New York Attorney General (AG) Letitia James released security camera video footage on Friday, Oct. 1, that her office obtained as part of its ongoing investigation into the death of Michael Rosado, 24, who died at the end of August, following an encounter with members of the NYPD in the Fordham Heights section of the Bronx, as reported.

 

According to police officials, a dispute began at 4:15 a.m. outside of the Los Polmaritos Deli & Grocery at 2080 Valentine Avenue, located at the corner of East 180th Street on Sunday, Aug. 29.

 

As reported, at an NYPD press conference held later that morning, Chief Juanita Holmes, the NYPD’s chief of patrol, said, “A 24-year-old male and a 45-year-old male were involved in a dispute with a group of people. This dispute then turned physical.” Holmes said that during the dispute, the 24-year-old victim (Rosado) brandished a firearm and fired several times into the crowd of mostly young men.

 

 

The Office of Special Investigation (OSI) of the Attorney General’s Office released two videos from a private business in the vicinity of where the shooting occurred. The release of the videos follows the AG’s directive that some camera footage obtained by her office in the course of an OSI investigation into the shooting be released to the public in order to increase transparency and strengthen public trust in these matters.

 

In accordance with the law, OSI officials said they assess every incident reported to them where a police officer or a peace officer, including a corrections officer, may have caused the death of a person, by an act or omission. Under the law, the officer may be on-duty or off-duty, and the deceased person may be armed or unarmed. Also, the deceased person may or may not be in custody or incarcerated. According to OSI officials, if their assessment of an incident indicates an officer caused a death, OSI proceeds to conduct a full investigation of the incident.

 

The OSI office highlighted that the release of the footage in relation to the Aug. 29th, Fordham Heights shooting is not an expression of any opinion as to the guilt or innocence of any party in a criminal matter, or any opinion as to how or whether any individual may be charged with a crime.

 

The NYPD typically releases “bodycam” footage at some stage following the conclusion of the investigation into such police-involved shootings. It has not yet released the bodycam footage of the Aug. 29 incident.

 

As previously reported, the shooting of Rosado prompted two protests against police outside the 46th precinct, located on Ryer Avenue in Fordham Heights, in recent weeks, one of which turned violent. As reported, police subsequently arrested Christophe Springs, 22, of the Bronx, who had been sought for allegedly pouring a liquid, believed to be gasoline, on an occupied NYPD van during one of the protests.

 

During his arraignment, Springs was granted supervised release, even though prosecutors requested $35,000 cash or $75,000 bond, the Bronx District Attorney’s Office said.

 

Watch as NYPD executives provide an update to the police involved shooting in the @nypd46pct from earlier this morning. https://t.co/e8m8OZdGTH

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) August 29, 2021

 

The New York Post reported that after having his rights read to him, a source said Springs allegedly said he had been “radicalized by lies” propagated by anti-police agitators. Authorities said Springs had no prior arrests.

 

A person arrested and accused of a crime is innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.

 

The video footage of the shooting released by the AG’s office can be watched by clicking on the hyperlink.

 

Anyone with information with regard to any of the referenced incidents is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/ or on Twitter @NYPDTips.

 

All calls are strictly confidential.