The Office of Special Investigation (OSI) under New York Attorney General Letitia James has released its findings on the death of Daevon Roberts, who died after an encounter with Buffalo Police Department officers on July 10, 2024. The investigation included reviewing body-worn camera footage, interviewing the officers involved, and conducting a legal analysis.
According to the report, two Buffalo police officers stopped a car driven by Mr. Roberts for speeding on Kensington Avenue around midnight. During the stop, officers tried to verify Mr. Roberts’ license status but were unable to do so immediately. They then asked him to step out of his vehicle and accompany them to their patrol car. Mr. Roberts did not comply and instead accelerated away while one officer was holding onto the door, dragging the officer as the car sped up.
The report details that as the vehicle reached speeds up to 70 miles per hour, the officer repeatedly shouted at Mr. Roberts to stop and warned him about the danger: “You’re going to kill me,” and “Stop!” followed by “I’ll get out.” The officer tried to put his foot on the brake pedal but was kicked by Mr. Roberts. At that point, according to OSI’s account, Mr. Roberts attempted to grab the officer’s gun after removing his hands from the steering wheel. The officer then fired his weapon at Mr. Roberts, who was taken to a hospital where he later died.
Under New York law, police are permitted to use deadly physical force if they reasonably believe it is necessary for self-defense against deadly force from another person.
OSI concluded that in this case a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer’s actions were justified under state law: “Under these circumstances, given 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 physical force against Mr. Roberts was justified, and therefore OSI determined that criminal charges would not be pursued in this matter.”
