UTICA, NY — Authorities in New York released body camera footage Sunday showing a police officer fatally shooting a 13-year-old boy after he allegedly aimed at an object that later turned out to be a gun at gunpoint during a foot chase Friday evening.
The incident occurred around 10:18 p.m. Friday as Utica police officers were conducting a pedestrian stop of two people in a residential neighborhood. During the stop, the 13-year-old boy, identified as Nyah Mway, fled the scene and displayed what appeared to be a handgun during the pursuit, according to Utica Police Chief Mark Williams.
An officer then fired one shot and injured the teen, Williams said. Nyah was transported to Wynn Hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Police said they recovered a replica GLOCK 17 handgun, which turned out to be a pellet gun.
The body camera footage was posted to the police department’s YouTube channel in six separate videos of varying lengths. Police also released photos of the pellet gun Nyah allegedly possessed when he was fatally shot.
“As always, we are committed to transparency and earning the public’s trust in our investigations,” the Utica Police Department said in a statement Saturday about the officer-involved shooting. “As much information as possible will be released during this process.”
The fatal shooting sparked outrage and demands for justice among Utica’s Karen immigrant community, a Southeast Asian ethnic minority. Hundreds attended a candlelight vigil in Nyah’s memory Saturday night.
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“It was a one-off”
The three Utica police officers involved in the incident were identified as Patrick Husnay, a six-year veteran of the department who shot the teen; Bryce Patterson, a four-year veteran; and Andrew Citriniti, who has been on the force for two and a half years.
Body camera footage showed the three officers approaching Nyah and another juvenile, who was on a bicycle. Patterson is shown in the footage telling the teens they are being arrested because a teen was riding his bike in the road, while Nyah was walking nearby.
Nyah – who initially had his hands in the air – was then seen running away after officers asked if they could pat him down to see if he had any weapons, according to the footage. Patterson and Husnay ran after Nyah, with Patterson shooting the teen dead after a short chase as officers can be heard yelling “He’s got a gun.”
Husnay had his gun drawn and appeared to shoot Nyah while he was on the ground, his released body camera footage showed.
“It was one shot,” Husnay can be heard saying, according to the released footage. “It was me.”
The three officers involved in the incident have been placed on paid administrative leave, pending an investigation.
New York State Attorney General’s Office Launches Investigation
On Saturday, the New York Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigations announced it had opened an investigation into Nyah’s death.
New York State Executive Law 70-b provides that the New York State Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigations has the lead criminal investigation role in police-involved shootings.
“If OSI’s assessment indicates that a police officer may have caused the death, OSI will conduct a full investigation into the incident,” the state attorney general’s office said in a statement. “These are preliminary facts and subject to change.”
The Utica Police Department is conducting a joint internal investigation in conjunction with its Professional Standards Unit to determine whether policies, procedures and training were followed. Additionally, Utica Police said it will work closely and openly with the City of Utica’s Public Safety Advisory Committee.
“The stories don’t add up”
About 24 hours after Nyah was shot by police, community members gathered for a candlelight vigil and mourned the teenager’s death. The warmth of about 100 candles carried on the breeze through a crowd three times that size.
“We are gathered here to honor and support our little brother, Nyah Mway,” said Kay Klo, director of the Midtown Utica Community Center. “He was tragically murdered by police officers.”
Although authorities said an investigation was underway, members of the Karen community feel betrayed. Klo said that nine years ago, the Mway family came to America to protect themselves “from military violence, wars and police.”
With the wounds of persecution by the military and police in their homeland still fresh in many minds, the Karen community in Utica is demanding justice.
“The stories don’t add up,” Klo said. “The story they told at the press conference, what the witnesses said, and what was seen in the video. None of it makes sense. The police need to be investigated and held accountable for their actions.”
Klo’s words echoed through the streets before the same message was repeated in the Karenic language, blending together to form a single cry for justice. Buddhist monks from the community, many of whom settled in Utica as refugees from Cambodia, spoke to the crowd in their native language and accompanied them in a Buddhist prayer for Nyah.
At the end of the prayer, the monk spoke in English, asking the crowd, “What do we need?”
This was quickly echoed by the word “justice,” again they were asked, and again they answered “justice.”
Pastor Debbie Kelsey of Tabernacle Baptist Church addressed those in attendance.
“Some of us come as family members of Nyah Mway. Some of us come as friends. Some are classmates and some are neighbors,” she said. “We are all part of this community and we are all here to say that Nyah Mway lived. He was loved. And he will never be forgotten.”
Who are the Karen people?
Utica, a Rust Belt city in New York’s Mohawk Valley about 55 miles east of Syracuse, New York, is home to a rapidly growing refugee population that includes thousands of Karens.
Pronounced “ka-ren” and also known as Kayin, Kariang or Kawthoolese, the Karen people are a large and scattered ethnic group in Southeast Asia, whose origins can be traced back to the Gobi Desert, Mongolia or Tibet – according to the Karen Women’s Association. Organization. The Karen later settled in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
Under British rule in the mid- to late 19th century, administrators recruited many Karen into their police and armed forces, the organization said. During World War II and the Burma Campaign, the Karen people became loyal Allied guerrillas against the Japanese occupiers.
When Britain granted independence to Burma after the war, the Karen people had hoped to form their own nation. Instead, they were absorbed into the new Union of Burma, later renamed the Union of Myanmar in 1989.
Government troops, mostly Burmese, killed Karen villagers, and a Karen insurgency broke out, sparking a conflict that lasted until 1962, when the government pledged to suppress and unify the country. The so-called “Four Cuts” offensive aimed to deprive the rebels of their sources of food, funds, intelligence, and recruits. It lasted until 1990.
A ceasefire was reached in 2012. But long before that, refugees were resettled in refugee camps, many across the border in Thailand, according to the Karen organization in Minnesota. Refugees in Thailand were not allowed to venture outside the crowded camps they occupied and were arrested by Thai police if caught.
Some refugees have resettled in many countries, including the United States.
Contributor: Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY
News Source : www.usatoday.com
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