New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) released its report on the death of Michael Dotel, who died on December 23, 2023 after an encounter with members of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) in the Bronx. Following a thorough investigation, which included interviews with the involved officers and civilian witnesses, review of body-worn camera footage, and comprehensive legal analysis, OSI concluded that a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the officer’s actions against Mr. Dotel were justified under New York law.
On the morning of December 23, NYPD officers responded to a 911 call reporting a violent, emotionally disturbed person at a residence in the Bronx. Upon arrival at the apartment, the officers found Mr. Dotel, stating that he was armed with a knife, holding a woman in a chokehold. Officers directed Mr. Dotel to drop the knife, but he did not comply. The woman being held by Mr. Dotel began to lose consciousness, prompting an officer to fire his service weapon at Mr. Dotel. Mr. Dotel was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Under New York’s justification law, a police officer may use deadly physical force to defend against the use of deadly physical force by another person. When the defense of justification is raised at trial, the prosecution must disprove justification beyond a reasonable doubt. In this case, when officers arrived on the scene, Mr. Dotel was holding a woman in a chokehold and the woman appeared to lose consciousness.
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 officer’s use of deadly force was justified, and as a result, OSI determined that criminal charges could not be pursued in this matter.
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