NAACP wants answers in fatal shooting

PHOTOGRAPHER: Steven Cook

The local NAACP is questioning the number of shots fired by three Schenectady police officers when they killed an armed man last month.

The group also said it’s heard from witnesses who give a different account of what 33-year-old Luis Rivera was doing when he was shot.

The NAACP of Schenectady County held a press conference late Thursday afternoon at the site of the Aug. 12 shooting on Grove Place, near State Street. The group called for better police training regarding the use of deadly physical force and for more information to be released, including the in-car video that captured at least a portion of the incident.

Three city police officers fired a total of 14 shots Aug. 12 at Rivera. Police have said he failed to respond to officers’ commands, grabbed the gun, held it and motioned at officers. They then fired, killing him.

Police officials have said the shooting appeared to be within police policy. Police said Thursday the district attorney’s office is now reviewing the incident. Police have not released where and how many times Rivera was hit.

At the press conference, the Rev. Ted Ward repeated earlier statements that he wants a better understanding of police policy and procedure regarding the use of force and public safety. Also present at the press conference was Rivera’s mother, Ivette Cedras.

Ward noted the 14 shots fired to subdue one man on a public street.

“As a result of this incident, many residents, children and lives were endangered by stray bullets,” Ward said.

Patrol car cameras captured much of the incident, authorities have said, although they have not described what the cameras caught. Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney and Public Safety Commissioner Wayne Bennett have said the video appears to substantiate the officers’ description of the incident.

Ward said his group wants to see the video, suggesting it not be released publicly, but shown to a member of their group, the police review board and a member of the media. NAACP Vice President Joseph Skinner said many of the doubts concerning what happened could be addressed by showing the video.

In a statement issued in response to the press conference, Police Chief Mark Chaires said the department has not provided the details the NAACP seeks because “it would be inappropriate” until the Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office has completed its review of the case.

“The Schenectady Police Department has provided all available evidence and information to the Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney,” the statement reads. “Moreover, the Schenectady Police Department will continue to cooperate fully with the district attorney’s investigation.”

Carney was out of town Thursday.

The NAACP also called for an independent prosecutor to review the case, and said the FBI should also investigate.

Ward said he and Skinner are set to meet with Chaires next week.

One of the witnesses the NAACP said they heard from, apparently passing by at the time of the press conference, spoke. A second witness, identified by Skinner, spoke to The Daily Gazette afterward. The woman, who identified herself as Renee Clow of nearby State Street, said she saw the incident from her apartment.

She said she saw Rivera pull away from officers and start running, trying to throw the gun to the side.

The second witness, Javon Jones, 24, of Grove Place, said he was returning from the store, turned a corner and saw the incident unfold. He said he saw Rivera break away and start running. Jones, though, said he did not see Rivera with a gun.

Jones said he spoke with a detective at his home and was told to go to the station to make a formal statement. When he went, he said the detective was not in. Jones hasn’t gone back.