The New York Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation (OSI) has opened an investigation following a fatal incident involving NYPD officers and a civilian in Manhattan earlier this week. According to a statement from the Attorney General’s office, at approximately 7:20 p.m. on Thursday, officers responded to reports of an armed individual in Manhattan and encountered a man on Madison Avenue who fired a gun at them. The officers then discharged their weapons, and the man was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. A firearm was recovered at the scene, the press release noted.
The civilian has been identified as 20-year-old Elijah Brown. According to ABC7NY, the incident began when Brown allegedly pointed a firearm at a man inside an elevator at 1590 Madison Avenue. Video footage reportedly shows Brown proceeding to a deli and later to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he encountered an off-duty officer. After a struggle, Brown is said to have picked up his gun outside and fired at responding officers. NYPD Chief of Patrol Philip Rivera described the situation as highly dangerous, noting that Brown had entered multiple locations with a firearm, threatened several people, and fired at officers on a busy sidewalk with civilians nearby.
Brown's family expressed shock and confusion over his actions, describing his behavior as uncharacteristic. "My cousin wasn't just another young kid or troublemaker, he was going through something, everybody goes through things," Brown's older cousin told ABC7NY, as the family sought to understand the circumstances that led to the incident. According to the family, Brown had no prior arrests or known interactions with the police, and there was no reported history of mental illness.
The OSI’s involvement is required whenever a police officer may have contributed to a person’s death, regardless of whether the individual was armed or unarmed. The office will conduct a full investigation under New York State Executive Law Section 70-b.
