The death of 39-year-old Marcus Burks in Newburgh after a New Year’s Day car crash is now under a preliminary review by the New York attorney general, as his family accuses police of failing to give him timely medical help while he lay handcuffed on the street. Burks, who relatives say was emotionally fragile after recently losing his mother, can be seen restrained in police body-camera video before he becomes unresponsive. Local law enforcement maintains that the crash unfolded after a brief traffic stop turned into a short pursuit, and investigators are still working to reconstruct the crucial minutes after the collision.
According to the New York State Police, a trooper from the Montgomery Barracks spotted a 2012 Volkswagen on State Route 17K on January 1 and attempted to pull it over. The driver did not stop, prompting a pursuit that troopers say lasted about two minutes before it was called off. The Volkswagen then continued east on Broadway and hit a 2002 Toyota that was turning out of a business driveway, the agency reports. Burks was taken into custody at the scene, became unresponsive while there, and was later pronounced dead at Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital. State Police say the New York Attorney General’s Office was notified and responded, and that the case remains an active investigation.
What the footage shows
Body-camera video from responding City of Newburgh officers, as described in coverage of the incident, shows officers concentrating on restraining Burks while he repeatedly tells them, "I can't breathe." A radio transmission captured during the encounter indicates that officers used pepper spray on him after the crash. Burks’ relatives say the recording shows little or no immediate attempt to provide medical care. Those details, along with the family’s description of the footage, were reported by CBS News.
The family has filed a notice of claim and hired civil-rights attorney Michael Sussman, who has said they may bring a lawsuit after they review the autopsy results and other records tied to Burks’ death. Marcus’s father, Malcolm Burks, told reporters that when he watched the body-camera video, he did not see chest compressions or other first-aid efforts and is demanding answers about how officers responded at the scene. The attorney general’s preliminary assessment was first reported on March 25, and the family’s legal filing keeps open the option of civil action while the state’s review moves forward, CBS News reported.
How the attorney general's review works
Police-involved deaths in New York are handled by the Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation (OSI), which starts with a preliminary assessment under Executive Law Section 70-b. In that initial phase, OSI typically reviews body-camera and other video, medical records, police reports, and related evidence to decide whether an officer’s actions or failures to act could have caused the death. If OSI finds cause or even a substantial question about causation, it opens a full investigation that can result in criminal charges. The process and legal standards OSI applies are described in its published report, according to the Office of the Attorney General.
Legal steps for families
In New York, families that plan to sue a city, police department, or other municipal entity over a death or injury generally must first serve a notice of claim within a short, set deadline. Courts often treat the notice requirement in General Municipal Law Section 50-e as a strict condition that has to be met before a lawsuit can move ahead. The notice gives the government time to investigate and can lead to a pre-lawsuit examination of the claimant under Section 50-h. Skipping or missing those procedural steps can put later civil cases at risk. The timelines and requirements for these notices of claim are laid out in state statute, including Section 50-e, in New York Public Law.
What’s next
The attorney general’s preliminary assessment will determine whether OSI opens a full investigation into Burks’ death, a process that can take weeks or months depending on how complex the medical and video evidence proves to be. State Police say their separate probe is ongoing and have asked anyone who witnessed the crash or its aftermath to contact the Montgomery Bureau of Criminal Investigation, according to the New York State Police. Meanwhile, Burks’ family is pushing for the release of comprehensive autopsy findings and all available footage as the state review continues, while officials from both the State Police and the Attorney General’s Office have so far limited their public statements to formal written releases.
