48°
The incident place in Rockland County on Tuesday, May 30 on West Broadway in Central Nyack.
According to Detective Norm Peters of the Clarkstown Police, officers initially responded to the home for a domestic call.
Upon arrival, they met Sean Harris, age 19, standing on the porch with a metal baseball bat.
They also met with his mother and a mental health counselor that had been assigned to him, Peters said.
Peters said the counselor said that she was inside the residence trying to communicate with Harris in the basement, but he refused to talk.
He then came into the kitchen area, where both she and the mother were talking, started destroying items with a baseball bat, and threatened to kill his mother.
It was at this point the counselor left the residence and called the police, Peters said.
Officers communicated with Harris several times to drop the bat, which he refused. An officer attempted to disarm him. Harris was struck by a less lethal impact munition on the lower left abdomen and retreated into his home.
Although officers continued attempting to communicate with him while he was in the home, he refused to engage, police said.
Officers were able to see that he was moving about the house as he walked past windows.
The Clarkstown Police Department Negotiator Team was utilized at this time and was able to successfully start a dialogue with Harris, Peters said. While communicating with our negotiation team, Harris made additional threats to officers, stating that he was in possession of a Glock 17 handgun.
The Crisis Negotiator Team continued negotiations with Harris for over an hour after which he ceased communicating with the negotiators.
After numerous attempts to re-establish communication, it was decided for Clarkstown Police Critical Incident Response Team to enter the home.
At this point, CIRT members on scene made entry into the home, where they found Harris, in a seated position in the bathroom. Next to him, officers observed approximately two dozen opened pill bottles containing hundreds of pills.
Officers removed Harris from the bathroom and began performing CPR. Rockland Medics and ambulance staff entered the home and resumed medical care.
Harris was transported to Montefiore Nyack Hospital where he was pronounced dead, Peters said.
The official cause of death has not been ruled on by the Rockland County Medical Examiner's office at this time.
An investigation is underway, as well as a Special Investigation by the Office of the State Attorney General.
This is a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Greenburgh and receive free news updates.
