Attorney General James’ Office of Special Investigation Releases Report on Death of Raul Hardy

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) today released its report on the death of Raul Hardy, who died on July 9, 2022 after an encounter with members of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) in Queens. Following a thorough investigation, which included review of body-worn camera footage, 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 officers’ actions against Mr. Hardy were justified under New York law. 

On the evening of July 9, NYPD officers were dispatched to Mr. Hardy’s residence in St. Albans, Queens after Mr. Hardy made multiple calls to 911. During the calls, Mr. Hardy gave his name and address, threatened to shoot elected officials and police officers, and said he would shoot any officers who came to his house. When officers arrived at the residence, Mr. Hardy came outside armed with a gun. Officers instructed Mr. Hardy to drop the weapon, but Mr. Hardy did not comply, instead aiming the gun at the officers. Mr. Hardy and the officers exchanged gunfire. Mr. Hardy was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Officers recovered a gun at the scene. 

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. Hardy had threatened the lives of public officials and confronted the officers outside of his home with a gun. 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 officers’ use of deadly force was justified.

When officers were dispatched to Mr. Hardy’s residence, they anticipated that they would be confronted with a potentially volatile interaction with an individual experiencing a mental health crisis. In the report, OSI recommends that the NYPD implement regular annual or biannual training for patrol sergeants and patrol lieutenants on how they and the officers they command interact with civilians experiencing mental health crises. This training should be developed with the goal of avoiding violence or deadly force and include strategies for devising and following effective tactical plans and de-escalation, based on real-world scenarios.

The OSI reviewed NYPD’s current training curricula and materials on interacting with those who may be experiencing a mental health crisis and concluded that supervisors would benefit from more frequent trainings involving real-world scenarios and hands-on experience. In this case, Mr. Hardy threatened to kill police officers earlier in the day, came to his door with a loaded gun, and aimed it at police officers. Though OSI acknowledges the possibility that there was likely nothing the responding officers could have done that day that would have changed the outcome, more frequent trainings would ensure officers are prepared to initiate de-escalation tactics and procedures in future high pressure situations.