Family of Cambria Heights man killed by cops seek answers six months later
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Cambria Heights resident Matthew Felix was shot and killed by police who suspected him of stealing a car. The circumstances of the shooting remain a mystery to Felix’s family. Photo courtesy of Felix family
By David Brand
Matthew Felix’s family members are still seeking answers, six months after Nassau County police officers shot and killed the 19-year-old at an intersection near his Cambria Heights home.
The Long Island officers suspected Felix of pulling a gun on a man selling a used car in Garden City and then driving off with the vehicle, according to the Nassau County Police Department. On Feb. 25, the cops crossed into Queens and waited for Felix outside the Cambria Heights home he shared with his mom and sister. They followed him when he left in a car that the family owned.
The police attempted to pull Felix over before shooting him dead near the corner of Linden Boulevard and 217th Street. The circumstances that led to at least one officer opening fire remain unclear.
“How many officers fired shots? Why did they feel the need to fire at the car?” said Felix’s older sister Samantha Felix. “I really just have questions about the whole day.”
“Why was Nassau PD surveilling the house? Something’s missing. It’s not adding up for me.”
Nassau County police officials declined to say whether Felix was armed at the time of the shooting or to provide any details about events leading up the shooting, the Associated Press reported at the time.
Six months later, the department is staying silent.
“It’s still an active investigation so we have no new information,” said a spokesperson for the Nassau County police Thursday. He directed questions to the New York Attorney General’s Office.
That office, led by Attorney General Letitia James, is conducting an investigation and also declined to share information. An official with the office said investigators have met with Felix’s family.
But Samantha Felix said she and her mother have received few details from the state investigators.
“The most up-to-date information is that they interviewed some witnesses and the officers involved, but we don’t know their names, don’t know how many there were, don’t know any information,” she said.
She joined other family members and supporters for a rally at the scene of the shooting on Sunday.
“It’s been very difficult especially since we’re not getting any answers,” Samantha Felix said. “Answers won’t make us feel better, but [not knowing] makes the grieving process worse because we’re wondering, ‘Why is Matthew not here with us today?’”
Matthew Felix is buried at Springfield Cemetery. His death has devastated his mother and father, who are divorced.
“My dad’s not taking it well. My mom’s not taking it well either,” Samantha Felix said. “It was only me and him and now it’s only us. He was the man of the household.”
The family has received some support from the community, as well as local State Sen. Leroy Comrie who sent a letter urging James to release surveillance, body cam and dash cam video as well as the names of the officers involved.
“In view of the current climate and the history surrounding untimely deaths stemming from police encounters, all critical information surrounding this case needs to be released to the public and to the family,” Comrie wrote July 24.
“The family has a right to information regarding the death of their loved one,” he continued. “Additionally, transparency is critical to the truth surrounding this tragic event, to either vindicate justifiable police action, or to lay the foundation for holding bad actors accountable.”
The family’s attorney, Martin Steinfeld, also sent a letter to the Attorney General’s Office requesting information.
“Both of those letters have gone unanswered,” Samantha Felix said.
