Attorney General James’ Office of Special Investigation Releases Report on Death of Nathan Scott

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) today released its report on the death of Nathan Scott, who died on March 18, 2024 following an encounter with members of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) in Brooklyn. After a thorough investigation, which included review of footage from security cameras and body-worn cameras, 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 were justified under New York law.

On the evening of March 18, Nathan Scott was robbed by two people and began chasing them down East 56th Street toward Lenox Road. A few minutes later, NYPD officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert and numerous 911 calls reporting a man shooting a gun on East 56th Street. When officers arrived at the scene, they saw a man who fit the description of the shooter – later identified as Mr. Scott – running down East 57th Street between Remsen Avenue and East 56th Street, firing a gun. The officers discharged their service weapons at Mr. Scott and then asked him to drop his weapon. Mr. Scott was taken to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

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, officers were responding to multiple reports of a man shooting a gun on the street. When officers encountered Mr. Scott, he was running down East 57th Street and officers had seen him fire his gun. Under these circumstances, given 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 physical force against Mr. Scott was justified, and therefore OSI determined that criminal charges would not be pursued in this matter.