A person is dead after a shooting involving a Gates Police Department officer just after 1 a.m. Sunday, with the officer uninjured and a state-mandated investigation now underway into what happened. Police said one individual sustained injuries during the incident and later died, while the officer involved was not hurt.
According to 13WHAM, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Unit and the New York State Attorney General's Office have both stepped in to handle the investigation. Officials have said they will schedule a joint press conference once additional information can be released, but they are withholding further details until the deceased individual's family has been notified.
That dual-agency response is not optional. Under New York Executive Law Section 70-b, the Attorney General's Office of Special Investigation has maintained mandatory jurisdiction over any civilian death caused by a police or peace officer since the law took effect in April 2021. That authority applies regardless of whether the officer was on or off duty and whether the person killed was armed or unarmed.
What Happens Next Under State Law
If the Office of Special Investigation completes its inquiry without seeking charges, or if a grand jury declines to indict, state law requires the Attorney General to publish a detailed public report laying out the findings, according to the New York State Senate. Those reports are expected to detail the physical evidence, witness statements, and legal reasoning behind whatever decision prosecutors reach.
Attorney General Letitia James has also directed that body-worn and surveillance video footage collected during active Office of Special Investigation inquiries be released publicly to bolster accountability, per the New York State Attorney General's office. That footage is routinely published after investigators have completed initial evidence collection and given the affected family a chance to review it first, though it remains unclear whether body camera footage exists from Sunday's shooting in Gates.
A Pattern of Recent Fatal Law Enforcement Shootings in Monroe County
The Gates incident follows a similar case in nearby Henrietta, where the Monroe County Sheriff's Office released body-worn camera footage on August 20 following a fatal deputy-involved shooting of an armed suspect outside a Super 8 motel on August 9. That shooting, too, was referred for independent investigative review, placing Sunday's incident within a broader pattern of recent fatal law enforcement encounters across the county.
Gates Police Chief Robert Long joined the department in June 2006, after previously serving with the Monroe County Sheriff's Office starting in 2002, and became chief in 2022. Long also served as President of the Monroe County Chiefs of Police Association as of earlier this year, according to the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police.
A Department With a Busy Year
Gates' police force has handled several high-profile cases this year: in May, a Monroe County jury found a suspect guilty of second-degree murder for a July 2025 shooting inside the Wegmans distribution center warehouse on Brooks Avenue, where Gates officers served as primary initial responders. In March, officers responded to an incident at a Motel 6 on Chili Avenue and arrested a suspect who was already holding a handgun inside a stairwell.
For now, the identity of the person killed Sunday, the circumstances that led the officer to fire, and the officer's duty status all remain undisclosed as investigators work the scene. Officials have said more information will come once the joint investigation progresses and the family has been formally notified.
