{"id":406439,"date":"2025-11-26T17:16:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T17:16:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/406439\/"},"modified":"2025-11-26T17:16:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T17:16:23","slug":"ny-attorney-general-clears-syracuse-police-officer-in-fatal-shooting-of-man-with-gun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/406439\/","title":{"rendered":"NY Attorney General clears Syracuse police officer in fatal shooting of man with gun"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"IRBOXLWT5BG5FDLOM56MG7H4HI\">Syracuse, N.Y. \u2014 The state Attorney General\u2019s Office on Wednesday released <a href=\"https:\/\/ag.ny.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/reports\/osi-donnell-hogan-report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/ag.ny.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/reports\/osi-donnell-hogan-report.pdf\">its final report<\/a> into the fatal shooting of a man by a Syracuse police officer. <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"ZPH4P5GH6FE3XEK4VNQLFP3RFA\">The AG\u2019s Office decided it will not recommend criminal charges against Officer Christopher Mazzotti who killed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.syracuse.com\/crime\/2025\/05\/man-killed-in-exchange-of-gunfire-with-syracuse-police-on-north-side.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.syracuse.com\/crime\/2025\/05\/man-killed-in-exchange-of-gunfire-with-syracuse-police-on-north-side.html\">Donnell Hogan<\/a>, 42, after Hogan fired at another officer in May, according to the final report.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"DJAGXKMUNVHENMYKGML3BH4DN4\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"W7O4SEVKJVHABOVLHHG6TB5DRU\">The AG\u2019s office ruled that it could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer\u2019s actions were not justified. <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"OBVZU7CU3JCORBR7AMMHYVM34I\">Under New York\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"NPBHCHVZLBGONFVBVCWLLEQ3E4\">Police were called to the apartment complex after receiving reports that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.syracuse.com\/crime\/2025\/05\/large-police-presence-after-report-of-shooting-on-syracuses-north-side.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.syracuse.com\/crime\/2025\/05\/large-police-presence-after-report-of-shooting-on-syracuses-north-side.html\">shots had been fired<\/a> inside and outside the building.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"S7FKH7VJHBCODKAKV353IRMJLY\">The interaction between Hogan and police lasted just a few seconds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"BG4YVL2HTFGUPFSYKGF7B562YA\">When police arrived, witnesses told them a man in a wheelchair was firing a gun on the second floor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"MUFQ4MFYVRBQ7CANCNUTEXM77Q\">Syracuse police officers split into two teams, took separate entrances and used different staircases to get to the second floor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"VRBZ2FWEIZCFFB7A4EIJU4SND4\">Body camera <a href=\"https:\/\/www.syracuse.com\/crime\/2025\/06\/ags-office-releases-videos-showing-fatal-shooting-of-man-by-syracuse-police.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.syracuse.com\/crime\/2025\/06\/ags-office-releases-videos-showing-fatal-shooting-of-man-by-syracuse-police.html\">videos<\/a> previously released by the AG\u2019s office show police officers heading up a stairwell to the second floor of the apartment building with guns drawn.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"HPOSHV4NFJD5VA2Q7JKDWPV6HM\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"HAN55A5JU5ETFDJX7BPHV63FL4\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"WLKO5ZHJSJDTVMUOB2MLSQP25Y\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"GORSEDNB5NHDTGRH5ELKNYVN74\">An officer yells \u201cgun\u201d several times, body camera footage shows.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"H5KQ2N4645FSTAHBCQPHYJWNAI\">A body camera from Syracuse police officer Conlan McGuire captured an officer identifying himself as police and ordering Hogan to drop the gun.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"7E2NSU5D6JBA3GGNZU2KAOWASE\">The body cameras captured the sound of two shots ringing out. The AG\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"M5JM3ULSDNHDPIQ7H5P5T46OUY\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"LUGK4OR2SJGEFNLFPF7ZFRC3VA\">The report said Mazzotti declined to be interviewed by the AG\u2019s Office. The state investigation was based on Mazzotti\u2019s written statement, Syracuse police records, and body camera footage from other officers, the report said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"QG3OHBA3I5AZTOMD6YW723SU3U\">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. <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"NTZ7R533OJCEBDYPZ3LE43UJLU\">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..<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"TIPG73U3Z5H5LKHOKGIJOAN5TY\">The state Attorney General\u2019s Office under state law is required to investigate any deaths that result from an action, or inaction, of law enforcement officers.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-gallery-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/QZBIBGZW5VEDVLTYCWVCORBJZA.jpg\"  loading=\"lazy\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-gallery-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ZPVFDQTUINDHZGL7DV6XQOSWRE.jpg\" alt=\"\"  loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>1\/14<\/p>\n<p class=\"image-gallery-caption\">Shooting on Syracuse&#8217;s North Side<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Syracuse, N.Y. \u2014 The state Attorney General\u2019s Office on Wednesday released its final report into the fatal shooting&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":406440,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-406439","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-city","11":"tag-newyork","12":"tag-newyorkcity","13":"tag-ny","14":"tag-nyc","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115617136299429673","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406439\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/406440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}