RELEASE: Family of Teen Win Rozario, Killed by NYPD, Demands Accountability from Mayor Adams, NYPD, and Attorney General James After Being “Left in the Dark and Disregarded” for 15 Months

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, June 26, 2025

MEDIA CONTACTS

Tess Weiner, tess@justicecommittee.org, 224-213-5495

Akash Singh, akash@drumnyc.org, 347-901-2815

Family of Teen Win Rozario, Killed by NYPD, Demands Accountability from Mayor Adams, NYPD, and Attorney General James After Being “Left in the Dark and Disregarded” for 15 Months

Ahead of what would have been Win Rozario’s 21st birthday, Win’s family is joined by elected officials and supporters to demand Officers Cianfrocco & Alongi are fired and prosecuted

New York, NY - Today, the family of Bangladeshi teen Win Rozario, Justice Committee, and Desis Rising Up & Moving (DRUM) held a press conference to demand NYPD Officers Salvatore Alongi and Matthew Cianfrocco are fired and prosecuted for killing Win, and to call for updates on the NYPD investigation. 19-year-old Win Rozario was safe at home on March 27, 2024, when Officers Alongi and Cianfrocco arrived and created a crisis, barking orders, tasing, and shooting Win multiple times in front of his mother and younger brother in under two minutes. Immediately after, while still in shock, Win’s mother and brother were questioned at the precinct and barred from returning to their apartment for 48 hours.

Notan Eva Costa, Francis Rozario, and Utsho Rozario, Win Rozario’s mother, father, and younger brother, respectively, delivered an emotional letter to Commissioner Tisch and Mayor Adams.

“Next week marks what should have been Win’s 21st birthday. Instead of celebrating with him, we will be mourning him. It’s been 15 months of lies, obstruction and inaction since Win was killed in our home,” the letter states.

The letter demands updates on the NYPD investigation into Win’s case and a meeting with the Mayor after being “left in the dark and disregarded” for over a year. It urges the officials to “make good on your words about accountability” by firing Alongi & Cianfrocco, providing an update on the NYPD investigation, and releasing the names of other officers and NYPD officials involved in the family’s mistreatment.

“We can’t imagine that you would be okay with the mistreatment, disrespect and disregard that we’ve had to endure,” the Rozario family states in their letter.

“It pains me to see another family grieving the senseless murder of their loved one,” said Eric Vassell, the father of Saheed Vassell (killed by the NYPD in 2018), who joined the Rozario family at One Police Plaza. “Like my son, Win deserved care - but the NYPD treated him like an animal and just gunned him down. How many more families have to suffer before this city takes action? I stand with the Rozario family to call for the NYPD to be completely removed from mental health response. I am calling on Mayor Adams, Police Commissioner Tisch and Attorney General James to stop adding to the Rozario family’s suffering. End the delays, give this family the answers they’ve been waiting for, and fire and prosecute Officers Alongi and Cianfrocco for killing Win.”

“It’s been over a year since Officers Salvatore Alongi and Matthew Cianfrocco brutally murdered Win Rozario in his own home. Not only have they faced zero consequences — the NYPD hasn’t even had the decency to update Win’s family,” remarked Loyda Colón (they/them), Executive Director of the Justice Committee. “Win Rozario should be alive today. His family shouldn’t have to take off work to come down here to demand basic answers. Commissioner Tisch and Mayor Adams, enough is enough - stop the delays, answer the Rozario family’s questions and fire Officer Alongi and Cianfrocco immediately.”

“It is shameful that the Rozario family must take such great efforts to receive updates on the investigation into Win's murder,” said Simran Thind (she/her), Organizer at Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM). “Win's mother, father and brother are about to mark over 15 months since the murder of their son and brother. Next month, they will for the second time observe Win's birthday without him. What do Commissioner Tisch and Mayor Adams know of that pain and grief? How long will they continue to treat the Rozario’s without basic dignity and respect? NYPD has a culture of impunity. The police commissioner and Mayor Adams are shielding Officers Cianfrocco and Alongi from taking any accountability. Fire the officers and provide updates to the Rozario family.” 

Earlier this week, the family filed a lawsuit against the City of New York, the NYPD and Officers Alongi and Salvatore for violating the civil rights of Win Rozario, his mother, and his brother. The complaint alleges wrongful death, excessive force, unreasonable seizure, substantive due process, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and ten other counts against the defendant officers and the city.

In support of the family’s demands, their attorney, David B. Rankin (he/him), Beldock Levine & Hoffman, LLP stated: “The NYPD must immediately fire Officers Salvatore Alongi and Matthew Cianfrocco. They shot and killed Win and nearly shot Notan Eva Costa and Utsho Rozario and they are still working, it is a disgrace.”

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BACKGROUND

19-year-old Win Rozario was in his Ozone Park, Queens home when he was killed by NYPD Officers Salvatore Alongi and Matthew Cianfrocco on March 27, 2024, in front of his mother and younger brother. Officers Alongi and Cianfrocco created a crisis when they arrived and repeatedly escalated the situation, tasing and shooting Win at least five times within less than two minutes after entering the family’s apartment, unjustifiably killing the teen and risking the lives of Win’s mother and brother.

Immediately following the shooting, NYPD officers forced Ms. Costa and Utsho, Win’s mother and younger brother, to go to the precinct to be interrogated, preventing them from accompanying Win in the ambulance. Ms. Costa was questioned at length without counsel before being told her son had died, and 17-year-old Utsho was also interrogated alone. NYPD officers blocked re-entry to the Rozario family’s home for more than two days, refusing the family’s demands to retrieve belongings, access medications, or even feed their cat.

For over a month after Win Rozario was killed, the NYPD blocked transparency, including refusing to release the names of the officers involved. Alongi and Cianfrocco’s names were first publicly identified by the Attorney General’s Office when they released officer body camera footage on May 3, 2024. Mayor Adams’ first and only public statements regarding the killing were issued only after the Attorney General released body camera footage, over five weeks after Win was killed, after he was questioned by press. After being questioned by reporters, Mayor Adams falsely claimed that he had reached out to the family after the incident and that discipline would have to wait until after the Attorney General’s investigation concluded with a determination, which has never been accurate.

For the past year, Win Rozario’s family, along with the Justice Committee and Desis Rising Up & Moving, have called for the NYPD to fire – and for the NYS Attorney General to prosecute – NYPD officers Alongi and Cianfrocco. They are also calling for police to be removed from the city’s mental health response. Win Rozario’s mother wrote about the year since Win was killed and the NYPD’s mistreatment of her family in a March 2025 Daily News Op-Ed. 

The Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) and the New York State Attorney General are still investigating the killing. The family has received no updates from Mayor Adams or the NYPD about the NYPD’s mandated investigation. While mayors sometimes falsely claim that officer disciplinary processes must wait until after prosecutor determinations, there is no mandate to delay discipline. Francis Livoti, who killed Anthony Baez in 1994, was fired from the NYPD before federal prosecutors convicted Livoti for violating Baez’s civil rights.

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About the Justice Committee:

Since the 1980s, the Justice Committee (JC) has been dedicated to building a movement against police violence and systemic racism in New York City. The heart of our work is organizing and uplifting the leadership of families who have lost loved ones to the police and survivors of police violence. We empower our community to deter police violence, hold law enforcement accountable, and build people-led community safety through grassroots organizing campaigns, community empowerment, political education, our CopWatch program, and by developing safety mechanisms and projects that decrease reliance on police. By building solidarity with other anti-racist, immigrant and people of color-led organizations, the Justice Committee seeks to contribute to a broad-based movement for racial, social, and economic justice. 

About Desis Rising Up and Moving:

DRUM - Desis Rising Up and Moving is a multigenerational, membership led organization of low-wage South Asian and Indo-Caribbean immigrants, workers and youth in New York City. Founded in 2000, DRUM has mobilized and built the leadership of thousands of low-income, South Asian and Indo-Caribbean immigrants to lead social and policy change that impacts their own lives- from immigrant rights to education reform, racial justice, and worker’s justice.  Our membership of over 5,000 adults, youth, and families is multigenerational and represents the diaspora of the South Asian communities – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Guyana, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, and beyond.  In over a decade, we have built a unique model of South Asian and Indo-Caribbean undocumented workers, women, and youth led organizing for rights and justice from the local to the global rooted in base building, leadership development, running short and long term campaigns to reform policies on all levels, strong cross-community alliances locally and nationally, and building democratic and mass participatory spaces.