New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation today released its report on the death of Eudes Pierre, who died on December 20, 2021, following an encounter with members of the New York City Police Department (NYPD). Following an exhaustive investigation, including thorough review of body-worn camera (BWC) footage, street surveillance cameras, and security video, OSI determined that criminal charges could not be pursued against the officers in this matter.
At 4:15 a.m. on December 20, 2021, an individual called 911 and reported that a tall, bald, Black man, approximately 26-years-old, was on the sidewalk near 1090 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn with a gun and a knife. The investigation would later reveal that Mr. Pierre had made the call to 911 and was describing himself.
The responding NYPD officers encountered Mr. Pierre on the street with a knife in his hand. Mr. Pierre then walked down into a subway station. The officers followed and saw Mr. Pierre on the other side of the turnstiles with the knife still in his hand. The officers attempted to engage with Mr. Pierre and asked him to drop the weapon multiple times. Mr. Pierre then began walking towards the officers with the knife in his hand and the officers fired tasers at him. Mr. Pierre did not react to the tasers and continued to walk towards the officers to exit the station. The officers retreated.
Once above ground, back on Eastern Parkway, the officers continued to retreat until Mr. Pierre, still wielding the knife, charged at one officer. The officer tried to outrun him, but when Mr. Pierre got within a few feet of the officer, he turned and fired his weapon as he stumbled to the ground. A second officer also fired his weapon. Officers called for emergency medical services and Mr. Pierre was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Officers recovered a knife at the scene.
Under New York’s justification law, a person may use deadly physical force to defend against the imminent use of deadly physical force by another. To convict a person of a crime when the defense of justification is raised at trial, the prosecution must disprove justification beyond a reasonable doubt.
In this case, officers repeatedly engaged with Mr. Pierre in an attempt to deescalate the situation and get Mr. Pierre to drop the weapon. Ultimately the officers retreated from the subway station when Mr. Pierre was not responsive to those directives. Video evidence shows Mr. Pierre then charging at an officer with the knife. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that the officers who shot Mr. Pierre reasonably believed that their lives or the lives of other officers were in danger. Under these circumstances, given the law and the evidence, a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officers who fired were justified, and OSI determined that criminal charges could not be pursued against the officers in this case.
