NYPD watchdog says officers shouldn’t have shot Queens teen
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The Civilian Complaint Review Board substantiated complaints against the two officers involved in the shooting death of 19-year-old Win Rozario in Queens last year. Screenshot via New York Attorney General’s Office
By Ryan Schwach
The NYPD’s watchdog group substantiated several charges against the two officers who shot and killed 19-year-old Win Rozario inside his family’s Queens home last year as he experienced an alleged mental health crisis.
On Wednesday, the Civilian Complaint Review Board ruled to substantiate misconduct allegations – including charges of excessive force and abuse of authority – against Officers Salvatore Alongi and Matthew Cianfrocco, who responded to the Rozario home in March 2024 after the teen himself called 911 during a mental health episode.
The CCRB voted to substantiate four allegations against each officer, and referred other possible misconduct to the NYPD and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who has the final say on whether or not the officers will be disciplined.
The NYPD did not respond to requests for comment on Friday.
The ruling comes as the Rozario family has put pressure on Mayor Eric Adams to fire Alongi and Cianfrocco and has sued the city over the officers’ alleged misconduct.
City Hall declined to comment on Wednesday.
According to documents first obtained by the Daily News, the CCRB went against the findings of its own investigators when making its determination.
Investigators found that all 16 complaints that were levied against the officers were within NYPD guidelines.
The board overruled the investigators on eight of the charges, finding that both officers went against department guidelines when they fired their guns, and abused their authority in their entry to the home.
Additionally, the board found that Alongi was not within NYPD guidelines when he fired his Taser, which he shot twice before Cianfrocco fired his once.
The board did not substantiate five additional charges, including allegations that they abused their authority regarding their detention of Eva Costa and Utsho Rozario. The CCRB didn’t make a ruling on three of the charges.
Rozario’s family, who have been calling for disciplinary actions against the officers since the shooting last year, said the CCRB’s ruling gave them a sense of solace despite a difficult year and half.
“There isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss my son, my heart is still broken,” said Rozario’s mother, Notan Eva Costa, who was at the family home with her two sons when the teen was shot. “CCRB's decision gives us some relief in this moment that they understand that Win's life mattered and that Alongi and Cianfrocco are dangerous. We thank the CCRB for moving forward on disciplining Alongi and Cianfrocco, we thank those who have been supporting our family and we'll continue to fight to make sure Alongi and Cianfrocco are both fired as soon as possible so they can't hurt or murder any other New Yorkers."
On March 27, 2024, Alongi and Cianfrocco approached the Rozario’s Ozone Park home after they reportedly got a call from the 19-year-old seeking help amid a mental health episode.
The officers spoke briefly with Utsho, Rozario’s 17-year-old brother, and then went upstairs to the apartment, where Rozario stood with his mother. After seeing police, the teen grabbed a pair of yellow scissors from a drawer and moved toward the officers before being stopped by his mother.
The family of 19-year-old Win Rozario, who was shot and killed by police inside his Queens home in 2024, continue to call for the disciplining of the two officers involved in the shooting. Eagle file photo by Ryan Schwach
Alongi almost immediately pulled out his Taser, while Cianfrocco pulled out his gun.
Alongi then fired his Taser, striking Rozario. 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 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.
The entire interaction lasted only around three minutes.
The Rozario family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city and the NYPD earlier this summer.
"The past year and a half have been incredibly hard for me and my family,” Eva Costa said. “I still feel the trauma of Alongi and Cianfrocco murdering Win in front of me, and almost killing me and my other son too.”
Luna Droubi, the family’s attorney in the wrongful death suit, said the CCRB’s decision was one step closer to accountability.
“It’s vindicating that the CCRB has substantiated claims against the officers who killed Win Rozario,” she said.
Advocates from the Justice Committee, which has aided and represented the Rozario family since the shooting, worry the NYPD will drag its feet on making a disciplinary decision.
“We’re demanding the NYPD serve the discipline charges immediately, instead of their
usual tactic of stalling to shield the cops, as they have done with so many other cases,” said Loyda Colon, executive director of the Justice Committee. “Alongi and Cianfrocco must be fired and prosecuted without further delay.”
In July, the NYPD and Tisch bucked the CCRB’s recommendation when it was decided that Lieutenant Johnathan Rivera would not face disciplinary action for shooting and killing Alan Feliz in the Bronx in 2019.
Feliz’s brother, Sammy, testified before the CCRB in Rozario’s case last week.
“I'm here today not for my brother, but for this family, the Win Rozario family, because they deserve nothing more than justice from this staff and from this CCRB board,” Feliz said.
“When I took a look at this video, I saw a young person who needed care, a mother who was giving it to him and pleading for his life, and two officers that were intent on attacking and killing Win,” Feliz added.
Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, whose death in Staten Island after an NYPD officer put him in a chokehold in 2014 made national headlines, made a similar plea.
“I stand here with this family today, this young man should not be dead,” Carr said. “My son should not be dead. There's so many of us that come before the CCRB that children or loved ones should not be dead, but we can't just look at this as another case.”
The state attorney general’s office also has an investigation into the Rozario shooting as well, which is ongoing.
