Police say Shen graduate may have instigated fatal fight

PHOTOGRAPHER: Marcy Velte

Police in Washington, D.C., who investigated the death of Clifton Park native Patrick Casey are now saying it is possible the 33-year-old Army veteran initiated the fight that ultimately led to his death.

Metropolitan Police Public Information Officer Gwendolyn Crump said Monday witnesses inside the McDonald’s Restaurant described Casey’s actions Sept. 23 as “irritating to other patrons, but not as if he was trying to instigate a fight.”

Detectives reviewed footage from video outside the restaurant where the fight took place. Crump said the video indicates Casey pushed or threw a subject to the ground, before being pushed or punched himself. Casey fell to the ground and struck his head on the sidewalk. He was taken to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries Sept. 27.

Casey’s parents, Paul and Gail, told the Washington Post last week that their son sustained the injuries that led to his death while trying to break up the fight. They also said people inside the McDonald’s had been harassing Casey and a female companion, but did not mention his own behavior as “irritating.”

Casey attended Shenendehowa High School and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, playing football at both.

He enlisted in the Army when he was 28 and eventually served a year in Afghanistan.

Casey had moved to Washington this year to begin an international affairs master’s degree program at George Washington University.

Former Shenendehowa high school football coach Brent Steuerwald described Casey as “an outstanding athlete, student and fine person in every respect,” who “impressed a lot of people.”

Police in Washington are still seeking suspects in the case.

The Metropolitan Police Department is offering a $25,000 reward to anyone with information that leads to the arrest and conviction of people wanted in homicide cases committed in the District of Columbia.

A funeral Mass is planned for Casey at 10 a.m. today at St. Edward the Confessor Church in Clifton Park, with burial with military honors in Prospect Hill Cemetery in Schuylerville.