No charges for cops who killed St. Albans man in 2022

There will be no charges brought against a group of NYPD officers who shot and killed a man in the midst of a mental health crisis in Queens in the summer of 2022. Screenshot via the State Attorney General

By Ryan Schwach

New York’s attorney general said Friday that her office will not attempt to prosecute a group of NYPD officers who shot and killed a man wielding a gun while experiencing an apparent mental health crisis in St. Albans in July 2022.

Attorney General Letitia James’ office says that the seven officers who responded to the home of Raul Hardy, who was in the midst of a mental health crisis while holding a gun and threatening the officers, were not unjustified in their use of deadly force when they shot him 17 times outside his home, killing him.

However, the office did find issues in the NYPD’s response to the situation, and recommend the department improve its training for officers about how to respond to individuals experiencing a mental health crisis.

The AG’s Office of Special Investigations, determined the officers – all from Queens’ 113th Precinct – acted under the law, and thus should not face any charges for the incident.

“OSI will not seek charges against the officers because it would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt that their use of deadly force against Mr. Hardy was justified under New York law,” the office said in their report issued Friday.

According to the report, the 60-year-old Hardy, who’s neighbors later told reporters he had a history of mental health issues, called 911 twice on the evening of July 9, 2022.

Hardy told the first 911 operator that he had “fever to kill police,” and gave his address in St. Albans.

"If you bring the police to my face, I'm going to blow their f–ing brains out, " he said to the operator.

He called again a few minutes later, and made similar threats, this time telling the operator he had a gun.

The first dispatcher told officers from the 113th Precinct about the call, as well as the threats. The responding officer, Sergeant Dominick Gagnon, ordered officers to meet down the block from Hardy’s given address.

Ten officers, including Gagnon, responded, and met at the corner of 205th Street and 116th Avenue, about half a block from Hardy's home.

Gagnon told the AG’s investigators that he was responsible for planning the approach to the home, and ordered two officers around the back of the building. The remaining officers walked toward Hardy’s home, with the intent to call the Emergency Services Unit to further deal with the situation if they determined he was inside.

Body camera footage released by the AG’s office shows officers approaching the home, and waiting for a period of time before Gagnon shouted, “Raul.”

The footage showed that at least one officer already had his weapon drawn at that point.

Hardy can be heard shouting, “That’s me motherf–er,” before officers responded and told him to show them his hands.

Hardy screamed again, and walked out of his home, while officers continued to tell him to show them his hands and to get on the ground.

Hardy then pulled what is believed to be a gun from his waistband and the officers began to shoot him. Hardy then fell backwards behind some bushes.

The cops then let off several sporadic shots after Hardy had already been hit. Another shot is heard two seconds after the initial barrage of bullets, and approximately four seconds after that, another volley of shots is heard on the video. Gagnon warned the officers about friendly fire, and yelled for the officers to stop shooting.

Gagnon called for an ambulance, and after determining that Hardy was not moving, the officers moved toward him and placed him in handcuffs.

They found a .380 caliber pistol and two magazines on the ground next to Hardy.

He was taken to Jamaica Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

In total, Hardy fired four shots, and the seven officers fired a total of 134 rounds, 17 of which struck Hardy.

Based on the evidence that Hardy himself pulled a gun and fired at the officers, the OSI determined that they could not prove that the officers’ actions were unjustified.

“The officers from the 113th Precinct could use the physical force they reasonably believed to be necessary to effectuate the arrest of Mr. Hardy and could use deadly force if they reasonably believed it was necessary to defend themselves or another against Mr. Hardy’s imminent use of deadly force,” the report reads.

Mental health and violent force

While the AG’s office said prosecuting the officers was out of the question, it didn’t absolve them of all responsibility in Hardy’s death.

“It is possible that there was nothing the responding officers could have done that day which would have changed the outcome,” the report said. “However, it is clear that the techniques taught by the NYPD to prepare for and de-escalate such situations were not followed.”

The OSI determined that the officers did not do enough to slow down the situation, and did little to deescalate before shots were fired.

The AG argued that even though the officers had Hardy’s phone number, no attempt was made to contact him before entering the area.

The officers also arrived at the house in a group, and once Hardy exited the home, they did not seek cover and instead got closer to him.

Officers knew it was likely Hardy was emotionally disturbed based on the information given to by the dispatcher, the AG’s office said.

“[The] NYPD tells the supervisor on the scene to designate one officer as the ‘contact officer,’ meaning the one officer who should talk with the person in crisis,” the report reads. “The contact officer should take steps to minimize the agitation of the person, such as by communicating calmly. When Sgt. Gagnon and the other officers first encountered Mr. Hardy, multiple officers began yelling for him to show his hands. No officer was designated as a contact officer and no attempt was made to de-escalate the situation.”

The report also points out that some officers had their guns out before making any attempt to communicate with Hardy.

OSI also said that officers are trained to “fire in short bursts and reassess the situation after each burst,” which they don’t believe officers did.

In their report, the AG’s office recommended that the NYPD improve its training for officers responding to a mental health crisis.

“OSI recommends that NYPD patrol sergeants and patrol lieutenants have mandatory

training on an annual or bi-annual basis for situations when they and members they command

interact with people who may be in a mental health crisis,” the report read. “This training should include devising and following effective tactical plans, de-escalation and firearms deployment, and should be based on real world scenarios.”

“The goal should be to preserve life whenever possible,” the report continued.

The AG’s recommendation comes as their office continues its investigations into two other Queens police killings involving people in mental health crises in the last year.

That includes the shooting of 46-year-old Djamshed Nematov, who had stabbed his wife during what was believed to be a mental health episode in March. Nematov allegedly refused to drop a knife outside his Forest Hills apartment when he was shot by police.

The AG’s office is also investigating the shooting of 19-year-old Win Rozario, who was undergoing a crisis when he himself called 911 for help on March 27 in Ozone Park.

Two officers shot Rozario in front of his mother and younger brother around a minute after arriving at the family’s home.