The disciplinary trial for the two cops involved in the 2019 police shooting of an out gay man, Kawaski Trawick, ended on May 12 against the backdrop of criticism from Trawick’s family and multiple members of the City Council — including the City Council speaker — about the NYPD’s handling of the case and the trial.
Days later, on March 15, Trawick’s parents delivered a letter to Mayor Eric Adams urging the administration to fire Officers Brendan Thompson and Herbert Davis, who were the cops involved in the two-minute fatal encounter with Trawick at his apartment at 1616 Grand Avenue in the Bronx. The officers, responding to a 911 call, entered Trawick’s home without his permission as he was cooking and repeatedly told him to drop a knife. He asked the officers why they were in his home, but the officers did not respond to the question, and Thompson eventually tased Trawick, who recovered and stood up. Thompson — who dropped his taser — then fatally shot Trawick, according to body camera footage of the incident released to the public.
A determination on the fate of the officers is forthcoming, but the timetable is not clear. The trial will determine whether they will be punished or fired after the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) — an oversight agency — substantiated multiple charges against them, including for use of force and for failing to render aid to Trawick. NYPD Judge Rosemarie Maldonado would be the one to provide recommendations to NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell.
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