New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) announced on Friday, Nov. 8, that no charges will be brought against the police officer involved in a vehicle collision which resulted in the death of a pedestrian, Sofia Gomez Aguilon, who died on Oct. 8, 2020, after being hit by a police vehicle on Oct. 5, 2020.

 

In a report released Friday following what was described as a thorough investigation, including a review of dashboard camera footage from the NYPD vehicle and a civilian vehicle also involved in the crash, interviews with witnesses and the involved officer, a member of the NYPD’s Highway District 1 unit, and interviews with an expert in motor vehicle incidents and NYPD officials, OSI concluded that a prosecutor would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that criminal charges were warranted in the case.

 

According to the OSI, and as reported at the time, on the afternoon of Oct. 5, 2020, an NYPD officer assigned to Highway District 1 responded to a call for back-up on the Throgs Neck Bridge in The Bronx. The officer was driving in a marked NYPD vehicle with the sirens on and turret lights activated.

 

As the officer was in transit to the Throgs Neck Bridge, he received a transmission over the radio stating, “shots fired,” and so he increased his speed. While driving eastbound on Pelham Parkway South, the officer approached the intersection at Wallace Avenue while traveling at a speed of more than 60 mph and went through a standing red light. At that moment, Gomez was crossing Pelham Parkway South in the crosswalk and the officer struck her with his vehicle.

 

Two patrol officers reportedly rendered aid to her until paramedics arrived, and she was later rushed to Jacobi Hospital where she died three days later on Thursday, Oct. 8.

 

According to OSI analysis of New York’s Vehicle & Traffic Law, and Penal Law, and case law articulated by New York’s highest court, a police officer who causes a death while properly responding in a police vehicle to an emergency cannot be charged with a crime unless the officer acts recklessly or intentionally.

 

The criminal charge that requires recklessness is manslaughter in the second degree, in which a person is guilty when they recklessly cause the death of another person. Recklessly means that the actor consciously disregards a “substantial and unjustifiable” risk of death and that their actions are a “gross deviation” from a reasonable standard of conduct.

 

OSI officials said that in this case, while the officer is responsible for Gomez’s death, the evidence did not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer’s conduct was a gross deviation of the standard that would have been observed by a reasonable officer in the same circumstances, or that the officer consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death.

 

They said the officer was speeding because he was responding to an emergency, including a report of “shots fired.” He took precautions before passing through the red light by activating his emergency lights and sirens and, when the officer saw Gomez, he braked, slowing from 65 MPH to 58 MPH, and turned the wheel to avoid the collision.

 

They said there was no evidence that the officer was impaired by drugs or alcohol, or was texting or on a phone call or otherwise distracted. Therefore, OSI concluded that there was insufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges.

 

The NYPD’s patrol guide requires that if qualified to do so, the patrol supervisor must administer an alcohol test to any police officer involved in a collision that results in a death, and if not qualified, the patrol supervisor should request a qualified Highway Unit officer to administer the test. OSI officials said a test was not administered to the officer until almost two hours after the collision. They said that while there is no evidence the officer in question was impaired or intoxicated, OSI recommends that all patrol supervisors be trained in administering alcohol breath tests to avoid similar delays in the future.

 

OSI officials said they also recommend that the NYPD heightens the security of their radio transmissions. They said the officer increased his speed after a radio transmission indicated shots had been fired. They said the OSI investigation revealed that this transmission came from an unknown source, and that the NYPD should heighten radio security to decrease the risk of outside transmissions, such as this one, that may affect police investigations and emergency responses.

 

Finally, OSI officials said they recommend that every NYPD officer receive emergency vehicle operator course (EVOC) training once per year in an effort to prevent future collisions between police cars and civilians.

 

As previously reported, the victim’s family had asked the public’s help in raising $15,000 to send her body back to her native Guatemala for burial.

 

Gomez Aguilon’s cousin, Roberto Perez, told several reporters at the time of her death, “The family is hurt [and] very, very sad.” He said he spoke with Gomez Aguilon’s father in Guatemala, adding, “He could not believe that this happened to his daughter.”

 

According to Perez, Gomez Aguilon worked at a bread factory and was coming from work the day of the accident. She got off the train at the Pelham Parkway subway station and as she attempted to cross Pelham Parkway South to go home, she was struck by the police vehicle.

 

Perez added that Gomez Aguilon had been in the United States for just three months at the time of her death and had wanted to study to become a nurse because she liked “helping people.” Gomez Aguilon’s sister, Maria Gomez, added in part, “She was very happy, very joyful.”

 

Click here to read our previous story on the aftermath of the incident and here to read a subsequent story on some other collision incidents in The Bronx.

 

In a separate case, in April, then-Police Commissioner Edward Caban determined that there was “no crime” by officers involved in the fatal shooting of Kawaski Trawick.

 

In August, in another case, Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced that an NYPD officer had been charged with allegedly using an illegal chokehold while attempting to place a man under arrest. The chokehold allegedly caused the suspect to lose consciousness. Clark said the defendant, Omar Habib, 40, was arrested Aug. 8 and arraigned before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Brenda Rivera on second-degree strangulation, second-degree criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, third-degree assault and unlawful methods of restraint.

 

In a separate case, James announced in January 2024  that manslaughter charges would be brought against NYPD Sgt. Erik Duran of NYPD Narcotics Borough Bronx (NBBX) who was responsible for a fatal water cooler throw which resulted in the death of Eric Duprey during a police-involved operation on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, at 2505 Aqueduct Avenue in Fordham Manor.

 

In June 2023, we reported that a police chase ended with an illegal U-turn by a civilian car causing a multiple-vehicle crash on Webster Avenue in Norwood.

 

Meanwhile, a 74-year-old woman was left in critical condition after she was struck by a vehicle involved in a police chase in Bedford Park in June 2023.