The New York Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation on Tuesday determined that no criminal charges will be filed in the death of Yi Qin Chen, who was fatally struck by a vehicle driven by an off-duty New York City Department of Sanitation police officer in Brooklyn last year.
After a thorough investigation, which included reviewing security footage, analyzing the officer’s recorded statement and conducting a legal assessment, OSI concluded that prosecutors would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer committed a crime, according to a press release.
The incident occurred on Nov. 13, 2023, at 9:29pm, when the off-duty DSNY officer was driving his personal vehicle southwest on Eleventh Avenue in Dyker Heights. As he approached the intersection of Eleventh Avenue and 64th Street, the officer, who had a green light, turned left.
Meanwhile, Chen was walking southwest on the sidewalk of Eleventh Avenue and entered the crosswalk with a steady “walk” signal when she was struck.
Under New York law, criminally negligent homicide requires proving that a person failed to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that death would occur and that their actions represented a gross deviation from what a reasonable person would do in the same situation. OSI determined that the officer was driving within the correct lane, had the right of way and had slowed his vehicle to approximately 10 mph while turning.
A preliminary breath test was administered to the officer within an hour of the crash, and no evidence suggested he was impaired by drugs or alcohol or that he was otherwise distracted at the time of the incident.
Though the crash resulted in Chen’s death, OSI found insufficient evidence to establish that the officer’s actions were grossly negligent or that he consciously disregarded a substantial risk.
