Attorney General James’ Office of Special Investigation Releases Report on the Death of Alex Rivera

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) today released its report on the death of Alex Rivera, who died on May 31, 2023 following an encounter with members of the Syracuse Police Department (SPD) in Syracuse, Onondaga County. Following a thorough investigation, which included interviews with civilian witnesses and an independent medical professional, review of 911 calls, police body-worn camera footage, the autopsy report, and statements from involved officers, members of the Syracuse Fire Department (SFD), and civilian witnesses, and comprehensive legal analysis, OSI determined that a prosecutor would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the involved officers caused Mr. Rivera’s death, and therefore criminal charges would not be pursued in this matter.

Shortly after 4 a.m. on May 31, SPD officers responded to an apartment building on Teall Avenue in Syracuse after receiving multiple 911 calls placed between 2:08 a.m. and 3:55 a.m. from two witnesses reporting Mr. Rivera had barricaded himself inside the bathroom and appeared to be “on something,” going “crazy,” in some sort of “psychosis,” and “not in reality.” When officers arrived, they entered the apartment and found Mr. Rivera lying on the floor in a bathroom. Officers attempted to talk to Mr. Rivera, but he appeared unable to effectively communicate with them. At 4:11 a.m., the officers cuffed Mr. Rivera’s hands behind his back, carried him to the lawn outside of the building, and attempted to keep him on his side in a recovery position while waiting for paramedics and the ambulance to arrive.

Mr. Rivera continued to move around and talk incoherently, and officers attempted to keep Mr. Rivera in place, with one officer placing his foot on Mr. Rivera’s shin and other officers holding Mr. Rivera’s arm. Mr. Rivera continued to move around on the ground, and at one point, officers attempted to re-lock the handcuffs. One officer placed a knee on Mr. Rivera’s back as another officer held his arm. At 4:18 a.m., Mr. Rivera sat up and continued to speak incoherently. An Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) arrived and instructed Mr. Rivera that he was going to put him “to sleep” because he could not medically assess Mr. Rivera in his condition. At 4:20 a.m., the officers and another EMT held Mr. Rivera in place while the first EMT sedated Mr. Rivera. Officers continued to hold Mr. Rivera as they waited for the medication to take effect.

At 4:26 a.m., officers and emergency responders moved Mr. Rivera into the ambulance, where he became unresponsive. Officers, EMTs, and members of SFD began performing life-saving measures. Mr. Rivera was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5 a.m.

According to the autopsy report and an interview with the medical examiner, Mr. Rivera’s cause of death was acute polysubstance intoxication from the different types of drugs Mr. Rivera had ingested, including lethal amounts of both Fentanyl and Xylazine. The medical examiner said that even if Mr. Rivera had nothing else in his system, he would have died from the amount of Fentanyl in his system and ruled the manner of Mr. Rivera’s death to be “accident.”

The OSI obtained an independent forensic pathologist to review the case, and the pathologist agreed with the ruling of Mr. Rivera’s death to be “accident,” and noted that neither the officers’ application of handcuffs nor the prone restraint caused Mr. Rivera’s death.

In New York, a person may only be found guilty of a homicide if the evidence proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the person caused the death. In this case, the medical examiner and independent forensic pathologist ruled Mr. Rivera’s cause of death to be “accident,” and said that neither the officers’ application of handcuffs nor the prone restraint caused his death or was a significant contributing factor to his death. Under these circumstances, given the law and the evidence, a prosecutor would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the officers caused Mr. Rivera’s death, and therefore OSI will not pursue criminal charges in this matter.