NY State Attorney General Letitia James says her office won't file criminal charges against Suffolk police officer who fatally shot Enrique Lopez in 2022

No criminal charges will be filed in the fatal Suffolk police shooting of a Medford man who stabbed two officers during an encounter in his home last year, according to a report released Friday from the office of New York State Attorney General Letitia James.

The AG’s Office of Special Investigations, which probes incidents where law enforcement officers may have caused the death of a person, concluded that Suffolk Police Officer Raymond Stock shot and killed Enrique Lopez, 56. Lopez stabbed Stock and another officer who responded to his apartment after his roommate alleged he threatened him with a fire extinguisher and was acting erratically, the OSI report said. 

“In sum, the evidence in the investigation is insufficient to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt that Officer Stock was justified under New York law in using deadly physical force,” the report reads. “Therefore, OSI will not seek charges and closes the investigation with this report.”

The family of Lopez, who the report said suffered from an unnamed mental illness, could not be reached for comment. The police department declined comment.

OSI said it reviewed evidence from the scene, police radio transmissions and interviewed witnesses — including Stock and Officers Brenden Gallagher, who was also stabbed by Lopez, and Michael Livorio — as part of its investigation.

OSI also reviewed a video of the encounter between Lopez and the officers, although the video, which was shot inadvertently by Lopez’s case manager, does not show visible images of the shooting or stabbings. The report noted that none of the officers were wearing body cameras at the time, but the department has since “fully implemented” its body worn camera program.

At the time of the shooting, the police department refused to release the name of the officers involved or who fired the fatal shot. But Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison called it a “justified shooting” when speaking to reporters.

“Officer Stock said he fired his gun to save Officer Gallagher,” the OSI report said. “Officer Stock realized he was bleeding and went downstairs and later was airlifted to Stony Brook University Medical Center. Officer Stock said he is in physical therapy and is not cleared for work.”

Lopez lived for five years before his Dec. 28, 2022 death in an apartment operated by Concern Housing, a nonprofit for people with disabilities and mental health issues, the report said. Lopez’s case manager, who was not identified by name, called 911 after she said Lopez had threatened a roommate with a fire extinguisher, was acting “irrationally” and exhibiting “very odd, dangerous behavior,” the report said. She also described Lopez as paranoid and violent. 

Police arrived at Lopez’s apartment at 5:03 p.m. and officers reported that shots were fired at 5:09 p.m., the report said.

Stock and Gallagher entered Lopez’s bedroom, while Livorio stood nearby.

“Hey Enrique … what’s going on today?” Stock can be heard asking on the video, according to the report. The sounds of a struggle can then be heard and then four shots.

The report said when Stock and Gallagher entered Lopez’s room to speak to him, Stock told investigators Lopez was sitting on the bed with an “aggressive posture” and was leaning forward and clenching his fists. Gallagher described Lopez as “agitated and stiff," the report said. 

Stock told investigators that he and Gallagher both grabbed Lopez by the arms, which he did because he perceived Lopez as a danger to them and himself. But Lopez fought them and they all fell to the floor, the report said. Stock didn’t initially realize he was stabbed, but saw Lopez “holding a knife” and wrestling with Gallagher. He then fired four shots.

Lopez was pronounced dead at 5:17 p.m., the report said.

 Lopez’s mental health “regressed” during the COVID lockdown and he was “unable to stay compliant with his medication, therapy and doctor appointments in the months before his death,” the report said.

Lopez’s case manager told police in a sworn statement that she called the police and a hotline operated by the local nonprofit Family Service League several times for wellness checks before his death.

“Because of his behavior, I tried to get him more structured supervision because I feared he might hurt someone when he was having an episode,” the social worker said, according to the report. 

The report said a review of the officers medical records showed Stock, who was admitted to Stony Brook Hospital on the day of Lopez’s death and was discharged on Jan. 6, had “multiple stab wounds, including jugular vein and femoral artery wounds requiring surgery, and was on a ventilator for more than four days.”

Gallagher’s medical records said he had “penetrating stab wounds to the left upper chest and left upper arm, and lacerations to the left hand." 

 Dr. James Vosswinkle, head of trauma at Stony Brook University Hospital, said at the time that the officer who was on the ventilator, who the report confirms is Shock, suffered “life threatening injuries.” Vosswinkle also said then that the other officer, Gallagher, was stabbed through his bulletproof vest, close to his heart, and the knife hit a rib.

OSI said it had also reviewed the personnel files Stock, Gallagher, and Livorio, “which showed no firearm discharges or firearm investigations before this incident.”

Since April 2021, the attorney general’s Office of Special Investigations has been required by law to investigate and, if warranted, prosecute any criminal offense that a police officer may have committed in connection with any incident in which the officer caused someone’s death. 

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.