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Two new york city Police officers will not be charged in the shooting death of a 19-year-old man during a mental health crisis last year because his mother and brother begged officers not to shoot, the state attorney general said. letitia james‘ the office said on Thursday.
Vin Rosario was shot five times by officers at his family home queens on March 27, 2024, when he came at them with scissors in his hand, police body camera video showed. According to police, a person at the home called 911 and told a dispatcher, “I think my son is on drugs and is acting crazy.”
The Office of Special Investigations in James’s office concluded in its report that “a prosecutor would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officers’ use of deadly force against Mr. Rosario was justified and, therefore, charges will not be sought.”
The report also said that the reasonableness of the fear that the officers, Salvatore Alongi and Matthew Cianfrocco, felt when Rosario approached with the scissors could not be ruled out beyond reasonable doubt. However, both officers still face an internal disciplinary trial by the city’s Civilian Complaint Review Board on allegations of excessive force, as well as a lawsuit by Rosario’s family.
Rosario’s mother, Naughton Eva Costa, his father, Francis Rosario, and his brother, Utsho Rosario, criticized the officers’ decision not to prosecute.
“State Attorney General Letitia James’s cowardly decision not to prosecute NYPD “The conviction of Officers Matthew Cianfrocco and Salvatore Alongi for the murder of our beloved son and brother, Vin Rosario, feels as if we are watching Vin being murdered again,” he said in a statement released by the Justice Committee advocacy group.
“We were safe in our home until Officers Cianfrocco and Alongi came in and created chaos,” he said. “The NYPD should not be involved with people experiencing a mental health episode.”
The attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the family’s comments Thursday evening.
The Office of Special Investigations report recommends expanding a pilot program citywide that dispatches paramedics and mental health professionals as first responders to mental health emergency calls. It also recommends more training for officers to respond to such calls. And it says states should enact laws allowing public health-based responses to people experiencing mental health, alcohol use, or substance abuse crises.
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s platform includes expanding mental health services across the city, including having health professionals respond to mental health crises reported in 911 calls.
“Vin Rosario’s death was a senseless tragedy that caused pain to many New Yorkers, especially their loved ones,” Mamdani said in a statement Thursday.
He said the officers face possible discipline and added, “What today’s decision does not change is our obligation to do everything in our power to ensure this never happens again, our commitment to providing the social services New Yorkers deserve, and our investment in both genuine public safety and justice for all.”
After officers entered Rosario’s home, Rosario picked up a pair of scissors in the kitchen and took a few quick steps toward the officers, causing one of them to fire a Taser, as shown in police body camera video. Razario’s mother then grabbed the scissors while holding her and the police ordered her out of their way, to which she pleaded “Don’t shoot” and placed the scissors on a chair and stepped aside.
The situation then quickly escalated, with an officer firing a Taser again and Rosario picking up scissors and walking toward police. An officer then pointed his gun at Rosario, whose mother ran toward her, followed by her young son, who tried to pull her away.
“Please don’t shoot my mother!” Rosario’s brother cries.
“Get him out of the way!” Police shouted. Rosario’s mother and brother fell to the floor.
As Rosario walked toward them carrying the scissors, the officers opened fire again.
Patrick Hendry, president of the Police Benevolent Association, a New York City police union, said the Attorney General’s Office made the right decision by not prosecuting the officers.
“These police officers were placed in an incredibly difficult situation and were forced to make split-second decisions based on the risks to everyone at that location,” he said in a statement.
