Family of Queens teen killed by police file lawsuit against city
/By Ryan Schwach
The family of Win Rozario, the 19-year-old shot and killed by police in his Queens home last year, filed a lawsuit against the city and the NYPD for wrongful death on Monday.
The 29-page suit, filed nearly a year after the family first indicated they intended to sue the city, argues that the two responding officers violated Rozario’s civil rights when they failed to deescalate the situation which ultimately resulted in Rozario’s death.
In March 2024, Rozario was shot multiple times by NYPD officers Salvatore Alongi and Matthew Cianfrocco after they responded to the Rozario home in Ozone Park after the teen himself called 911 while experiencing a mental health episode.
“The Defendant Officers knew that Mr. Rozario was experiencing a mental health
episode when they arrived, but instead of calling for a non-police health-focused response, or
utilizing de-escalation techniques to accommodate Mr. Rozario’s mental disability, defendants
escalated at every turn,” the lawsuit reads. “Defendant Officers’ quick resort to force, repeated and loud shouting, and aggressive actions escalated and exacerbated the situation.”
Through their attorneys, Rozario’s mother and brother, Notan Eva Costa and Utsho Rozario, who were present for the incident, as well as his father say that Alongi and Cianfrocco violated NYPD protocols and unnecessarily endangered Rozario’s family members in the process.
The lawsuit also includes ten unnamed officers who also responded to the shooting incident.
“Win Rozario should be alive today,” said attorney Luna Droubi from Beldock Levine & Hoffman, LLP, who is representing the family. “His death could have been avoided if police officers were removed from mental health responses. This lawsuit demands justice and accountability for the failures of the City. The Rozario family deserves nothing less.”
Nearly the entirety of the incident was captured on the cops’ body-worn cameras, which was released by Attorney General Leitita James’ office.
On March 27, 2024, officers Alongi and Cianfrocco approached the Rozario’s Ozone Park home after they reportedly got a call from Win Rozario seeking help amid a mental health episode.
The officers spoke briefly with Utsho, Rozario’s 17-year-old brother, who according to the newly filed lawsuit was home from school to help his brother during the apparent mental health episode.
The officers then went upstairs to the apartment, where Win Rozario stood with his mother. After seeing police, the teen grabbed a pair of yellow scissors from a drawer and moved in the direction of the officers before being stopped by his mother.
Alongi almost immediately pulled out his Taser, while Cianfrocco pulled out his gun.
Alongi then fired his Taser, striking Win. Despite the discharge of the Taser, Eva Costa continued to hold onto her son.
“Let go of him, and back up,” the police shouted. “Let go of him, miss”
Utsho, who was standing to the left of the police, said, “Please don’t shoot my mother,” a phrase he repeated throughout the remainder of the incident.
Though at one point, his mother was able to take the scissors out of Win Rozario’s hands, the teen eventually grabbed them again and was almost immediately shot at least four times by the officers, the bullets flying over the heads of Eva Costa and Utsho.
According to the suit, Win Rozario had long struggled with mental health issues, had been hospitalized twice in the past, and was on medication in the months leading up to his death.
“It’s been over a year since Matthew Cianfrocco and Salvatore Alongi murdered Win, and nothing has happened – they still haven’t been fired, arrested or prosecuted,” his family said in a statement on Monday. “Cianfrocco and Alongi created a crisis and escalated at every turn, recklessly gunning Win down in our home in less than two minutes – and almost killing two of us too. We know this lawsuit won’t give us true justice but we’re fighting for Win with every tool we have.”
The new suit also alleges that the officers failed to give Rozario proper medical assistance following the shooting, saying that they didn't check his vitals quick enough and that Cianfrocco repeatedly stopped giving Rozario CPR while using his hands to gesture to other responding officers.
In the hours following the shooting, the family has said they felt as though officers “treated [them] like criminals,” and expressed little sympathy for the incident.
Utsho said last year that both he and Eva Costa were immediately taken to the 102nd Precinct following the shooting. Utsho, who was wearing shorts and a sweatshirt, said that he wasn’t allowed to change despite the chilly weather.
Utsho also said they were not able to retrieve his parents’ medication or their family cat until they got back into their home 48 hours later, where Queens-based advocacy group Desis Rising Up & Moving helped them clean up the blood left at the scene.
“They didn't seem worried about us at all,” he said in front of City Hall at a rally last year.
The Rozario family has also put pressure on Mayor Eric Adams to fire Alongi and Cianfrocco, but the mayor has said he’d rather let any investigative process come to an end before making a decision.
Last year Adams said that he had reached out to the family, but that they declined to speak with him. However, in a statement later that same day, the family denied the mayor ever reached out at all, but added they likely wouldn't be interested in speaking with him even if he did reach out.
The NYPD said they would review the lawsuit, and that an investigation remains ongoing into the incident by the Force Investigation Division.
