New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) has released a report on the death of Donnell Hogan, who was fatally shot by Syracuse Police Department officers on May 13, 2025. The investigation included body-worn camera footage, statements from involved officers, 911 calls, witness interviews, and legal analysis.
According to the OSI report, officers responded around 10 p.m. to multiple emergency calls about a man firing a gun inside and outside an apartment building on North Townsend Street in Syracuse. Witnesses informed police that the individual was in a wheelchair on the second floor. Officers entered the building using separate stairwells and approached Hogan from different directions.
The first group of officers encountered Hogan in his wheelchair about 60 feet down a hallway and began ordering him to show his hands. At the same time, another team entered from a perpendicular hallway. As they arrived through a stairwell door, Hogan reportedly raised a gun with his right hand and fired toward the officers. A member of the first team then discharged one round, striking Hogan fatally. Police recovered a pistol at the scene.
OSI’s legal review determined that under New York law regarding justification for use of deadly force by police officers, criminal charges would not be pursued against those involved in Hogan’s death.
“Under New York’s justification law, a police officer may use deadly physical force when the officer reasonably believes it to be necessary to defend against the use of deadly physical force by another. In this case, officers responded to an apartment building after receiving reports of a man firing a gun. When officers encountered Mr. Hogan, they directed him to show his hands, but Mr. Hogan failed to comply and instead raised his gun at an officer and fired. 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. Hogan was justified, and therefore OSI determined that criminal charges would not be pursued in this matter,” according to OSI.
