By Hank Russell
A Suffolk County police officer involved in a fatal April shooting in Brentwood has been cleared of any wrongdoing, according to an investigation completed by the New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI).
The OSI announced on November 13 that, upon completion of the investigation into the death of Bruce Boyd, it has concluded that a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the officer’s use of deadly physical force was justified under the law. Additionally, the OSI issued a Notification of Investigative Findings regarding the investigation into the death of Bruce Boyd.
On April 4 at approximately 12:07 p.m., SCPD officers reported to a house in Brentwood in response to a request for a wellness check. When officers arrived, they knocked on the door but got no answer. A neighbor approached from across the street and put Boyd’s wife, who was at work, on the phone with an officer who told her the police were at her house to check on her husband. The officers waited for Boyd’s wife to arrive back at the house.
When Boyd’s wife arrived, she opened the front door of the house and walked in, then ran out of the house moments later, according to the report. Officers backed across the front lawn as Boyd emerged from an interior hallway covered in blood and holding a knife in each hand.
Boyd exited the house with the knife in his left hand raised above his head and ran across the front lawn toward one officer, as officers repeatedly called Boyd’s name and instructed him to drop the knife. When Boyd was within a few feet of one officer, holding the knife above his own head, officers discharged their service weapons, striking Boyd. Officers recovered two knives at the scene.
The incident was captured on officers’ body-worn cameras. (Warning: Graphic content.)
“Pursuant to New York State Executive Law Section 70-b, OSI assesses every incident reported to it where a police officer or a peace officer, including a corrections officer, may have caused the death of a person by an act or omission.” the OSI stated. “Under the law, the officer may be on-duty or off-duty, and the decedent may be armed or unarmed. Also, the decedent may or may not be in custody or incarcerated. If OSI’s assessment indicates an officer may have caused the death, OSI proceeds to conduct a full investigation of the incident.”
A final Investigation Report will follow.