Police justified in Bronx shooting of Billy Lee in 2022

NYPD officers will not face criminal charges in the police-involved shooting of 51-year-old Billy Lee in the Bronx on May 13, 2022, the NYS Attorney General’s Office said on Friday afternoon.

NYS Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) determined, after a two-year investigation, that there was no evidence showing that the officers acted unlawfully when they discharged their weapons, shooting and killing Lee after they demanded he drop his weapon.

At around 7 p.m. that night, plainclothes officers were working on an unrelated narcotics investigation when Lee got out of his vehicle, which was parked at Hunts Point and Seneca Avenues in Hunts Point, armed with what appeared to be a gun, an OSI report describes. 

Lee, holding the weapon, headed in the direction of the local Hunts Point Deli Grocery. The officers saw Lee with the weapon in his hand and demanded he drop it. Instead of complying with the police, Lee fired the weapon — which turned out to be an air pistol — at one of the officers, a sergeant, who was part of the narcotics investigation, the report states.

The NYPD officers fired back in response, striking Lee, who then fell to the ground. The officers immediately began chest compressions on the man, which they continued until an FDNY ambulance arrived. EMS rushed Lee to Lincoln Hospital where he was pronounced dead. 

The air pistol was recovered at the scene. 

As part of the investigation, prosecutors sifted through mounds of evidence, including NYPD pole footage, security camera footage from nearby stores and buildings, interviews with officers involved, and a civilian witness. 

“OSI concluded that a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the officers’ actions against Mr. Lee were justified under New York law,” a press release from James’ office stated. 

Under New York’s justification law, a police officer may use physical force “to the extent they reasonably believe it to be necessary when arresting or attempting to arrest someone for a crime.”

The use of deadly physical force is justified under this law when the officer reasonably believes it to be necessary to defend themselves or another person.