4 years later, a disciplinary hearing in fatal NYPD shooting

Apr 24, 2023, 7:39 AM

This undated family photo, provided by Ellen Trawick, shows her son Kawaski Trawick. Now four years...

This undated family photo, provided by Ellen Trawick, shows her son Kawaski Trawick. Now four years after Trawick, a Black man who was shot dead by a white New York City Police Department officer in his own apartment, the Civilian Complaint Review Board is pursuing a last-ditch attempt at holding the officers responsible. An administrative trial starts Monday, April 24, 2023 to determine whether either violated department rules during the encounter. (Courtesy of Ellen Trawick via AP)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(Courtesy of Ellen Trawick via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Kawaski Trawick’s interaction with the police lasted less than two minutes. Starting with a door knock, it ended with the 32-year-old Black man shot dead by a white New York Police Department officer in his own apartment, the killing caught on body camera and surveillance video.

An internal NYPD investigation found no wrongdoing on the part of the officer or his partner. The district attorney in the Bronx, where the shooting took place in 2019, declined to bring charges.

Now, four years after Trawick’s death, a civilian agency tasked with oversight of the NYPD is pursuing a last-ditch attempt to get the department to discipline the officers.

An administrative trial starts Monday to determine whether either violated department rules during the encounter.

The Civilian Complaint Review Board will argue that Officer Brendan Thompson, who fired both his Taser and his handgun at Trawick, used an improper amount of force, and both he and his partner, Officer Herbert Davis, didn’t promptly seek medical care for the dying man.

If found by an NYPD judge to have violated department rules, the officers could face penalties including firing, though a final decision about discipline will be left to Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell.

An accusation of improperly entering Trawick’s apartment was dismissed by the trial judge.

Trawick’s family and community advocates have been vocal in their calls for the officers to be fired for the death of the Georgia native, who moved to New York City a few years before his death to pursue his dreams of dancing stardom.

“He was working toward … getting himself to a place where he was known for what he loved to do,” said his mother, Ellen Trawick. “Not for being murdered by two police officers.”

The leadership of the Police Benevolent Association, the union representing patrol officers and which is paying for the officers’ attorneys, called Trawick’s death an “undeniable tragedy” that was being exploited by “anti-police activists.”

“The case was thoroughly investigated by both the Bronx district attorney and the NYPD’s Force Investigation Division, which found no evidence of wrongdoing by these police officers,” PBA President Pat Lynch said in a statement. “CCRB is not claiming it has any new evidence that would change those findings.”

On the night he died, Trawick had locked himself out of his apartment at a supportive housing facility in the Bronx for people experiencing issues including substance abuse or living with certain health conditions.

He called 911, falsely saying the building was on fire. Other people in the building made calls to 911 about him, complaining he was being disruptive.

The Fire Department responded first. Shortly before 11 p.m., firefighters got his door open without incident. Trawick, seen on surveillance camera footage carrying a knife and a stick, said goodbye to the firefighters, went inside and closed the door.

A few minutes later, the two police officers arrived at his door. As seen on surveillance video and Thompson’s body camera footage, what followed was this: Davis, a 16-year veteran at the time, knocked and when the door moved ajar, pushed it open further, bringing Trawick into sight standing at his stove in his underwear with the knife and stick still in his hands.

The officers repeatedly told Trawick to put down the knife.

Trawick, annoyed, repeatedly asked the officers why they are there.

“I’ve got a knife because I’m cooking!” he said.

Trawick was standing still, muttering to himself, when Thompson abruptly fired his Taser, dropping him to the floor.

Screaming in pain and anger, Trawick rose, yelling at the officers to get out of his home.

As officers backed out of the apartment, Davis, who is Black, can be seen on the video briefly pushing his white partner’s gun down, telling him, “Don’t, don’t, don’t.”

A moment later, Trawick moved toward the officers, yelling, “I’m gonna kill you all!” while still holding the knife. Thompson fired four shots, killing him.

Thompson radioed for help and emergency medical technicians arrived within two minutes but couldn’t help Trawick.

In the day after Trawick’s death, senior NYPD officers said the shooting appeared to be justified, and that he had been “charging” the officers when he was shot. It wasn’t until more than a year and a half later that the full video footage became public after a legal push from nonprofit groups.

In a report explaining her decision not to bring criminal charges, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, who is Black, said that while Trawick’s death was “profoundly tragic,” her office wouldn’t be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Thompson’s use of deadly force was unjustified.

Loyda Colon, executive director of Justice Committee, an organization that advocates against police abuse of power, said the video shows the officers did not follow the department’s protocols for how to engage in situations like Trawick’s.

Trawick “is unfortunately one of too many people whose death at the hands of the NYPD was completely avoidable,” Colon said.

Like many police departments, the NYPD has struggled with incidents in which people in psychological crisis have been killed by officers in situations that — in retrospect — seemed avoidable.

The department offers training in “de-escalation” tactics, through which officers are supposed to try to defuse encounters by talking calmly, rather than barking orders, and isolate a disturbed person who is not following instructions rather than resort to threats or violence to get them to comply.

The disciplinary trial is scheduled to last for several days, with some testimony occurring this week and more in May, after a break due to scheduling conflicts.

United States News

Associated Press

Rights upheld, lawsuit revived against teacher accused of cutting Native American student’s hair

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — An appeals court ruling has revived an anti-discrimination lawsuit accusing an Albuquerque teacher of cutting off one Native American girl’s hair and asking another if she was dressed as a “bloody Indian” during class on Halloween. Outrage over the girls’ treatment propelled legislation in New Mexico and beyond that prohibits […]

11 hours ago

This GOES-East GeoColor satellite image taken Friday, June 2, 2023 at 1:21 p.m. EDT., and provided ...

Associated Press

Tropical Storm Arlene, 1st of season, forms in Gulf of Mexico

MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Arlene, the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, formed Friday in the Gulf of Mexico on a track taking the cyclone south toward the western tip of Cuba. National Hurricane Center forecasters said in a 1:30 p.m. advisory that Arlene had sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) […]

11 hours ago

Associated Press

People trapped after building partially collapses near Yale campus

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — New Haven firefighters and other authorities responded Friday to reports of a partial building collapse with people trapped a few blocks away from Yale University. Few details were immediately available. Initial information indicated there was a partial collapse of a building under construction on Lafayette Street and some people were […]

11 hours ago

FILE - Absentee ballots wait to be processed at the Lee County Circuit Clerk's Office in Tupelo, Mi...

Associated Press

Mississippi absentee ballot law harms voters with disabilities, lawsuit says

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi’s new restrictions on absentee ballots could disenfranchise voters who have disabilities by preventing them from receiving help from people they trust, according to a lawsuit that seeks to block the restrictions. The law — set to take effect July 1 — sets a short list of people who can “collect […]

11 hours ago

Associated Press

Post-mortem exams being performed on 2 dead whales seen floating off New York this week

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) — Two dead humpback whales were spotted floating in the waters off New York this week, officials said, part of a troubling rise in whale deaths in the region. Necropsies were being performed Friday to determine what killed the two whales that were first seen Wednesday, one off eastern Long Island and […]

11 hours ago

FILE - A roadblock is seen along Center Sugarbush Lane on Feb. 8, 2023, along Elsie Lake Lane in La...

Associated Press

Federal government lawsuit accuses Wisconsin town of trespassing on tribal reservation

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit to force a northern Wisconsin town to pay unspecified damages for failing to renew access easements on American Indian tribal land. U.S. Attorney Timothy O’Shea filed the action in Madison on Wednesday seeking a declaration that without easements the town of Lac […]

11 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Here are the biggest tips to keep your AC bill low this summer

PHOENIX — In Arizona during the summer, having a working air conditioning unit is not just a pleasure, but a necessity. No one wants to walk from their sweltering car just to continue to be hot in their home. As the triple digits hit around the Valley and are here to stay, your AC bill […]

...

SANDERSON FORD

Thank you to Al McCoy for 51 years as voice of the Phoenix Suns

Sanderson Ford wants to share its thanks to Al McCoy for the impact he made in the Valley for more than a half-decade.

(Photo: OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center)...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

Here’s what you need to know about OCD and where to find help

It's fair to say that most people know what obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders generally are, but there's a lot more information than meets the eye about a mental health diagnosis that affects about one in every 100 adults in the United States.

4 years later, a disciplinary hearing in fatal NYPD shooting