Syracuse, N.Y. — The state Attorney General’s Office on Wednesday released its final report into the fatal shooting of a man by a Syracuse police officer.
The AG’s Office decided it will not recommend criminal charges against Officer Christopher Mazzotti who killed Donnell Hogan, 42, after Hogan fired at another officer in May, according to the final report.
The officer shot Hogan once in the head with his patrol rifle shortly after 10 p.m. May 13 inside the Moses Dewitt House apartment building at 212 N. Townsend St., according to the report.
The AG’s office ruled that it could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer’s actions were not justified.
Under New York’s justification law, a police officer may use deadly physical force when the officer reasonably believes it to be necessary to defend against the use of deadly physical force by another, the report said.
Police were called to the apartment complex after receiving reports that shots had been fired inside and outside the building.
The interaction between Hogan and police lasted just a few seconds.
When police arrived, witnesses told them a man in a wheelchair was firing a gun on the second floor.
Syracuse police officers split into two teams, took separate entrances and used different staircases to get to the second floor.
Body camera videos previously released by the AG’s office show police officers heading up a stairwell to the second floor of the apartment building with guns drawn.
The body camera of Syracuse police officer Richard Bougourd shows an officer opening the door to the second floor, where Hogan can be seen at the doorway in a wheelchair.
The first team of officers saw Hogan in the hall and shouted for him to show his hands for about 20 seconds, the report said.
The second team of officers entered through the stairwell door Hogan was facing, the report said. As the second team entered the hallway, Hogan raised a gun with his right hand.
An officer yells “gun” several times, body camera footage shows.
A body camera from Syracuse police officer Conlan McGuire captured an officer identifying himself as police and ordering Hogan to drop the gun.
The body cameras captured the sound of two shots ringing out. The AG’s report said that one shot was fired by Hogan at Bougourd. The second was the fatal shot fired by Mazzotti that hit Hogan, the report said.
Officers recovered a 9mm caliber semi-automatic pistol with an extended magazine from Hogan, the report said. There were numerous live rounds, but the gun was jammed with a spent cartridge and could not be fired immediately without clearing the cartridge, the report said.
The report said Mazzotti declined to be interviewed by the AG’s Office. The state investigation was based on Mazzotti’s written statement, Syracuse police records, and body camera footage from other officers, the report said.
The report said Mazzotti activated his body camera, but it accidentally activated and deactivated multiple times. The shooting was captured on several body camera videos of other officers.
Mazzotti had been with the department for five years at the time of the shooting. He was placed on paid administrative leave after the shooting but is back on the job..
The state Attorney General’s Office under state law is required to investigate any deaths that result from an action, or inaction, of law enforcement officers.
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Shooting on Syracuse’s North Side