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On Friday, Sept. 15, New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation announced that no charges would be filed in the January 2023 fatal officer-involved shooting of 34-year-old Christopher Torres in the Putnam County town of Southeast.
On the day of the incident, Tuesday, Jan. 10, two Putnam County Sheriff's Office officers, Senior Investigator Randel Hill and Deputy Shane Haley, fatally shot Torres, a Carmel resident, to stop him from further attacking Alixandra Albano Richardson.
Earlier in the day, Torres had abducted Richardson on Amawalk Road in Kent before driving her to Southeast near Fields Corner Road and Barrett Road. He was then shot after the officers witnessed him move the knife to her throat, the Attorney General's Office said.
Authorities then attempted to revive Torres, but he later died at the scene. Richardson was taken to Westchester County Medical Center in critical condition following the attack.
The Office of Special Investigation began a probe into the shooting days after it occured, as it routinely assesses incidents where police officers "may have caused the death of a person, by an act or omission," officials said.
Based on the results of the probe, the office concluded that a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the actions of Hill and Haley were justified.
Officials further explained that under New York law, a person may use deadly physical force to defend against the "imminent use of deadly physical force by another person."
"In this case, Mr. Torres was actively harming another person with a knife and ignoring requests to stop. Under these circumstances, given the law and the evidence, a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the deputies involved were justified in their actions," officials said as part of the office's announcement on Friday.
Following the attack, over $28,000 was raised for Richardson through a GoFundMe fundraiser page as she began her recovery process.
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