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NYPD officer abused authority, used excessive force in Bronx shooting, watchdog says
By
Caroline Lewis
Published Dec 3, 2024
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By
Caroline Lewis
Published Dec 3, 2024
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A police watchdog agency has determined that an NYPD officer used excessive force and abused his authority when he shot and critically injured a man experiencing a mental health crisis in the Bronx last year.
The man, who was holding a kitchen knife, was the focus of a letter summarizing the agency’s findings.
But it remains to be determined whether the officer will be subjected to discipline, which is ultimately administered by the NYPD. The police department has asked the watchdog agency, known as the Civilian Complaint Review Board, to reconsider its findings, according to board spokesperson Clare Platt.
The board, after an investigation, “substantiated” claims that Officer Derek Bernard “took law enforcement action based on actual or perceived disability” when approaching Raul de la Cruz, who has schizophrenia, in his father’s apartment in the March 26, 2023, incident. The board affirmed that Bernard pointed and fired his gun at de la Cruz.
An NYPD spokesperson said in a statement the disciplinary process is ongoing.
Raul de la Cruz.
Courtesy de la Cruz's family.
The Civilian Complaint Review Board rejected charges that Bernard acted based on de la Cruz’s national origin – he’s from the Dominican Republic – or that Bernard abused his authority by failing to obtain language translation services for de la Cruz, who speaks Spanish.
The board shared its findings with Raul’s father, Santo de la Cruz, in late September. The letter was shared with Gothamist by lawyers representing Raul in a lawsuit against the city.
“We are hopeful that the NYPD understands the gravity of the charges and takes the action that is recommended,” said Ruth Lowenkron, the director of disability justice at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, the nonprofit representing de la Cruz.
If the board's findings are upheld, Bernard is entitled to an administrative hearing before it makes an official disciplinary recommendation to the police department, which could include suspension or termination.
But it will ultimately be up to the new police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, to decide whether to accept that guidance. The case could be one of the first major tests of whether Tisch, who previously helmed the Sanitation Department, will align with the Civilian Complaint Review Board on officer discipline.
The NYPD has already rejected the watchdog agency’s disciplinary recommendation for another officer involved in the incident, according to a separate letter the board sent to Santo de la Cruz.
Past police commissioners have routinely dismissed or downgraded the Civilian Complaint Review Board's recommendations. Keechant Sewell, the first police commissioner to serve under Mayor Eric Adams, rejected more than half of the board's disciplinary recommendations in her first year on the job, board officials testified to the City Council last year.
In an emailed statement, Raul de la Cruz said that he wants the officers involved in the shooting to face discipline and that he hopes the city changes the way it responds to people like him.
“I still don’t feel good,” he said. “My movements are limited, I cannot sleep well, and I feel panic.”
Santo de la Cruz called 311 in March 2023 in the hopes of summoning mental health professionals to help his son, he told Gothamist shortly after the incident. Instead, Bernard and another officer, Nicholas Trupia, showed up and the situation escalated quickly, according to a video of the incident.
The officers began speaking with Santo and Raul in English, which the Spanish speakers didn’t understand, according to the video and interviews with the family. When Raul began walking toward the officers with a knife, they fired seven shots.
Trupia is not facing disciplinary action because he has since resigned, according to the Civilian Complaint Review Board.
The board did recommend disciplinary action for a third officer on the scene, Elyjah Bennett, who was not initially identified by the NYPD and did not appear in the video.
The Civilian Complaint Review Board'ssuggested level of discipline could have entailed a loss of vacation days — but the police department has already rejected that guidance, according to the board. The decision came down before Tisch joined the NYPD last month.
The board did not specify in its letter what exactly Bennett’s role was in the incident. But after learning of the officer’s presence on the scene, de la Cruz’s lawyers requested that Bennett be added as a defendant in the lawsuit he brought against the city earlier this year, which already names Trupia and Bernard.
Tagged
Race And Justice Unit
public safety
bronx
Health and Science
Caroline Lewis
Caroline Lewis is on the health care beat for WNYC and Gothamist. She has covered COVID, a nurses' strike, the overdose crisis and New York’s marijuana legalization effort, and spent a year investigating patients' medical bills. She always wants to hear about how everyday New Yorkers experience the health system. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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