Nassau cops: Fatal police shooting of man with samurai sword was justified
Nassau police investigate a shooting in Oceanside on Sept. 7, 2019. Credit: Jim Staubitser
The fatal police shooting of an Oceanside man with a history of mental illness earlier this month has been deemed to be justified, police said Wednesday.
"The NCPD Homicide Squad conducted a full investigation into the shooting and determined that it was justified. The case has been turned over to the District Attorney’s Office for review,” Det. Lt. Richard LeBrun said in a statement.
Earlier Wednesday, police identified the man who was shot as Brian Rodden, 36. He was killed after he charged at officers inside his parents' Oceanside home with a samurai sword, police had said.
The shooting occurred after officers responded to a call from Rodden's father about a disturbance, Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said at the time.
Two officers arrived at the home in the 2600 block of Columbus Avenue and went inside to find the father and son involved in an altercation.
Rodden, who was holding several knives including a Samurai sword, refused repeated demands from officers to put down the weapon, Ryder said at the time.
Two officers fired their weapons at him after he ignored their demands to drop the sword, police said.
"The officers gave orders to ‘drop the weapon, drop the weapon, drop the weapon,’ Ryder said at the time. "He continued to come at our officers and the officers had to use deadly, physical force to stop the individual.”
Rodden later died at a hospital, Ryder said.
Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.
