The NYPD Officers Who Fatally Shot a Black Gay Man in 2019 Will Not Face Discipline

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The two New York City Police officers who killed a Black gay man in his Bronx apartment in 2019 will not face internal discipline, city police commissioner Edward Caban announced on Friday, April 12.

In April 2019, officers Brendan Thompson and Herbert Davis fatally shot 32-year-old Kawaski Trawick while responding to a 911 call. In a statement, Caban said that the officers “acted within the law” in the lead-up to Trawick’s death, per the Associated Press. Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark declined to criminally charge the officers in 2020. Although the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), which addresses complaints against the NYPD, found both officers guilty of misconduct in 2021 and called for them to be fired, the decision about if and how to discipline the officers is ultimately up to the police commissioner, according to local outlet The City.

In an email to Gothamist, New York City Mayor Eric Adams commended Caban for making what he described as a “carefully considered” decision about the officers.

Trawick’s parents, Ellen and Rickie Trawick, called the NYPD’s verdict “disgraceful” in a press release, noting that Adams didn’t inform their family before the decision not to discipline the officers went public.

“Thompson and Davis broke into my son’s home and murdered him within seconds, without even attempting to administer aid,” the Trawicks said. “They should have already been fired, but Mayor Adams and the NYPD don’t seem to care about protecting New Yorkers from cops who kill. The utter disregard they have for our son’s death is disingenuous and shameful.”

According to a 2020 ProPublica investigation, police showed up at Trawick’s apartment in response to separate 911 calls, one of which was from Trawick himself, who said he’d been locked out of his apartment. The other calls were from the building superintendent, who said Trawick threatened to punch him, and the building security guard, who reported that Trawick was harassing neighbors. (Moments before the police arrived, firefighters from the New York Fire Department showed up, helped Trawick get back into his apartment, and left.)

Officers Thompson and Davis knocked on Trawick’s door and then dislodged a chain lock before entering, according to police body camera and surveillance footage obtained by ProPublica. Trawick, who was holding a bread knife in one hand and a stick in the other, asked the officers why they were in his home, and said he was holding the knife because he was cooking. The officers reportedly ignored Trawick and ordered him to drop the knife. According to ProPublica, Thompson proceeded to tase Trawick, despite Davis discouraging him from doing so. Trawick then stood up and rushed at the officers, and although Davis reportedly tried to stop Thompson from firing his gun, Thompson fired it four times and hit Trawick twice, killing him almost immediately. According to ProPublica, this entire interaction took place within 112 seconds of the officers arriving at Trawick’s apartment.

According to a draft disciplinary ruling, the officers involved will face no punishment.

Trawick lived in supportive housing for people experiencing mental health problems or at risk of homelessness, according to The 19th. Both Thompson and Davis had completed Crisis Intervention Team training, which is meant to train officers in how to respond to situations involving people in mental health crises, per ProPublica.

“This refusal by Adams & Caban to fire cops who illegally entered Kawaski’s home, created a crisis, tased without cause and murdered Kawaski in seconds… is why we continue to see lives stolen,” Loyda Colon, Executive Director of Justice Committee, said in a statement. “[...] We are all less safe because of this decision and this administration.”

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