Nassau police body camera footage released by AG shows fatal shooting by officers at Carle Place home

Nassau police repeatedly told a man they confronted outside of a Carle Place residence to drop the gun in his hand before an officer fatally shot him, according to body camera footage released by New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office.

The footage from the three body cameras of officers Logan, Rosales and Udle, whose first names were withheld, details their encounter with James Rosano, 33, outside of the Rushmore Avenue residence after midnight on Sept. 3. The state's investigation into the death is ongoing.

In the footage, which is sometimes blurry, Rosano stumbled around the side of the home while holding in his right hand what the attorney general’s Office of Special Investigation said appeared to be a long gun. The weapon police recovered was an air rifle.

Logan and Udle aimed their flashlights as well as their service weapons at Rosano, shouting at him to “drop the gun," according to the footage. Udle, standing near a vehicle parked in the driveway, then discharged his service weapon once, striking Rosano in the chest. The barrel of Rosano's weapon appeared to be facing downward at the time of the shooting.

Rosano was transported to NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island in Mineola, where he was pronounced dead, Newsday previously reported.

Seconds before the shot rang out, Rosales spoke to a woman just beyond the front door of the residence before stepping outside onto the accessibility ramp connected to the porch. He then radioed for additional units.

“I have a suspect with a weapon," Rosales said in the footage.

Officers originally responded to a 911 call from someone "who said they feared for their safety," James' office said in a release. Homicide Squad Det. Capt. Stephen Fitzpatrick previously told reporters that Rosano's mother placed the 911 call and was met by a Nassau officer at the front door. She revealed to police that her son had a history of alcohol and substance abuse and that she believed he was high when she called 911. Police responded to 911 calls in 2010 and 2022 about Rosano for depression, overdosing and intoxication, according to Fitzpatrick.

Rosano’s mother, Janet Rosano, said in a phone interview with Newsday that she had not been alerted to the release of the footage by the attorney general’s office.

By law, James' office reviews any incident in which a death may have be caused by a police officer. The footage was made public as part of the her office's investigation into Rosano's death, which remains ongoing.

"The release of this footage is not an expression of any opinion as to the guilt or innocence of any party in a criminal matter or any opinion as to how or whether any individual may be charged with a crime," a news release said.

Newsday's Nicholas Grasso contributed to this story.