On June 5, 2020, New Rochelle Police Department (NRPD) Officer Alex McKenna chased Kamal Flowers, a young Black man, on foot into a dark street.  Flowers was riding in a car that, police said, failed to signal for a turn.  There has never been any allegation that Flowers, the passenger in the car, committed any crime that night.  Exactly what happened in that dark street is uncertain.  There were no body cameras at the time, and surveillance footage of the incident is unclear.  Whatever happened, the incident ended with McKenna shooting Flowers and killing him.  The police have never explained why McKenna chased Flowers on foot and cornered him, setting up an encounter that turned deadly.  A grand jury declined to indict McKenna, and on March 3, 2021, then Police Commissioner Joseph Schaller announced that an internal NRPD investigation found that “none of the officers involved in this incident committed any violations of the Department’s policies or procedures.”

On July 3, 2023, the owner of New Rochelle Farms, a grocery store at the corner of Lincoln Avenue and North Avenue, called police to report that Jarrel Garris, a Black man with a history of mental health problems who was behaving erratically, had eaten some fruit and left the store without paying.  Two police officers caught up with Garris on Lincoln Avenue, and the store owner told one of them that he wanted to press charges.  The officers tried to engage Garris in conversation.  Body camera video shows that Garris did not respond and walked peacefully away.  The video then shows Detective Steven Conn pulling up in a squad car, running towards Garris, shouting “You’re under arrest,” grabbing Garris by the arm, and wrestling him to the ground.  Video shows Garris reaching towards one officer’s holstered gun.  Conn shouted “Gun!” and shot Garris once in the neck.  Garris was pronounced dead 10 days later.

An investigation by the New York State Attorney General concluded that Detective Conn could not be successfully prosecuted under state law, but the AG sharply criticized Conn’s escalation of a minor, peaceful incident into a homicide.  “Mr. Garris was not physically combative until Detective Conn grabbed his arm,” the report said.  “Detective Conn’s action appeared to provoke a physically combative response from Mr. Garris, “which in turn led to Mr. Garris’s death when he grabbed Officer Bird’s gun.” 

In addition, the AG report criticized 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.”

“Mr. Garris’s reported offense was petty and nonviolent,” the report continued. “Although he was not complying with the requests of Officers Bird and 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.”

On January 24, 2025, Police Commissioner Robert Gazzola issued a brief statement announcing that an internal NRPD investigation found that “none of the officers involved committed violations of department policies or procedures that would have prevented the outcome of the incident.” 

Police Commissioner Robert Gazzola

“We are closely reviewing the recommendations contained in the [AG’s] report,” the statement said, “and will implement those that align with the New York State Department of Criminal Justice Accreditation standards and the laws of the state of New York.  The New Rochelle Police Department is committed to officer training and continuously reviews and updates its training programs to align with best practices and legal developments.”  The statement did not elaborate on the specific standards or training the NRPD had updated or planned to update.

In the past five years, NRPD officers have shot and killed two Black men in the street.  Officer McKenna killed Kamal Flowers under cover of darkness without a video record, and the NRPD has never explained why McKenna chased him on foot into that dark street and has not publicly criticized any of the officer’s actions.  Without that unexplained chase, Kamal Flowers would be alive today.  The killing of Jarrel Garris occurred in broad daylight with a video record that clearly shows Detective Conn unnecessarily escalating a routine, peaceful incident, leading to an execution for the alleged crime of failing to pay for a few pieces of fruit.

In both cases, NRPD brass found that “none of the officers involved committed violations of department policies or procedures.”  Despite the state Attorney General’s strong public criticism of Detective Conn’s actions and the NRPD’s inadequate training, the NRPD has admitted no fault, accepted no responsibility, and provided no clear plan to avoid similar incidents in the future.

What do these events tell us about policing in New Rochelle?

First, it is unclear whether officers have been fully and effectively trained in de-escalation and management of individuals in mental distress since the needless killing of Kamal Flowers in 2020.  Although Commissioner Gazzola has said that officers have been trained in de-escalation, no details have been provided on the nature, timing, or extent of that training.  Whatever training was provided before July 2023 was clearly insufficient to prevent the escalation of another minor incident into a lethal encounter that cost Jarrel Garris his life.

Second, NRPD leadership does not feel obligated to accept any responsibility, issue any criticism, hold anyone accountable, or provide any transparency when a white police officer kills a Black civilian—even when an officer’s actions and the NRPD’s policies and practices have been strongly criticized by the state Attorney General.

Third, NRPD policies and procedures and New York State law are insufficient to deter escalation of encounters by aggressive police.  When policies and laws focus exclusively on the moments just before a gun is fired, police can escalate confrontations with impunity.  An officer who escalates a confrontation until lethal force becomes “self-defense” is just as responsible for taking a life as an officer who shoots without provocation.  Policies and laws need to be strengthened so officers can be held accountable for any action leading to a needless civilian death, not just a decision to shoot after they have created a situation in which they may feel their life is threatened.

Fourth, it appears to be acceptable to NRPD brass, and by their silence and inaction, the city’s management as well, for the NRPD to continue to employ officers who have killed Black civilians.  Officer McKenna and Detective Conn remain on the NRPD payroll.  It appears that the city’s elected leaders expect citizens to accept policing by officers who have killed recklessly in the past and have not been held to account, and to tolerate police leadership that turns a blind eye to aggressive, potentially homicidal policing of the Black community. 

Fifth, there is a pattern of abuse of Black citizens by white NRPD officers.  In the past several years, we have seen white officers kill two Black men; a white off-duty officer, Michael Vaccaro, beat a Black man, Malik Fogg, who was already under arrest; and a white lieutenant, Sean Kane, plant evidence on a Black man, Ivin Harper, in an attempt to frame him on drug charges.  Three of these episodes were captured on video.  All but one of the offending officers are still on the NRPD payroll.

Off-duty police officer Michael Vaccaro assaulting Malik Fogg

Sixth, the city has shown no interest in a serious inquiry into the culture, policies, and disciplinary structure that allows the police to kill and abuse Black citizens with impunity.

The NRPD needs a thorough overhaul, with new leadership, new policies, new training, and a new disciplinary system that rewards de-escalation, combats racism, and weeds out officers who approach their jobs as hostile warriors rather than public servants.

Commissioner Robert Gazzola’s actions in the Jarrel Garris case show that he can no longer effectively lead the NRPD.  Commissioner Gazzola, like most other NRPD leaders, rose through the NRPD ranks and is deeply embedded in its dysfunctional culture.  Gazzola should resign or retire, and City Manager Will Melendez should replace him with a new Commissioner from outside the NRPD with a proven ability to lead a humane police force and a commitment to changing the NRPD’s corrosive culture.  The sooner this transition happens, the better for everyone in New Rochelle.