A NYSP trooper shot and killed a Franklin man in Aug. 2021. Why he won't face charges
Charges will not be filed against the New York State Trooper who shot and killed a Delaware County man Aug. 6, 2021.
The Office of New York Attorney General Letitia James released a report Friday on the death of 59-year-old Roger Lynch, of Franklin, who allegedly threatened troopers with a gun and shot and wounded another person.
The Attorney General's office said the investigation, which included review of radio transmissions, body-worn camera footage and interviews with responding officers, determined a prosecutor would not be able to disprove justification beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
Due to those findings, criminal charges against the New York State Trooper who shot and killed Lynch are not warranted.
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What attorney general's investigation report says
On August 5, 2021, patrolmen from several agencies responded to a residence on Bob Hollow Road in Delhi, following reports that a person had been shot.
Police said once at the residence, they learned a man later identified as Lynch had arrived at the house and shot multiple times at one of the residents before driving away.
An alert was put out over the radio that Lynch was driving a gray Toyota pickup truck and provided a possible address.
An off-duty New York State Sergeant heard the alert and saw a gray pickup truck turn onto the driveway at Lynch’s purported address on state Route 28, in Franklin, officials said. The sergeant then waited until he was joined by an on-duty sergeant in a marked patrol cruiser, and together they attempted to encourage Lynch to come outside unarmed.
Lynch refused, firing one shot at the sergeants before retreating into his house, officials said. Troopers began to communicate with Lynch via phone call to the house in a series of 16 calls completed over a period of nine hours.
Shortly after dawn Aug. 6, Lynch came out of his house again with a shotgun and first threatened to shoot himself, then aimed the shotgun at a location where troopers were stationed.
A trooper fired his rifle at Lynch, who fell back into the house with his finger still on the trigger of his shotgun, where he was pronounced dead.
Criminal charges will not be pursued against NYSP trooper who shot Roger Lynch
Under New York’s justification law, a person may use deadly physical force to defend against the imminent use of deadly force by another person, the Attorney General's Office said. In this case, the trooper who shot Lynch knew he had repeatedly shot at another individual the previous evening and had attempted to shoot at the responding sergeants.
When Lynch aimed his shotgun, the trooper reasonably believed Lynch intended to harm New York State Police members, according to the report.
Under these circumstances, given the law and the evidence, a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer who fired was justified, and the Officer of Special Investigation determined that criminal charges could not be pursued against the officer.
This article originally appeared on The Leader: NYSP trooper who shot, killed Franklin man in 2021 won't face charges
