NY police shoot teenager. Investigations ongoing

UTICA, NY – The cries of a grieving mother could be heard through a city hall at a news conference in upstate New York Saturday morning as officials described the death of a 13-year-old member of the Karen community at the hands of a police officer Friday night.

What began as rumblings turned into shouting from all sides as Utica Mayor Michael Galime spoke through an interpreter with the mother and family of 13-year-old Nyah Mway, who is from the Karen community with roots in Myanmar and Southeast Asia.

Saturday’s press conference was originally intended for reporters but was opened to the general public due to the large number of people in attendance, the mayor said.

“We called this press conference not only to explain everything and be completely transparent, but to express our condolences to the family and the community for their loss,” Galime said. “Last night, a stop like the one that took place was routine, but it became almost tragic in moments. We understand that and are here to be completely transparent and explain everything to the community about the incident and the process moving forward.”

Timeline of events

Police Chief Mark Williams then attempted to establish a timeline of events.

Williams said Utica police officers stopped two pedestrians on a tree-lined residential street around 10:18 p.m. Friday.

One of the youths, a young man, fled from police. Williams said that during the ensuing chase, the young man “displayed what looked like a gun.”

During the press conference, when the police chief uttered these words, some of those present – more than 100 people crowded into City Hall – began to shout. Anger rose in the crowd, shouting “No!” and some tried to calm the crowd.

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Williams said the officer fired his weapon once, striking the teenager “during a ground struggle.” The 13-year-old was taken to Wynn Hospital, where he died of his injuries.

“Officers then recovered a replica GLOCK 17 pistol with a detachable magazine, but it was ultimately determined to be an air pistol,” Williams said. “We will be releasing the names of the officers involved shortly. We ask for patience as this investigation continues.”

There were cries of outrage from the crowd when they learned that the three officers involved in the incident had been assigned to paid administrative staff during the investigation. One person said loudly that the police officers were being given “… paid leave.”

Galime told the crowd that he was committed to being as transparent as possible and that he would invite the family and community representatives to speak with city officials immediately following the press conference.

Family gift

After this was translated, the 13-year-old’s mother began to scream and shout in their native languageA community member translated: “She said she doesn’t want to be in the same room with murderers.”

The mother’s wails could be heard for a moment before the entire crowd drowned out the screams of the government officials.

Galime approached the crowd, stopped in front of the mother and spoke briefly with her while the whole crowd cried out for justice.

The public press conference ended early and was moved to a private room on the upper floor of City Hall, where officials answered questions about next steps.

Prosecutor’s investigation

In police-involved shootings, New York State Executive Law 70b provides that the New York State Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigations assumes the lead criminal investigative role.

In parallel, the Utica Police Department, along with its Professional Standards Unit, is conducting an internal investigation to determine whether personnel followed policies, procedures and training guidelines.

In the coming days, police will release more details about the incident and a comprehensive overview of the events. They also plan to release the full body camera footage of the officers involved.

Further questions

Following the public press conference, the mayor, police chief and department spokesman Lt. Michael Curley held a private press conference for the media.

“Our police department deals with investigations every day, and they don’t end like this,” Galime said. “They don’t end like this. This situation has developed because of events that are very specific to this situation. And that’s why we can only talk about what we can release and when it will be released… And we will not release any information that we are not absolutely sure about.”

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Williams said the two juveniles were stopped as part of an ongoing investigation, but declined to answer questions about the subject of the investigation until it was completed.

When asked whether deadly force had been used, Williams stated that at the time, it would not have been possible to tell that the weapon was an air rifle until police got their hands on it.

“You don’t bring a TASR to a shooting. If you see deadly physical force in the moment, you have to respond to it,” Williams said.

Social media videos

Police said they were aware of a video of the incident circulating on social media platforms.

Authorities said the video did not fully capture the incident.

Galime said updates would be released as they became available. Investigations like this one can take a long time, Williams said, and it could likely take several months for the attorney general’s office to reach its conclusions.

Until then, Galime made it clear where the city stands.

“This office and our police department will operate with the utmost efficiency and transparency,” Galime said. “After the press conference concluded, I and the translator had a conversation with the mother and her friends and family. She is not only distressed, she is grieving in the manner seen below. And that is not only acceptable, it is expected.”

“What we need to do from this side is to ensure that we remain as objective as possible going forward and that every single incident that results in an investigation is handled with objectivity and the letter of the law.”

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