Nyack gathers to recall Sean Harris and seek answers about his death after police standoff
NYACK - About 100 people came to Hezekiah Easter Veterans Memorial Park in the heart of the village on Friday evening to mark a year since Sean Harris died after an hours-long standoff with police at his Central Nyack home.
Harris, 19, was declared dead May 30, 2023.
His family continues to search for answers.
Urging the state AG to act
Voices of Rockland, which organized the one-year memorial, had letters to New York State Attorney General Letitia James for people to sign and send. The AG's office is conducting a preliminary investigation into Harris' death. The office is required by law to assess every reported incident in which a police, peace or corrections officer may have caused the death of a person, by an act or omission.
"To date, one (1) year and one (1) month later, the family of Sean Harris remains filled with grief, pain and confusion," the letter read. "Will it be you, as the Attorney General of New York State, who will give accountability, justice and peace?"
Kevin Adams, Sean Harris' older brother, thanked everyone for coming on behalf of the family. He urged people to continue to support each other as the community had supported them.
"It doesn't take a tragedy, it doesn't take a problem for community to come together," said Adams, a New Jersey resident. "Powerful people are stronger together."
The memorial in the heart of Nyack included prayer, song and pleas for action.
"We have to be as equally as outraged as we were the day this 19-yer-old baby died," said L'Tanya Watkins, an attorney in Rockland and friend of the family. Saying that many people need mental health supports, Watkins warned that no one should believe they are immune from the kind of incident that led to Harris' death. "It could be you."
What happened that day at Sean Harris' home
Sean Harris' mother, Judy Adams, had contacted Rockland County's Behavioral Health Team, seeking support for her youngest son. The 19-year-old had been struggling with social issues.
On May 30 of last year, two social workers came to the family home in Central Nyack.
Sean Harris' family seeks answers: Social workers called cops on teen; now he's dead
The social workers then went outside. They contacted police. Adams said later she was unaware this was happening.
Clarkstown Police, in a June 6 statement, said Harris had a baseball bat, was "destroying items" and "threatened to kill his mother."
Adams had what she described as a verbal exchange with her son. She said she didn't feel threatened.
Soon the street was filled with police vehicles.
At some point, police shot out a glass storm doors with what police described as a less-lethal munition. A side door was also bashed, Adams said.
After an hours-long standoff, police went in and reported finding Sean Harris in the bathroom with pill bottles around him. He was pronounced dead at Montefiore Nyack Hospital.
The family said Friday that they have still not received autopsy results. A Freedom of Information request by lohud.com for the autopsy report was denied by the County of Rockland.
What comes next
The family of Sean Harris is pursuing a lawsuit against the County of Rockland and Clarkstown Police Department.
A Notice of Claim filed last fall asserts false imprisonment, assault, battery, wrongful death, negligence, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, deliberate indifference to medical care and denial of medical care. It also cites civil rights violations.
What happened to Sean Harris: Family of Central Nyack 19-year-old who died after police standoff to sue Clarkstown, Rockland
The family is represented by Randolph McLaughlin and Debra Cohen, co-chairs the Civil Rights Practice Group of Newman Ferrara LLP in Manhattan and Pace University law professors.
The New York State Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation continues to conduct a preliminary assessment of the May 30 incident, a spokesperson for the office said this week. If the assessment indicates an officer caused the death, the Attorney General's special investigative unit then conducts a full investigation.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Police standoff death of Sean Harris questioned year later in Nyack NY
