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Family of Bronx man shot by police asks Mayor Adams to fire the NYPD officers involved
By
Brittany Kriegstein
and
Samantha Max
Published May 15, 2023
Modified May 16, 2023
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Brittany Kriegstein / Gothamist
By
Brittany Kriegstein
and
Samantha Max
Published May 15, 2023
Modified May 16, 2023
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The family of a Bronx man killed by police in his own apartment is asking Mayor Adams to use his influence to make sure the officers in the case are fired.
Family members and their supporters rallied outside City Hall Monday, three days after the end of an administrative trial for Officers Brendan Thompson and Herbert Davis. They also hand delivered a letter to Adams outlining their requests.
An administrative judge will now make a recommendation as to whether the officers should face discipline or be fired. Her recommendation must be approved by Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, and ultimately, she answers to Adams. In the meantime, the officers are still on the job.
“Those two officers, Thompson and Davis, they need to be fired from the NYPD,” said Rickie Trawick, Kawaski Trawick’s father. “So please, y'all New Yorkers stick together. Bad policing, that's no good in New York. Get rid of it.”
A watchdog agency that investigates claims of police misconduct maintains that Thompson used excessive force when he shot and killed Trawick in 2019. The agency says Davis failed to render medical aid.
Clutching the typed letter in her hands, mother Ellen Trawick spoke about spending her fifth Mother’s Day without her son. Her two daughters looked on somberly.
If Kawaski Trawick were still alive, his mother said he would have come to visit her in Georgia yesterday with “the biggest smile on his face.” Instead, she said she spent the day in New York, fighting for swift justice for him, she said.
“We're asking that the NYPD judge recommendation report be public as soon as possible. We're hoping that this information is reported within 30 days, no longer than six months. No longer than a year. A year is too long for us to know the decision,” Ellen Trawick said.
At the administrative trial, a policing expert testified that the officers should have done more to slow down the encounter and call for back-up to avoid using deadly force. Howard Jordan, former Chief of the Oakland Police Department, criticized the officers for not telling Trawick why they were at his apartment or otherwise trying to engage him in a conversation. He said their actions escalated the situation and “created the exigency” that led to Thompson firing his gun.
“I don’t believe Mr. Trawick was a threat when they initially opened the door,” Jordan said.
Attorneys for the officers maintain that they were trying to protect themselves while interacting with a person who was armed and acting erratically. The NYPD’s Force Investigation Division found they followed department policy and the Bronx District Attorney’s Office declined to bring criminal charges. It could take months for the police commissioner to make a final decision in this case.
This story has been updated to correct a pronoun associated with the administrative judge.
Tagged
new york city
public safety
Brittany Kriegstein
Brittany Kriegstein covers all breaking news around New York City, with a focus on crime and gun violence. Got a tip? Email Brittany at [email protected].
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Samantha Max
Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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