New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) has released a Notification of Investigative Findings concerning the death of Akintunde Campbell, who died on July 31, 2025, after an encounter with Rochester Police Department officers.
According to the OSI, officers responded to Ernestine Street in Rochester at around 7:35 p.m. following 911 calls about a man allegedly looking into or entering cars. Upon arrival, police found a man matching the description provided by callers standing in a driveway. Officers briefly spoke with Akintunde Campbell, who stated he was waiting for a friend and then attempted to walk away.
Police noticed what they believed was a weapon in Campbell’s front hoodie pocket and tried to detain him. A struggle followed, during which Campbell broke free and again tried to leave while keeping his hand in his pocket. Officers drew their firearms and repeatedly asked Campbell about the object in his hand. According to the OSI statement, “Mr. Campbell then pulled a gun from his hoodie pocket and held it with both hands, facing the officers. The officers ordered Mr. Campbell to drop the gun numerous times, but he did not comply. Officers discharged their service weapons, striking Mr. Campbell. Mr. Campbell was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers recovered a handgun at the scene.”
The incident was recorded on body-worn cameras used by responding officers.
Under New York State Executive Law Section 70-b, OSI is required to assess any incident where law enforcement may have caused a person’s death through action or omission, regardless of whether the officer was on duty or off duty and whether the individual was armed or unarmed.
After completing its investigation into this case, OSI concluded that “a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the officers’ use of deadly physical force was justified under the law.” The office will release its final Investigation Report at a later date.
OSI issues Notifications of Investigative Findings when evidence and legal analysis are clear and investigations are complete; these notifications precede publication of final reports as required by law.
