Attorney General James’ Office of Special Investigation Releases Report on Death of Qian Adams 

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) today released its report on the death of Qian Adams, who died on December 11, 2023 in a motor vehicle collision involving a member of the Syracuse Police Department (SPD) in Syracuse. Following a thorough investigation, which included review of video footage from a nearby security camera and the officer’s body-worn camera, collision reconstruction, and comprehensive legal analysis, OSI determined that a prosecutor would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the involved officer committed a crime, and therefore criminal charges would not be pursued in this matter.  

Shortly after midnight on December 11, an SPD officer was responding to a report of a theft in progress. The officer was traveling southwest on West Bear Street, a four-lane, two-way road that intersects with Liberty Street, a one-way, two-lane road. When the officer turned left onto Liberty Street from West Bear Street, he struck Mr. Adams, who was wearing dark clothing and riding an e-bike with a small LED light while traveling northbound in the middle of Liberty Street. Mr. Adams was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.  

Under OSI’s analysis of New York’s Vehicle and Traffic Law, Penal Law, and case law articulated by New York’s highest court, a police officer who causes a death while properly responding in a police vehicle to an emergency cannot be charged with a crime unless the officer acts recklessly or intentionally. The criminal charge that requires recklessness is Manslaughter in the Second Degree, in which a person is guilty when they recklessly cause the death of another person. To meet this standard, the evidence would need to prove that the officer consciously disregarded a “substantial and unjustifiable” risk of death, and that their actions were a “gross deviation” from a reasonable standard of conduct.  

Assuming the officer was not responding to an emergency, the evidence does not establish that he acted negligently. Proving criminally negligent homicide requires proving beyond a reasonable doubt that a person failed to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that death would occur; that the failure to perceive the risk was a gross deviation from a reasonable person’s standard of care; and that the person engaged in blameworthy conduct.  

In this case, while the officer caused Mr. Adams’ death, the evidence does not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer’s conduct was a gross deviation from what a reasonable officer would do in the same circumstances, and it does not establish that the officer consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death. The officer was obeying the speed limit, driving within a range of 29 to 35 MPH in a 40 MPH zone. There is no reason to believe that he was speeding or driving in a dangerous manner or that he could have seen Mr. Adams in time to avoid striking him. 

There is also no reason to believe that the officer was impaired by drugs or alcohol, was texting or on a phone call, or was otherwise distracted. Therefore, OSI concluded that there was insufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges.  

Determining the possibility of alcohol impairment is an essential component of investigating vehicular crashes. In this case, the involved officer was never administered a Portable Breath Test (PBT). While there is no reason to believe that the officer driving the car was impaired by drugs or alcohol, OSI recommends that all patrol officers and supervisors be trained in the administration of the PBT and field sobriety tests so that they can test any on-duty or off-duty police officer involved in a motor vehicle collision on scene.