Utica police release narrated video of Nyah Mway shooting death: Here's what it reveals

From the time he was stopped to when he was shot, the Utica Police Department went over its body camera footage of the shooting death of 13-year-old Nyah Mway in a new video released Thursday night.

Utica Police Lt. Ashley Berger narrated the video, showing the interaction of Officers Patrick Husnay, Bryce Patterson, and Andrew Citrini.

“It is our desire that by providing this briefing, it will show our continued commitment to transparency in this investigation,” Berger said in the video.

On Friday, June 28, officers stopped two youths on a sidewalk around 10:18 p.m. Berger said the stop was regarding an ongoing robbery investigation “in the immediate vicinity of that location.”

The shooting death of Nyah has had a profound impact on the city and the Karen community, with thousands organizing and marching in the streets early July demanding justice.

Police shot and killed Nyah after officers said he pointed a gun at them — a gun that ultimately turned out to be a pellet gun made to look exactly like a GLOCK.

Previously reported armed robberies in Utica

“Over the last two weeks, the Utica Police Department was contacted regarding two separate robberies,” Berger said in the video. “One on June 12 near the intersection of Hart and Henry Streets and one on June 27 near the 1500 block of Sunset Avenue.”

Video was shown of the June 12 robbery, with Berger narrating that the victim reported two Asian males approached them and demanded their property. The video shows two people, one in a black hooded sweatshirt and one in a red hooded sweatshirt, both with their faces obscured.

Video of the June 27 robbery was also shown, with Berger narrating that the victim described an Asian male approaching on foot and another unknown male on a bicycle. Just like the first incident, Berger said the Asian male pulled out a handgun and demanded the victim’s property.

Nyah Mway, another youth, stopped by police June 28

A video of the June 28 stop of Nyah and an unidentified youth was played, with Berger saying that Patterson was the first to encounter them. Husnay and Citrini arrived shortly afterward.

Though his face is blurred in the video, the person in the black hoodie is Nyah Mway, while the one on the bicycle is unidentified. As police approach, Nyah Mway holds his hands up as an officer approaches and then relaxes for a moment, putting his hands in the pockets of his hooded sweatshirt.

Patterson orders Nyah to keep his hands out of his pockets, which he does. Patterson explains they stopped the two because “ ... he’s riding in the roadway and you’re walking.” While Patterson said this, Utica Police said the stop was related to the armed robberies in the area.

Nyah said he “Forgot about that.” Shortly after, Patterson asks, “ ... can I pat you down to make sure you don’t have any weapons on you?”Nyah then runs away.

“As you saw and heard in the bodyworn camera footage of Officer Patterson, he asks to conduct a pat-frisk of Nyah Mway,” Berger narrated. “Officers noted that Nyah Mway was concealing an item in his front pocket. At that point, Nyah Mway flees westbound on Shaw Street, fleeing from officers.”

Video shows struggle between Utica officers, Nyah Mway

The Utica Police Department previously released video of the encounter. The video released Thursday night includes the narration describing the frame-by-frame shot of the pursuit from Patterson’s point of view. In the video, it appears Nyah turned toward the police body camera — and he's holding the gun which would later be identified as a GLOCK 17 replica pellet gun.

“[It shows] Nyah Mway turns his upper torso and displays a handgun, ultimately pointing at the officers,” Berger said. “Officer Patterson takes [Nyah Mway] to the ground where a struggle ensues, and the handgun is then pointed at officers. During the course of the ground struggle, Husnay discharges his firearm one time at Nyah Mway, striking him in the upper left torso.”

Yelling can be heard in the video, with someone from the neighborhood saying, “Oh my God, you shot him!”

After a moment, Patterson can be heard asking, “What the (expletive), did he shoot?"

How Utica police responded after fatal shot

Another angle was provided by police Thursday, from Husnay’s body-worn camera, in which Husnay chases after Patterson and Nyah before finding them on the ground. He yells for Nyah to “drop it” multiple times. This is what was revealed in the police body camera footage released June 30.

A frame shows Nyah holding the pellet gun in his hand while still on the ground before the fatal shot is fired.

At this point, Husnay keys his radio and requests an ambulance.

Husnay locates the gun, pushes the slide back, and clears the firearm before turning his attention back to Nyah.

“(Expletive), dude. … We need to get a chest seal on that!” Husnay yells.

“Gloves, gloves, gloves!” one of the officers yells. While another officer sees to Nyah , Husnay begins looking over the pellet gun.

“It’s a .22,” he says. “I think it’s a .22.”

Another officer arrives, and Husnay tells them to get a chest seal on Nyah.

“It was one shot,” Husnay said. “It was me. It was one shot, and it was me. … We need to start compressions.”

Another officer offered to secure the firearm and asked where the magazine was.

“I think it’s a .22. … I don’t have a mag, I don’t know, he was aiming it at us, I don’t (expletive) know,” Husnay said.

Two investigations launched into shooting

“Officers recovered the firearm and Officer Husnay attempts to render the firearm safe, which looks and operates exactly as a real firearm would,” Berger said. “Officers then attempted to render life-saving measures to Nyah Mway.”

Currently, there are two ongoing investigations: one being conducted by the Utica Police Department internally, and another being conducted by the New York Attorney General's Office.

The former will determine if policy was followed, while the latter will determine if the shooting of Nyah was justified and what laws were or were not followed during the course of the incident.

The video gave no timeline for the Utica Police Department’s investigation and there has been no update from the New York Attorney General's Office on its investigation.

Justice For Nyah Mway issues statement

The organization, Justice for Nyah Mway, issued a response to the video published by the Utica Police Department. The group took exceptional ire to the two robbery videos, stating: "That footage is a callous and shameless attempt by the police to distract the public from the unjustified killing of a 13-year-old child on the night of June 28."

In the press statement, the organization wrote that it was "unmistakable" that Patterson had Nyah Mway pinned to the ground and was punching him.

They went on to state that a real and unbiased investigation should focus on why Husnay walked over to Nyah Mway, while he was pinned on the ground by Patterson, and shot him at close range in the chest.

"The failure to focus on these critical events and instead focusing, and speculating, on what happened during two unrelated robberies calls into question the integrity of the Utica Police Department’s investigation," the organization said. "Nyah Mway’s family and the Utica community deserve better."

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Utica Police shooting of Nyah Mway broken down in new video