Attorney General Letitia James says office won't prosecute Nassau cop in fatal Massapequa shooting

New York State Attorney General Letitia James said Thursday her office will not prosecute a Nassau County police officer who shot and killed a man armed with BB guns that resembled "real firearms" during a standoff in Massapequa.

State investigators from James' Office of Special Investigation could not "disprove" beyond a reasonable doubt the officer's actions on the night of Feb. 2 were justified, according to a news release. The office probes all deaths caused by police in New York State.

Police said at the time that 19-year-old David Clements was killed by an officer after he allegedly rushed toward police while pointing a handgun and a light at officers outside his home on Stone Boulevard.

The identity of the officer involved has not been released.

The Nassau police department initially said three weapons recovered from the scene included two BB guns and a loaded 9 mm handgun. Instead, according to the state investigators' report, all three were BB guns — but "looked like real firearms."

"We are pleased to see that a thorough investigation by the Attorney General’s Office has confirmed what we have believed all along: the actions of our officers during this incident were legally justified and necessary to protect their own lives," Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said in a statement. "No police officer wants to be forced to use deadly physical force. And we share the sadness felt by the family of David Clements that he lost his life."

The announcement released Thursday by James read: "After a thorough investigation, which included review of footage from body-worn cameras, audio from 911 calls, interviews with witnesses and an involved officer, and comprehensive legal analysis, OSI concluded that a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the officer’s actions were justified under New York law."

Officers were called to the home at about 8:30 p.m. after a neighbor called 911 to report Clements had come to his residence with a weapon, saying he wanted to kill himself, Ryder said at the time.

Ryder also said arriving officers found Clements outside the home holding handguns, noting the man, who had a history of mental illness, held a firearm in each hand, pointing the weapons at his head, stating: "Tell my mother I love her. I don’t want to live."

Clements did not follow instructions by officers to drop his weapons, then briefly went inside the home, before exiting again with a flashlight and a loaded gun, according to the commissioner.

"He was threatening to kill himself several times," Ryder said at a news conference following the shooting. "The officers gave him directions to drop the weapon ... at some point that individual ran back into his house for a second, turned around, came out with a loaded 9 mm handgun with a very bright flashlight on it" — Ryder telling reporters that Clements then ran down the driveway toward the officers.

Clements was pronounced dead at the scene by a medic from the Nassau County Police Department.

In making its announcement not to prosecute, the attorney general’s office also said that under New York’s justification law a police officer "may use deadly force when the officer reasonably believes it to be necessary to defend against the use of deadly physical force by another."

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”