One year later, family of Queens teen shot by police say they have few answers

The family of Win Rozario, a 19-year-old who was shot and killed by police in Ozone Park, marches to the 102nd Precinct a year after Rozario’s death. Photo by Jacob Kaye

By Jacob Kaye

The family of Win Rozario, a Queens teenager who was killed by two police officers while experiencing a mental health crisis, has yet to receive any answers about the 19-year-old’s death a year after he was shot in his parents home.

Rozario’s mother, father and younger brother on Thursday begged the city and the state attorney general’s office to update them on the investigation into the teen’s killing, which unfolded in a matter of minutes after he called 911 himself in search of help.

A year after two officers from the local 102nd Precinct walked into the family’s home and shot Rozario around a half dozen times, his family says they feel as though they’ve been kept in the dark.

“It's insane that after a year, we are still fighting for justice and accountability,” Utsho Rozario, the slain teen’s younger brother, said in Ozone Park during a vigil for the 19-year-old on Thursday.

Beyond demanding answers and updates to the investigation into Rozario’s killing, the family said they want a specific result – the firing and prosecution of NYPD officers Matthew J. Cianfrocco and Salvatore J. Alongi.

“If any of us had done what they have done, we would have been arrested,” Utsho Rozario said. “No more double standards.”

A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office told the Eagle on Friday that the investigation into the shooting is ongoing.

Both Cianfrocco and Alongi are currently on modified duty.

Win Rozario’s family, neighbors and criminal justice advocates rally outside the 102nd Precinct a year after the teen’s killing. Photo by Jacob Kaye

Rozario’s killing, which was captured on police body-worn cameras and released by the attorney general’s office last May, sparked outrage throughout the city and fueled the ongoing debate over the police’s role in responding to the city’s mental health crisis.

“It’s been a year,” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said on Thursday. “No one has been disciplined. Nothing has changed about how the NYPD answers these calls. That makes no sense at all. At some point we have to be tired enough, care about these lives enough, to do something different.”

Cianfrocco and Alongi were accused by the Rozario family, advocates and lawmakers of doing little to defuse the situation they walked into and being ill-equipped to handle New Yorkers experiencing mental health issues.

After arriving at the family’s home last year, Alongi asked Utsho, who greeted the cops at the front door, about the reason for the 911 call.

“He’s having an episode,” Utsho said.

Alongi responded by asking the brother if Rozario was “a bi-polar schizo,” to which Utsho responded, “No.”

Rozario was holding a pair of scissors when the officers arrived, and at one point began to walk toward the cops while holding the potential weapon. Cianfrocco and Alongi almost immediately pulled out their Tasers and pointed them at the 19-year-old, whose mother clung to him while trying to wrestle the scissors out of his hands.

The struggle escalated quickly. Though at one point, Rozario put the scissors down, he eventually picked them back up and began to move toward Cianfrocco and Alongi.

The cops shot Rozario at least five times, three minutes after they arrived at the family’s front door.

NYPD Officers Matthew J. Cianfrocco and Salvatore J. Alongi fired a combined five shots at Win Rozario on March 27, 2024. Screenshot via State Attorneys General’s Office

All of the shots the cops unloaded at the teen flew over the heads of Utsho and his mother, Notan Eva Costa, who were huddled in the doorway between the kitchen, where Rozorio was, and the living room, where the officers shot him from.

“Officers Salvatore Alongi and Matthew Cianfrocco Tased, shot and killed my son in less than two minutes,” Francis Rozario, the teen’s father, said. “They treated him like he didn't matter.”

“It's a miracle that they didn't also kill my other son and wife,” he added. “[Alongi and Cianfrocco] should be fired and prosecuted and not allowed to keep their jobs.”

The family said the lack of compassion from the police and the city continued long after Rozario died in the family’s kitchen.

Almost immediately after the shooting, Rozario’s parents and brother were allegedly brought to the 102nd Precinct, where they said they were interrogated. Utsho, who was 17-years-old at the time, was forced to speak to the police without an attorney present, the family said.

Win Rozario’s younger brother, Utsho Rozario, speaks at a vigil for his brother, a year after his death. Photo by Jacob Kaye

The family was also prevented by the police from going back into their apartment for days after the shooting. They allegedly were not allowed to collect their medications or feed their cat until 48 hours after the incident. When they finally were again allowed back into their home, the 19-year-old’s blood remained splattered on the kitchen floor.

The family was joined by neighbors, several other New Yorkers whose loved ones were killed by police and a number of local advocacy groups, including Queens-based Desis Rising Up & Moving and Justice Committee during the vigil.

Following the gathering, the group marched to the 102nd Precinct, where they called on the officers to be fired and for some semblance of justice.

“I don't want any other family filled with pain like mine,” Eva Costa said.