State AG reviewing death of Sean Harris in Central Nyack while cops were on scene
CENTRAL NYACK - The death of a 19-year-old man during an incident where Clarkstown police were on the scene is being reviewed by the New York State Attorney General's Office.
What's being examined is the May 30 death of Sean Harris, an autistic man who lived in Central Nyack and had attended Nyack schools. Harris died after Clarkstown police went to his house based on a call from a social worker. Harris's mother Judy Vasser was there when police entered their home.
Attorney General Letitia James 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.
If the assessment indicates an officer caused the death, the Attorney General's special investigative unit then conducts a full investigation.
Harris' autopsy for a cause of death was handled by the Rockland Medical Examiner's Office, which under its current policy no longer discusses its investigations or autopsy results but turns results over to the police and prosecutors.
Vasser declined to comment on her son's death on Tuesday, as she prepared for his funeral on Wednesday.
Clarkstown: Police release statement on Sean Harris death
Police reform: Rockland police-citizen panels addressing law enforcement reform; detractors remain
Clarkstown police issue statement on man's death
Clarkstown Police Detective Norm Peters, the department's public information officer, issued a statement Tuesday describing the police encounter with Harris.
The statement said Harris held a metal baseball bat, made threats, and used the bat to destroy items in the kitchen.
A mental health counselor who checks up on Harris was present at the West Broadway home, police said. She told police Harris had been in the basement and refused to communicate.
"He then came into the kitchen area, where both she and the mother were talking, started destroying items with a baseball bat, and threatened to kill his mother," police said, adding that the counselor called the police.
The police statement said officers ordered Harris to drop the bat and attempted to disarm him before striking him with what police characterized as a less-lethal munition on his lower abdomen. He ran from the police inside the house.
While Crisis Negotiating Team officers tried to communicate with Harris for more than an hour, the statement said, "Mr. Harris made additional threats to officers, stating he was in possession of a Glock 17 handgun."
Officers eventually reached Harris in the bathroom and found about two dozen open pill bottles containing hundreds of pills, police said.
Harris was later pronounced dead at Montefiore-Nyack Hospital.
Attorney general will review circumstances
An Attorney General's Office spokesperson said on Tuesday that the office's special investigative unit will independently review the circumstances, including doing its own interviews. The investigating officer doesn't release details prior to the first step of assessing the case and then deciding whether to investigate.
"The Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation is conducting a preliminary assessment of the matter," spokesperson Alexis Richards said.
Harris's death has drawn attention from the NAACP and friends. They are still searching for details and answers since they just heard about his death from the family and word of mouth.
Advocates are concerned; his funeral is Wednesday
Harris' funeral is scheduled for Wednesday at St. Ann's Church in Nyack, with burial in Oak Hill Cemetery. Calling hours are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the church, according to Hannemann Funeral Home in Nyack.
Other deaths involving police and AG probes
In 2015, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed Executive Order 70-b, which designated the attorney general as the investigator into police-involved deaths.
Advocates had been calling for an independent investigator for years, in the wake of a string of high-profile incidents, including:
The 2008 shooting death of off-duty Mount Vernon Police Officer Christopher Ridley by Westchester County Police. Ridley, wearing civilian clothes, had his gun out and was struggling to arrest a mugging suspect in White Plains when he was shot.
The 2010 shooting death of Pace University football player Danroy Henry, who was killed by a Pleasantville police officer after Henry's car hit another officer outside a crowded Thornwood bar.
The shooting death of 68-year-old Kenneth Chamberlain in his apartment by White Plains police responding to a medical alert. Police said Chamberlain threatened officers with a knife.
The Attorney General's Office found "no criminal culpability" in 2016 on the part of a New York City police officer who shot and killed a suspect he had chased into Tibbetts Brook Park in Yonkers in 2015.
While Rockland prosecutors have investigated several deaths involving police over the decades, the two most recent focused on Tina Davis of Spring Valley and Ferdy Jacinto-Martinez in the county jail. In both cases, the attorney general's investigators didn't find criminality but criticized the departments for poor training, poor decisions, and other issues. Families of both have filed civil lawsuits.
Jail death: AG's investigation into Ferdy Jacinto-Martinez's death in the Rockland County jail.
Tina Davis: Attorney General's Office report on her death in Spring Valley
Rockland Sheriff's police reform proposal: More diversity, training, community relations
Under a Cuomo executive order a few years ago, police departments in Rockland and their municipalities created committees of law enforcement, clergy, and other community members to hold public meetings on police reform.
Advocates have pressed for police departments to call in mental health professionals when dealing with people with mental health issues, unless the assessment on the ground is the person is posing an imminent danger. For example, advocates argued, Tina Davis was known to have mental health and substance abuse issues and should have been handled by mental health experts.
Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police, and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com. Twitter: @lohudlegal.
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This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Sean Harris death in Central Nyack while cops on scene probed by AG
