Attorney general: Suffolk police officer should not be prosecuted for fatal shooting of homeless man in Centereach

A Suffolk police officer who fatally shot a homeless man in July in Centereach should not be prosecuted for his actions, according to findings by an office of the state attorney general.

New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation has closed its probe into the officer who fatally shot Emilson Joan Ordoñez-Banegas, a 29-year-old homeless man, on July 13, the office announced in a news release Friday.

The attorney general’s office "has concluded that a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the officer’s use of deadly physical force was justified under the law," according to the news release.

The shooting occurred after Suffolk police responded to a 911 call regarding a "disturbance with a weapon" in a wooded area behind a strip mall on Middle Country Road in Centereach around 8:30 a.m., Newsday has reported. Responding officers found a 44-year-old male victim with stab wounds to his neck and hand in an area that appeared to be an encampment.

While EMTs were treating the victim, Ordoñez-Banegas "emerged from the wooded area, approached the injured man, and again attempted to stab the man with a knife," James’ office said in the release.

Two officers’ body-worn camera footage, which James released on Sept. 3, revealed one officer fired at least three shots and struck Ordoñez-Banegas. He died of his gunshot wounds at Stony Brook University Hospital, Newsday previously reported. The stabbing victim was treated at the same hospital.

"Had it not been for the officer's quick actions, the victim would have been stabbed with that knife and probably killed," Suffolk Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina told reporters at a news conference later that day.

The police department did not respond to Newsday’s request for comment regarding the attorney general’s announcement Friday.

State law tasks the Office of Special Investigation with evaluating any instance in which an on- or off-duty police, peace or correction officer "may have caused the death of a person by an act or omission," according to the attorney general’s release. When the office determines the officer may have caused a death, as in the case of Ordoñez-Banegas, a full investigation is conducted. If the office determines "the evidence and legal analysis are clear and the investigation is complete," it issues a notification of investigative findings marking its conclusion, as it did Friday.

James’ office will issue a final investigation report on Ordoñez-Banegas’ death, as legally required, at a future date, according to the release.