Family of teen killed by NYPD says officers abused them after shooting

The family of a Queens teenager who was fatally shot by NYPD officers said officers immediately dragged her to the local precinct the day of the incident and questioned her without a lawyer. The NYPD then banned them from their home for over two days – despite their pleas to access medication and feed their cat.

Utsho Rozario – whose older brother Win, 19, was tasered and shot by officers in Ozone Park on March 27 – said the officers chatted about their weekend as they drove him and his mother from their home to the nearby 102 Precinct.

Utsho and his mother, Notan Eva Costa, had just witnessed officers shoot Win five times.

“They were more concerned with getting us out of the house than with our well-being,” Utsho said Wednesday at a news conference at City Hall where they called for the firing of the two officers involved in the shooting.

Utsho, 17, said the family was only allowed to return home after reaching out to local elected officials and advocacy groups for help.

“I think they would have kept us away from our own home longer if they could,” he said, noting that it was the group Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM) that cleaned up the blood in the apartment.

“The city and NYPD kept us out of our own home for two days but didn’t even have the decency to clean up the crime scene they created,” he added. “‘Protect and serve’ is a lie.”

The family asked a neighbor to bring food for the cat, but police did not let the person inside, according to Win’s father Francis Rozario, who made a statement in Bangla that was translated by Nesar Bhuyan, a Bengali organizer from DRUM.

“When we finally got home, the cat was weak and frail,” the father said. “And now our cat is sad and misses Win too.”

“The cat keeps trying to go into Win’s room to smell his clothes,” he added.

A police expert said it often takes days for police to collect all the evidence at complex crime scenes.

“Any shooting that involves police, they want to collect evidence very thoroughly to understand what happened,” said Keith Taylor, a retired NYPD officer who currently teaches at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Video key for examination

Last week, Attorney General Letitia James’ office released two three-minute clips from the body-worn camera footage of officers Matthew Cianfrocco and Salvatore Alongi responding to a 911 call from Win herself at the Rozario home.

The video shows a harrowing scene in which officers first verbally abused and then clearly shot the young man in the midst of a mental health crisis, while his mother tried to protect him with her own body – causing Utsho to frantically drag her away.

Hours after the shooting, NYPD patrol chief John Chell defended the killing, noting that Win took a pair of scissors from a drawer and approached the officers.

Supporters of Win Rozario’s family at City Hall, May 8, 2024. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY

Also the NYPD Twitter account Posted a photo of the scissors and said the teen held them “while charging at NYPD officers.”

But family and police reform advocates claim that officers Cianfrocco and Alongi unnecessarily escalated the situation.

“My son should be alive,” Win’s father told reporters on Wednesday. “What Alongi and Cianfrocco did should never have happened.”

The NYPD did not respond to an email seeking comment Wednesday. On Friday, the police announced that the two officers involved were still on duty without protective shields or weapons.

“Each year, the NYPD receives more than nine million calls, including approximately 155,000 911 calls, involving people experiencing an emotional or psychological crisis,” the NYPD said in a statement last week. “Less than one percent of these calls result in police using any form of force; even fewer encounters result in the use of lethal physical force.”

The NYPD added that it is always striving to improve the response to these emergency calls and “we recognize that there is still much work to be done.”

The attorney general is conducting a criminal investigation while the NYPD’s Force Investigation Division is examining whether the officers violated department rules.

“I miss him every day”

At the press conference, his family remembered Win as someone who enjoyed cooking, playing basketball and always picking up trash on the streets.

Win’s mother said she was still grieving his death 42 days ago but came to the news conference “because I want justice for my son.”

She described Win as “just a kid” who had his whole life ahead of him.

Win wanted to join the military to help his country and dreamed of saving enough money to then buy a farm, she told reporters.

“He cooked for me and helped me keep everything at home in order,” she remembers. “This is who these police stole from us.”

He also enjoyed helping her make “beaded crafts” – and said, “His face would light up because he was happy for me and happy to be with me.”

“I miss him every day,” she added.

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