New York AG releases footage of deadly police shooting of man holding scissors

UPI
New York Attorney General Letitia James has released footage from two New York Police Department officers' bodycams recording the fatal March 27 shooting of a man armed with a pair of scissors. File photo by John Angelillo/UPI

May 4 (UPI) -- New York Attorney General Letitia James has released police bodycam footage of a fatal encounter between New York Police Department officers and a 19-year-old man wielding a pair of scissors.

A 911 call for help to the NYPD from Win Rozario ended with his fatal shooting on March 27.

James on Friday released police bodycam footage from the two officers involved in the shooting death of the man. Each video runs for about 3 minutes.

"The release of these videos follows Attorney General James' directive that camera footage obtained by her office in the course of an [Office of Special Investigation] investigation be released to the public in order to increase transparency and strengthen public trust in these matters," her office said.

Two NYPD officers identified in the video footage as officers Cianfranco and Alongi show them arriving at the home at 103rd and 101st Ave. in the New York City borough of Queens.

Rozario's 17-year-old brother answered the door and said Win Rozario was the one who called 911.

Rozario was "having an episode," his younger brother told the officers, who asked if he had been diagnosed with any mental health problems or had taken any drugs.

The brother led the two officers up a stairway to the home's second floor, where Win Rozario and his mother were located.

The footage shows the officers approaching Win Rozario and suddenly backing away as he aggressively advanced toward them while armed with a pair of scissors.

Both officers are then shown arming themselves with tasers and yelling at Rozario's mother to get out of the way after tasing him, but she knocks the taser prongs from Rosario's body.

He struggles with his mother and younger brother and then again approaches the officers, who again try to stop him with their tasers.

When Rozario continues approaching them while armed with scissors, the officers fire several shots in response, striking him several times.

Rozario was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The officers recovered a pair of scissors at the scene.

The New York Attorney General's Office of Special Investigation is looking into the matter, and both officers are on modified assignments while the investigation is underway, WABC-TV and WCBS-TV reported.

Rozario's family says the shooting wasn't necessary and the officers should be tried for murder.