New York Attorney General Clears New Rochelle Police Officer in Shooting Death of Jarrel Garris

NEW ROCHELLE, NY (September 18, 2024) — New York State Attorney General Leticia James has release a report prepared by the OAG Investigations Division looking into the officer-involved shooting of Jarrel Garris in New Rochelle. The 14-month investigation cleared New Rochelle Detective Steve Conn who shot Garris in the neck during a struggle on July 3, 2023. Garris died on July 10.

I will have analysis at Words in Edgewise.

NY AG STATEMENT: Attorney General James’ Office of Special Investigation Releases Report on Death of Jarrel Garris

Report on the Investigation into the Death of Jarrel Garris

Highlights from the report:

In the first few moments, Officer Bird was on the ground, attempting to control Mr. Garris’s legs, and Mr. Garris was standing over her. Officer Chavarry stood a few feet away trying to line up a shot with her Taser, which, ultimately, she did not fire. A few moments later, Mr. Garris was on the ground with his hands on Officer Bird’s gun and holster. Detective Conn yelled “gun” and fired once at Mr. Garris. The shot went into the back of Mr. Garris’s neck and rendered him motionless. Mr. Garris was brain-dead soon thereafter, but was kept on life support until, on July 10, 2023, life support was removed and Mr. Garris died.

As expected: The toxicology report showed the presence of PCP and marijuana metabolites.

Grocery Store CCTV July 2, 2023

Store Manager statement: …Garris entered the grocery store around 4:30 p.m., and a store employee told J.F. that Mr. Garris was eating fruit in the produce section. J.F. went to the produce aisle, saw Mr. Garris, and asked him if he was going to pay for the items that he opened and ate. J.F. said Mr. Garris looked at him in a “menacing” way and said he thought Mr. Garris would “hurt” him. J.F. walked over to the store phone and called the police, and Mr. Garris walked out of the store.

Store Manager statement: …the man was “an unstable person” who was eating and drinking things and “talking gibberish.”

Officer Bird statement: …said she was hesitant to place Mr. Garris under arrest without additional assistance because he was much larger than she was and had a vacant appearance, which indicated he might be noncompliant.

Officer Bird statement: … a few minutes before being called for the grocery store theft, she was talking to Detective Conn outside their precinct stationhouse, which was within a block of the New Rochelle Farms grocery store. While talking to him, Officer Bird saw Mr. Garris slowly crossing the street; he seemed “out of it.” Detective Conn walked over to Mr. Garris and asked if he needed help or needed assistance crossing the street. Mr. Garris did not respond. Mr. Garris walked away without incident.

Detective Conn statement: …thought Mr. Garris was on drugs because of his behavior and vacant expression, but he had done nothing wrong, so Detective Conn just asked if he needed help.

The report concludes by comparing the Garris case to the Eric Garner and George Floyd cases.

While deaths and serious injuries resulting from an encounter over a petty offense are rare, they are among the most distressing and perhaps the most preventable of poor law enforcement outcomes. Police-involved deaths such as those of Eric Garner (loose cigarettes), George Floyd (counterfeit $20 bill) and Jarrel Garris (eating $15 worth of strawberries) highlight the need for better training and policies.

At the same time, the report concludes that Garris was not shot and killed for “eating grapes” (or Strawberries) but because he grabbed for and got his hands on an officer’s gun while resisting arrest.

Noticeably absent in the report is important context: that he was slicing up his arms in Mount Vernon two days earlier, that he wandered into a woman’s apartment at Heritage Homes, that he started a fire just across from NRPD HQ, that he had a history of PCP use, which as I wrote in October was the case on the day of the shooting. Now that the investigation is concluded I have circled back to obtain records from July 3, 2023 that were previously denied to me.

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) today released its report on the death of Jarrel Garris, who died on July 10, 2023 after an encounter with members of the New Rochelle Police Department (NRPD) that occurred on July 3, 2023 in New Rochelle. Following a thorough investigation, which included review of body-worn camera footage and security camera video, interviews with involved officers, and comprehensive legal analysis, OSI concluded that a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the officer’s use of force against Mr. Garris was justified under New York law. In its report, OSI recommends that NRPD update its training and policies for responding to petty nonviolent offenses to provide officers with objective criteria for assessing whether or not a situation warrants the use of physical force.

On the afternoon of July 3, NRPD officers responded to a complaint of a man who was eating items he had not paid for at a grocery store on Lincoln Avenue in New Rochelle. When the first officer arrived, she encountered Mr. Garris walking slowly outside of the store. The officer attempted to verbally engage Mr. Garris, asking him what he was doing and whether he was eating food in the grocery store. A second officer arrived and both officers attempted to verbally engage with Mr. Garris. Mr. Garris was not responding to the officers’ questions when the third officer got to the scene.

The third officer placed one handcuff on Mr. Garris and a physical struggle ensued. The third officer directed the first officer to use her taser on Mr. Garris, but she could not get a clear shot and did not deploy it. At one point in the struggle, Mr. Garris had his hands on the second officer’s gun. The third officer noticed and yelled “gun!” before he discharged his service weapon, striking Mr. Garris. The officers began performing life-saving measures on Mr. Garris until an ambulance arrived. Mr. Garris was taken to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries on July 10, 2023.

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, Mr. Garris had his hands on one officer’s gun while they were attempting to arrest him. Another officer deployed his service weapon because he believed he needed to protect himself, the other officers, and any bystanders. Given the circumstances and based on 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 force was justified.

Currently, the NRPD’s training and policies direct officers to use their own discretion when determining whether or not to use physical force to make an arrest when responding to petty nonviolent offenses like the one in this case. Although it is not possible to know if a different approach would have changed the outcome in this specific matter, OSI recommends that NRPD update its training and policies for these matters to provide officers with objective criteria for assessing if using physical force to make an arrest is warranted. These trainings should involve real-world scenarios so that officers can become accustomed to the sorts of situations they may encounter in the field and the appropriate effective responses without relying on physical force in every case. The OSI recommends NRPD implement criteria including determinations such as whether:

The individual is physically combative or passively noncompliant;

There are ways to achieve compliance without physical force;

Law enforcement personnel at the scene have been trained in de-escalation tactics or interacting with people experiencing mental health crises; and

All methods of nonviolent de-escalation were exhausted.

UPDATE: STATEMENT FROM THE CITY OF NEW ROCHELLE

Earlier today, the office of the New York State Attorney General, Letitia James, announced that no charges would be brought against police officers involved in the July 3, 2023, shooting of Jarell Garris in New Rochelle. The City of New Rochelle accepts her decision and remains confident of the professionalism and integrity of the men and women of its police department.
The fact that James’ office took more than a year to probe an episode that unfolded in seconds demonstrates the depth and thoroughness of the investigation. Whenever a police officer uses deadly force, no matter how straightforward or complex the episode appears, it is a deeply traumatic event for a community such as ours, and it must be scrutinized from every possible angle, no matter how long it takes.
The City of New Rochelle fully cooperated with the investigation and has been transparent. Numerous members of the department were interviewed by the AG’s office, as were private citizens, and all evidence, including video, was provided to investigators.
This closes the criminal investigation of the shooting. Now the New Rochelle police department will continue its own investigation to determine if policies and procedures were followed. The department appreciates the recommendations made by the Attorney General’s office in its report and will give them its fullest consideration.

UPDATE: STATEMENT FROM THE GARRIS FAMILY

The Garris Family is angry and disheartened to learn that Detective Steven Conn will join the alarmingly long list of police officers who escape accountability when they take the lives of unarmed – typically Black, Brown, and/or poor – civilians. Det. Conn’s unnecessary escalation of the July 3, 2023, encounter follows an enraging pattern and practice of over-aggressive policing in America.
Det. Conn should have never been hired, having been arrested – prior to his employment with the New Rochelle Police Department – for assaulting a bus driver on a bus in front of children.
Det. Conn should have never kept his job after shooting and killing a dog at a community center in front of families.
Jarrel Garris is dead because of an encounter over an allegation of eating strawberries he didn’t pay for; this is outrageous.
The Attorney General’s Office’s recommendations in its report underscore the City of New Rochelle’s imminent need to change its use of force policies, implement effective training on how to interact with civilians in crisis safely, and the necessity of government, through the courageous actions of principled elected officials, to engage the community in honest conversations about the failings of current police practices and take action to deliver meaningful and measurable policy changes to ensure that there is never another Jarrel Garris.
The family will continue to fight until there are policy changes and Justice for Jarrel.

UPDATE: STATEMENT FROM AFFILIATED POLICE ASSOCIATIONS OF WESTCHESTER

The AG’s report only validates what we have said all along. That is that Det. Steven Conn’s actions were justified and that it was Jarrel Garris’ choices and actions that dictated the outcome of this tragic event. The report confirms that Garris had both hands on Officer Bird’s gun and that the gun holster’s safety hood was moved into the unlocked position. Det. Conn recognized that his life and the lives of his fellow officer were in dire danger and he acted justifiably. The APA anxiously awaits an apology and retraction from Congressman Jamal Bowman and others who were quick to wrongly place blame on the police.

UPDATE: STATEMENT OF THE NEW ROCHELLE POLICE BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION

The Attorney General’s findings confirm what we have known to be true since the days immediately following this tragic encounter: Detective Steven Conn’s actions were lawful and justified, that it was Jarrel Garris’ who caused this encounter to become deadly, and had Detective Conn not acted swiftly, this incident would have likely ended with the death of several police officers.
The Attorney General’s report establishes the following: while New Rochelle police officers were effecting a lawful arrest, Jarrel Garris, who was high on PCP, violently resisted and fought with the officers. During this struggle, Garris put both his hands on Officer Bird’s service weapon and slid the holster’s safety hood into the unlocked position. Thankfully, Detective Conn observed Garris pulling the gun from the holster, warned his fellow officers that Garris had control of Officer Bird’s handgun, and fired one round preventing Garris from using the gun against them. This entire incident happened within seconds.
As acknowledged by the Attorney General, Detective Conn’s use of force was justified under New York Penal Law Section 35.30.
Disappointingly, the Attorney General’s report subtly points the finger of blame at the New Rochelle Police Department for Jarrel Garris’ death. While we agree that police departments should always seek best practices and look for ways to safely carry out their duties, there is no amount of police training or policy writing that can guarantee positive outcomes when violent criminals continue to refuse lawful orders and resist lawful arrests. It is irresponsible and dangerous for our government and elected officials to ignore this important fact.
The officers of the New Rochelle Police Department bravely place themselves at risk every day to ensure the safety of our community. It is disappointing to hear rhetoric which suggests that Jarell Garris died “over a couple of grapes” or “for committing a low-level crime”. That is a terrible misrepresentation of the facts and ignores the life-threatening actions taken by Garris moments before his death.
There is only one reason a person would attempt to pull a cop’s gun from its holster, and that is because he intends to use it.
We are grateful that our fellow officers who responded to this call were not injured or killed. We will remain diligent in our efforts to keep the City of New Rochelle safe for all its citizens.