Attorney General finds Conn needlessly escalated a minor incident and criticizes NRPD policies and training

After 14 months of investigation, the office of New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced on Wednesday, Sept. 18 that it would not seek criminal charges against New Rochelle Detective Steven Conn for the killing of Jarrel Garris. 

Citing New York State law on the use of deadly force in self-defense and video evidence that Garris’s hands were on the holstered gun of Officer Kari Bird at the time he was shot, James’s report on the incident found that a prosecutor “would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt that Detective Conn reasonably believed it was necessary to use deadly force to defend himself” and others.

But James’s report was harshly critical of Conn’s escalation of the incident, emphasizing that Garris was suspected only of the “petty offense” of taking food from a grocery store without paying, and that “Mr. Garris was not physically combative until Detective Conn grabbed his arm.”  “Detective Conn’s action appeared to provoke a physically combative response from Mr. Garris,” the report said, “which in turn led to Mr. Garris’s death when he grabbed Officer Bird’s gun.”

James’s report was especially critical of the NRPD’s “training and policies for obtaining compliance for a petty nonviolent offense.”  “The decision to use physical force to obtain compliance for a petty offense, particularly where mental health may be a factor in noncompliance,” the report said, “should be made cautiously and should be based on objective criteria,” such as:

• Whether the safety of the community requires a custodial arrest, or whether another method of charging, such as a desk appearance ticket, or a discretionary issuance of a warning to disengage from future criminal behavior, would be in the community’s interest;
• Whether the subject is physically combative or passively non-compliant;
• Whether, in the case of passive noncompliance, there are ways to achieve compliance without physical force;
• Whether other law enforcement personnel on the scene have advanced training in de-escalation or in interactions with people in mental health crises, who should take the lead in resolving the situation; and
• Whether methods of nonviolent resolution were sufficiently explored and exhausted.

“Mr. Garris’s reported offense was petty and nonviolent,” the report said. “Although he was not complying with the requests of Officers Bird and [Gabriella] Chavarry to stop and talk with them, his noncompliance was not violent or physical. Officer Bird had been recently trained in crisis intervention training. Officer Bird, however, did not have the opportunity to implement her training when Detective Conn grabbed Mr. Garris’s arm in an attempt to gain compliance through physical force.”

The Attorney General’s implicit criticism of Conn’s decision to grab Garris’s arm “in an attempt to gain compliance through physical force” echoes the conclusion of numerous community members that Conn needlessly escalated a non-violent encounter that could have ended peacefully. 

And the Attorney General’s critique of NRPD’s policies and training resonates with community complaints about a culture of confrontation and violence that permeates the NRPD and is directed disproportionately against the Black community.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James

In a statement released shortly after the publication of the Attorney General’s report, The New Rochelle Police Association, the union representing uniformed officers, mischaracterized Garris as a “violent criminal,” failed to mention that Conn unilaterally escalated a non-violent encounter into a lethal confrontation, and framed the killing as an example of “the officers of the New Rochelle Police Department bravely plac[ing] themselves at risk every day to ensure the safety of our community.”  Black residents of New Rochelle have stated repeatedly that aggressive policing directed against them does not “ensure the safety” of their community.

The Attorney General’s report comes as the New Rochelle City Council considers the creation of a Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) to provide a measure of independent civilian oversight over the NRPD.  At a public hearing before the Council on Tuesday, September 10, (link) numerous New Rochelle residents and others assailed the proposal submitted to the Council for a “review-only” CCRB  without investigative powers as grossly inadequate to meet the challenges of a police department that has killed two Black men in the past four years under questionable circumstances and recently suspended a Lieutenant for allegedly planting drugs on an innocent Black man and having him arrested.  At the City Council meeting on Tuesday, September 17, the proposal for a “review only” CCRB was held over for further review.

William Wagstaff III, an attorney for the Garris family, told LoHud that they were “angry and disheartened” to learn that Conn would “join the alarmingly long list of police officers who escape accountability when they take the lives of unarmed—typically Black, Brown, and/or poor—civilians.”

Conn, who is white, shot Garris on Lincoln Avenue on the afternoon of July 3, 2023, after Garris, a 37-year-old Black man with a history of mental health challenges, allegedly ate some fruit at the New Rochelle Farm grocery store and left without paying.  The store’s owner called the police to report a theft, and Officers Bird and Chavarry initially responded, approached Garris on the street, and attempted to question him.  Garris walked away without speaking. 

Body camera videos released shortly after the incident show Conn arriving moments later, immediately shouting “You’re under arrest,” running toward Garris, grabbing his arm, and handcuffing one of his wrists.  As Garris pulled away, Bird grabbed his legs, and a scuffle ensued.  The videos show Conn shouting “Taser him,” then “Gun,” and then firing his weapon once.

The Attorney General’s investigation included interviews with the store owner and the three officers and reviews of the 911 call from the store owner, videos from the store cameras and the officers’ body cameras, and the medical examiner’s autopsy report.  The report provides a number of previously unknown details, including:

• The store owner told the police that when he asked Garris if he was going to pay for the fruit he was eating, Garris looked at him in a “menacing” way and he thought Garris would “hurt” him.
• When the store owner called 911, he said Garris was “an unstable person” who was “talking gibberish.”
• A few minutes before being called for the grocery store theft, Officer Bird was talking to Detective Conn outside the police station, about a block from the grocery store. While talking to him, Officer Bird saw Garris slowly crossing the street; he seemed “out of it.” Detective Conn said he thought Garris was on drugs because of his behavior and vacant expression, but he had done nothing wrong, so he just asked Garris if he needed help or assistance crossing the street. Garris did not respond and walked away without incident. Officer Bird said she had never seen Garris before. 
• Detective Conn said he later realized he had taken Garris to a hospital on a prior occasion, apparently (according to police records) on February 10, 2020.
• As Detective Conn ran toward Garris and the two female officers who were speaking with him, Officer Chavarry told Detective Conn that the complainant wanted to press charges, and she put out her hand in a stop motion towards Detective Conn and said, “But he’s good.”
• Conn said that from his perspective, the officers were “not in a good situation” because Garris was being noncompliant by walking away from them, and he decided to put Garris in handcuffs to “get control of the situation.”
• Conn handcuffed Garris 36 seconds after he arrived on the scene
• After Conn handcuffed Garris, he punched Garris in the face.
• Officer Bird said “Stop Steve stop” a moment after the struggle with Mr. Garris began.
• After Detective Conn yelled “Taser him,” Officer Chavarry pulled out her Taser and aimed but, apparently because she did not have a clear shot, did not fire.
• Detective Conn said he saw Garris grabbing Officer Bird’s gun with two hands and pulling on the gun, and he saw the gun rising upward out of the holster.
• Officer Bird told investigators she never felt Garris pulling on or grabbing her holster or her gun. When Detective Conn yelled “gun,” she did not see a gun and did not know what Detective Conn was referring to.
• Officer Bird’s holster had a double-action release, requiring a person to push the hood down and forward, and then lean on a button while pulling the firearm up and out of the holster.  After Garris was shot, Officer Bird looked at her holster and saw that its hood was down. Officer Bird said she did not push the hood down herself, and never attempted to release her firearm.
• Conn shot Garris 15 seconds after handcuffing his wrist.
• After Garris was shot, the three officers finished handcuffing him.  Detective Conn said, “He has your gun,” abruptly stood up, racked his firearm, and pointed it at Garris, who was on the ground, not moving. Officer Bird said, “Dude I have my gun.” Detective Conn then holstered his weapon and continued handcuffing Garris.
• Multiple officers arrived and performed CPR until ambulances arrived.
• Garris had no weapons on his person and no contraband.
• The autopsy report showed that Garris was shot once in the neck, below the right ear, and had PCP and marijuana metabolites in his blood.  The cause of death was “bullet wound of neck involving cervical spine/spinal cord” and the manner of death was “homicide.”

The new details confirm the basic narrative of the incident as previously understood, including an initial measured response by Officers Bird and Chavarry to an alleged “petty offense” with no hint of violence or physical threat.  Statements from Officer Chavarry and Detective Conn suggest that they were aware prior to the encounter that Garris might have been mentally impaired. 

Officer Chavarry’s statement, “But he’s good,” and Officer Bird’s call, “Stop Steve stop,” suggest that the two female officers might have tried to de-escalate the encounter. 

Conn’s statement clarifies that he felt justified in intervening physically “to get control of the situation,” although at the time Garris was walking peacefully away from the officers.  Body camera evidence shows that once Conn handcuffed Garris, the encounter escalated from a conversation to a homicide in 15 seconds.

As of this reporting, Conn remains assigned to desk duty, receiving full pay and benefits. With AG James’s report finally concluded, the NRPD will conduct its own investigation of the Garris killing. 

Meanwhile, community calls for Conn to be dismissed from the department and the resignation of Police Commissioner Robert Gazzola are growing as recent revelations suggest  widespread corruption within the department.