New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) released its report on the death of Yi Qin Chen, who died on November 14, 2023, after a motor vehicle incident involving an off-duty peace officer with the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) Police on November 13, 2023. Following a thorough investigation, which included review of security camera footage, review of the involved officer’s recorded interview, and comprehensive legal analysis, OSI concluded that a prosecutor would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the involved DSNY officer committed a crime, and therefore criminal charges are not warranted in this case.
On November 13, 2023 at 9:29 p.m., an off-duty DSNY officer was driving his personal vehicle southwest-bound on Eleventh Avenue in Brooklyn. Eleventh Avenue is a two-lane, two-direction street running northeast to southwest. 64th Street is a one-way street with southeast traffic that crosses Eleventh Avenue. There are overhead traffic signals and pedestrian crosswalk signals at the intersection of Eleventh Avenue and 64th Street. As the officer approached the intersection of Eleventh Avenue and 64th Street, he had a green light and turned left. Ms. Chen was walking southwest on the sidewalk of Eleventh Avenue with a steady “walk” signal. As she approached the intersection, Ms. Chen entered the crosswalk, where the off-duty officer struck her with his vehicle.
In New York, proving criminally negligent homicide requires proving beyond a reasonable doubt that a person failed to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that death would occur; that the failure to perceive the risk was a gross deviation from a reasonable person’s standard of care; and that the person engaged in blameworthy conduct. In this case, the officer was driving in the correct lane and had a green light as he approached the intersection of Eleventh Avenue and 64th Street. The officer slowed down his vehicle as he made the left-hand turn, traveling at a speed of no more than 10 MPH.
The officer was administered a preliminary breath test (PBT) within an hour of the collision, and there is no evidence to suggest that he was impaired by drugs or alcohol or that he was otherwise distracted at the time of the crash.
In this case, though the collision caused Ms. Chen’s death, the evidence did not provide reason to believe that the officer’s conduct was a gross deviation from the standard that would have been observed by a reasonable person in the same circumstances, or that the officer consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death. Therefore, OSI concluded that there was insufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges.
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