Civilian Complaint Review Board, as well as a lawsuit filed by Rosario’s family.
Rosario’s mother, Nutan Eva Costa, his father, Francis Rosario, and his brother, Ocho Rosario, criticized the decision not to prosecute the officers.
“The cowardly decision by State Attorney General Letitia James not to charge NYPD Officers Matthew Cianfrocco and Salvatore Alongi with the murder of our beloved son and brother, Wayne Rosario, makes it seem like we are watching Wayne get murdered again,” they said in a statement issued by the advocacy group Justice Committee.
“We were safe in our home until Officers Cianfrocco and Alongi came in and caused chaos,” they said. “The NYPD should not be dealing with people having a mental health episode.”
The district attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request to respond to the family’s comments Thursday evening.
The Office of Special Investigations report recommends expanding a citywide pilot program that sends paramedics and mental health professionals as first responders to mental health emergency calls. It also recommends more training for officers to respond to such calls. She says the state should enact a law that allows public health-based responses for people experiencing a mental health crisis or alcohol or drug abuse.
Mayor-elect Zahran Mamdani’s platform includes expanding mental health services throughout the city, including health professionals responding to mental health crises reported in 911 calls.
“Wayne Rosario’s death was a senseless tragedy that has caused pain to many New Yorkers, especially his loved ones,” Mamdani said in a statement Thursday.
He noted that the officers face potential discipline and added: “What does not change in today’s decision is our commitment to do everything we can to ensure this does not happen again, our commitment to providing the social services New Yorkers deserve, and our investment in both true public safety and justice for all.”
After officers entered Rosario’s home, Rosario grabbed a pair of scissors in the kitchen and took a few quick steps toward the officers, prompting one of them to fire his stun gun, police body camera video showed. Razario’s mother then snatched the scissors away while holding them, and police ordered her to get out of their way, prompting her to plead “Don’t shoot” as she placed the scissors on a chair and stepped aside.
The situation then quickly escalated, as one of the officers fired the stun gun again, and Rosario picked up the scissors and walked toward the police. One of the officers then fired his gun at Rosario, who was then rushed by her mother, followed by her younger son who tried to pull her away.
“Please don’t shoot my mom!” Rosario’s brother cries.
“Get her out of the way!” Police scream. Rosario’s mother and brother fall to the ground.
The officers then shot again at Rosario as he walked toward them with the scissors.
Patrick Hendry, president of the Police Benevolent Association of New York City, a police union, said the district attorney’s office made the right decision not to prosecute the officers.
“These police officers were put in an extremely difficult situation and forced to make split-second decisions based on the risks to everyone in that setting,” he said in a statement.