What to Know About the Fatal Police-Involved Shooting – NBC New York

Police in upstate New York attacked and shot a 13-year-old boy after he pointed what turned out to be a pellet gun at officers during a foot chase.

Utica authorities on Saturday released body camera footage of Friday night's shooting and held a contentious public meeting attended by the teen's family and other members of their local refugee community.

The state attorney general's office is investigating and the officers involved have been placed on leave, as is protocol in such shootings.

Here's what you need to know:

The shooting happened around 10 p.m. on a residential street in Utica, a former industrial city about 240 miles (385 kilometers) northwest of Manhattan, located along the Mohawk River at the foot of the Adirondack Mountains.

According to police, three officers on patrol stopped to question two youths. One of the teens, Nyah Mway, then ran away and pointed what appeared to be a handgun at the officers. After tackling the teen to the ground, one of the officers fired a single shot into his chest. The teen was taken to hospital, where he died.

Mway, whose last name is Nyah, was a Karen refugee born in Myanmar. He had just graduated from high school and was set to start high school in the fall.

His anguished relatives and other members of the local Karen community have called for police to be held accountable for what they say was an unjust killing, as Mway was already restrained and on the ground when he was shot.

The teen's family said Monday they were waiting for the medical examiner's office to release his body so they could make funeral arrangements. The Onondaga County Health Department said the cause and manner of death were still pending and the autopsy report had not been released.

Mway's cousin, Lay Htoo, told The Associated Press that the family came to the United States to study and find good jobs in hopes of living a peaceful life after decades of conflict and violence in war-torn Myanmar.

Police released the names of the three officers involved in the incident, saying they were assigned to a crime prevention unit. Patrick Husnay, a six-year veteran of the department, was the officer who shot the boy.

Bryce Patterson, a four-year veteran of the department, and Andrew Citriniti, a two-year veteran of the department who previously served with the Oneida County Sheriff's Office, were the other officers involved.

All three remain on paid administrative leave, which is standard in police-involved shootings, department spokesman Lt. Michael Curley confirmed Monday.

Videos released Saturday night show a chaotic scene.

In the video, a police officer explains that he has to search the two teenagers standing on a sidewalk to make sure they are not carrying weapons. One of them runs into the street, appearing to be holding a dark object, as he runs away.

The officers yell “Fire!” before one of them tackles him and punches him. Another officer opens fire as the two men struggle on the ground.

Bystanders can be heard yelling at police throughout the recordings. At one point, an officer responds, “We’re trying to save him right now!”

According to police, the pellet gun Mway pointed at looked a lot like a Glock 17 Gen 5 pistol with a detachable magazine.

The department released images showing that the device lacked the orange stripe on the barrel that many air gun manufacturers have added in recent years to distinguish their products from real firearms.

Police Chief Mark Williams said officers arrested the teens because they matched the description of suspects in recent robberies in the area.

He said the suspects in the cases were Asian men – one walking and one riding a bicycle – who were brandishing a black firearm.

Mayor Michael Galime spoke out Saturday and met privately with the family. He also addressed the Karen community at a contentious meeting Sunday at a local church, rejecting suggestions that the shooting was a sign of harm.

“What I saw on the body camera footage and all the reports that I read prior to this incident, there was no reference or indication that there was racism,” Galime told the crowd.

Michael Gentile, his chief of staff, declined to provide further details Monday, saying the mayor was “asked a direct question about racism, and he gave a direct answer that has not changed.”

The Karen are an ethnic minority who are among the groups at war with the military rulers of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

Utica, a city of more than 65,000 people, is home to more than 4,200 people from Myanmar, according to The Center, a nonprofit that helps resettle refugees.

They are among thousands of refugees from various countries who have settled in the region in recent decades and who, by some estimates, now make up more than 20% of the population of this Rust Belt hub.

State Attorney General Letitia James' office is investigating whether the police department's use of force was justified, as is standard in police shootings.

His office said Monday that his investigation was ongoing and that he could not provide a time frame for when it would be completed.

The police department is conducting its own investigation to verify that officers followed proper procedures, policies and training.

Curley said Monday that any further details about the criminal investigation into the shooting will come from James' office.

Associated Press radio journalist Julie Walker contributed to this report.