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In an announcement on Wednesday, Sept. 18, New York Attorney General Letitia James' Office of Special Investigation revealed the results of its investigation into the shooting of 37-year-old New Rochelle resident Jerrel Garris during an incident that happened in New Rochelle on July 3, 2023.
The investigation found that a prosecutor would "not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial" that New Rochelle Detective Steven Conn's use of force against Garris was justified under New York State law, James' office said.
On the day of the shooting, around 4:30 p.m., the New Rochelle Farms grocery store at 33 Lincoln Ave. reported a theft to police and gave officers a description of the suspect. Officers then found a man matching this description, Garris, on Lincoln Avenue near North Avenue and proceeded to confront him.
The officers that arrived, Kari Bird and Gabrielle Chavarry, tried asking Garris what he was doing and if he was eating food from the store. However, Garris would not respond, the Attorney General's Office said.
A third officer, Conn, then placed one handcuff on Garris, setting off a physical struggle. Conn directed one of the other officers involved to use her Taser-like device on Garris, but she could not get a clear shot and did not use it.
During the confrontation, Garris allegedly grabbed Bird's gun to try and remove it from the holster. This led to Detective Steven Conn yelling "gun!" before shooting Garris with one round from his department-issued firearm.
Garris was then taken to Westchester Medical Center and later died from his injuries on Monday, July 10.
Shortly after the shooting, James' office began looking at body-worn camera footage and security camera footage and conducting interviews with those involved as part of its investigation into the incident.
According to the Attorney General's Office, under New York law, a police officer can use deadly physical force when they believe it is necessary to defend against the use of such force by another. Because Garris had his hands on an officer's gun, Conn deployed his weapon because he believed he needed to protect himself and others, officials said.
"Given the circumstances and based on the law and the evidence, a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the officer’s use of deadly force was justified," officials added.
Despite this, the Attorney General's Office recommended that the New Rochelle Police Department update its training and policies for such petty nonviolent situations to "provide officers with objective criteria for assessing if using physical force to make an arrest is warranted."
"As the present case shows, the proper use of this discretion could mean the difference between life and death," the investigation report reads.
According to the Attorney General's Office, the department should implement criteria regarding determinations such as whether or not the suspect is physically combative or passively non-compliant; if there are ways to get them to comply without using physical force; if law enforcement officers at the scene have been trained in de-escalation tactics or interacting with people experiencing mental health crises; and if all other nonviolent de-escalation methods were tried.
Following the Attorney General's Office's announcement, New Rochelle city officials released a statement on their findings:
"The City of New Rochelle accepts [James'] decision and remains confident of the professionalism and integrity of the men and women of its police department...Whenever a police officer uses deadly force, no matter how straightforward or complex the episode appears, it is a deeply traumatic event for a community such as ours, and it must be scrutinized from every possible angle, no matter how long it takes."
City officials also added that the New Rochelle Police Department would now continue its own investigation into the incident to determine if policies and procedures were followed.
"The department appreciates the recommendations made by the Attorney General’s office in its report and will give them its fullest consideration," New Rochelle officials said.
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