State Attorney General Letitia James announced on Oct. 27 that her office would not press charges against a cop out of the 101st Precinct in Far Rockaway in the fatal shooting of an ex-con during a foot chase in Arverne last December.
James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) released a report on Oct. 27 following a “thorough investigation” into the shooting death of 31-year-old Quayshawn Samuel, who was gunned down at the Ocean Bay apartments on the night of Dec. 29, 2022. Following a review of body-worn camera and surveillance video footage, interviews with involved officers and evidence from the scene, OSI concluded that “a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial” that NYPD Officer James Cameron, who shot Samuel, was justified.
Cameron, a four-year veteran of the NYPD with no disciplinary history, another officer and a sergeant from the 101st Precinct’s neighborhood safety team smelled marijuana smoke emanating from the lobby of 439 Beach 56th St. around 8 p.m. and entered to investigate potential criminal activity when they encountered a group of men. Upon seeing the cops, Samuel bolted through the rear doors of the building. Cameron and NYPD Officer Ryan Nohilly pursued him on foot after one of them believed he had a gun. They chased Samuel on foot through the grounds of the apartment complex and across Beach Channel Drive to Beach 56th Street.
According to the DOI report, Cameron ran through the apartment grounds and dropped his radio. Additionally, his body-worn camera (BWC) fell off its mount. Nohilly stopped to pick up Cameron’s radio, which left him farther behind in the foot pursuit. As Samuel crossed Beach Channel Drive, he stumbled and fell, allowing Cameron to catch up to him as he ran into Beach 56th Street. On Beach 56th Street Cameron and Samuel engaged in a physical struggle on the ground, with the cop on top Samuel, who was holding a gun, according to DOI.
After a few seconds, Samuel was able to push himself up off the ground, and as he and Cameron stood up, Cameron saw the gun in Samuel’s hand being raised in his direction. Cameron fired his service weapon at Samuel, striking him in the chest and the leg, according to the DOI report.
EMS rushed them both to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where Samuel was later pronounced dead from his wounds. The NYPD recovered Samuel’s loaded .44-caliber handgun at the crime scene..
The OSI determined that Nohilly arrived at the scene just seconds after the shooting and his body-worn camera showed the gun lying in the street next to Samuel’s hand.
Additionally, Nohilly’s body-worn camera captured Cameron’s statements that he told Samuel to drop the gun.
Under New York’s justification law, a person may use deadly physical force to defend against the imminent use of deadly physical force by another person. When the defense of justification is raised at trial, the prosecution must disprove justification beyond a reasonable doubt. In this case, Samuel repeatedly refused to drop his gun and had then pointed his gun at the officer. Under these circumstances, based on the law and the evidence, a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer who fired was justified and OSI determined that criminal charges could not be pursued in this matter, according to the AG’s office.
