NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) today released its report on the death of Mark Beilby, Jr., who died on December 22, 2021 following an encounter with a member of the New York State Police (NYSP) in Otsego County. After a thorough investigation, which included review of footage from body-worn cameras, comprehensive legal analysis, and interviews with responding officers, trainers at the NYSP Academy, and a use of force expert, OSI concluded that a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the trooper’s actions were justified under New York law.
On the evening of December 22, a NYSP trooper responded to a 911 call reporting a suicidal individual at an apartment in Unadilla, Otsego County. When the trooper entered the apartment, he saw Mr. Beilby holding a knife to his chest in the kitchen. The trooper spoke to Mr. Beilby and tried to persuade him to drop the knife. Mr. Beilby refused, threw kitchen knives at the trooper, and the trooper shot Mr. Beilby in response. Mr. Beilby was taken to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead. Troopers recovered two knives at the scene.
Under New York’s justification law, a police officer may use deadly physical force when the officer reasonably believes it to be necessary to defend against the use of deadly physical force by another. In this case, Mr. Beilby allegedly threw knives at the trooper. Under these circumstances, given the law and the evidence, a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the trooper’s use of deadly physical force against Mr. Beilby was justified, and therefore OSI determined that criminal charges would not be pursued in this matter.
The OSI reviewed NYSP’s de-escalation training curricula and concluded that officers would benefit from scenario-based de-escalation training that addresses a variety of circumstances, such as if an individual is armed with a knife, or another weapon that is not a gun.
