CIVIL RIGHTS
Video Amps Up Outrage in NYPD Killing of Queer Man
Family of Bronxite killed at home slams DA Clark, police for report they charge is biased
BY MATT TRACY
Bronx District Attorney
Darcel Clark on November
17 released police
body camera and hallway
surveillance footage showing
the moment when NYPD offi -
cers entered a Black queer man’s
apartment last year and shot him
to death in a case that has fueled
outrage.
Clark also unveiled a report
outlining the incident more than
a year and a half after 32-yearold
Kawaski Trawick was gunned
down by police on April 14, 2019,
at Hill House, a supportive living
environment at 1616 Grand Avenue
in the Bronx.
The footage and report reaffi
rmed the anger of advocates and
family members who have maintained
that offi cers failed to properly
de-escalate the situation before
resorting to killing a man in
his own apartment. Trawick’s family
is also warning the public that
they feel the report released by the
DA is biased.
The fatal shooting concluded a
brief but chaotic encounter during
which the superintendent of
Trawick’s building and a security
guard both called police and alleged
that Trawick was annoying
neighbors. Trawick had also called
911 that same evening and said
there was a fi re and that he was
locked out of his apartment, which
culminated in the fi re department
opening his apartment for him. A
fi re was never found and records
of calls with dispatchers notably
indicate Trawick was experiencing
distress.
When a pair of NYPD cops subsequently
arrived on the scene,
Offi cer Herbert Davis initially
knocked on Trawick’s door. When
nobody answered, Davis knocked
again, but then opened Trawick’s
door without his permission.
With the door opened, Trawick
— who was holding a stick and
a serrated knife and said he was
cooking — asked why the cops entered
his apartment. Offi cers ignored
the question and asked him
Video footage beginning at the 18:33 mark shows the moments leading up to the fatal police shooting
of Kawaski Trawick in his own home in April of last year.
Kawaski Trawick, an out queer man, was killed by police offi cers in his apartment last year.
repeatedly to put down his knife.
Trawick then walked away from
the offi cers to turn off a radio in
his apartment, according to the report,
before facing the offi cers and
again asking why they were in his
home.
After Davis unsuccessfully
asked Trawick to drop the knife,
the other offi cer, Brendan Thompson,
YOUTUBE/ BRONX DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
FACEBOOK/ KAWASKI TRAWICK
tased Trawick, knocking him
to the ground.
Thompson dropped the taser to
the ground, holstered his gun, and
walked into the apartment, according
to the report. Within seconds,
however, Trawick got up and
screamed at the offi cers. Thompson
was unable to tase Trawick again
because he had ditched his taser,
so he proceeded to shoot Trawick
four times with his gun. One of the
shots struck Trawick in the heart,
killing him nearly instantly, according
to the report.
It does not appear police offi cers
ever answered Trawick’s questions
asking why they were in his apartment
and there is no explanation
as to why Thompson dropped his
taser — which wound up being
a key factor in the turn of events
leading up to the deadly use of
force.
Before the video was released to
the family and later to the public,
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams
had an opportunity to view
it. He offered his reaction during
an interview with Gay City News
last year.
“I don’t believe our offi cers are
trained for fi rst instinct,” he said.
“In the video, it was quite clear
that they had every opportunity
to come out of that house and instead
they stayed in. There was a
knife in his kitchen — I don’t know
where else you would have a knife
than in a kitchen. The police just
opened the door. Think about how
you would feel if somebody opened
the door.”
Nonetheless, Clark stated in
August that the offi cers would
not face criminal charges. While
she acknowledged that the case
should yield “a thoughtful review
of police procedures and training
techniques,” Clark said, “We do not
fi nd the facts warrant a criminal
prosecution.”
In a press release issued after
the report was released, Clark said
the investigation into Trawick’s
death revealed that the pair of police
offi cers were not equipped with
information that would have been
helpful when they responded to the
scene.
“Once again, we have a death
that painfully illustrates that
changes are needed in the response
to those in mental health crisis,
and that we as a community must
do better to provide appropriate assistance
for residents of supportive
➤ KAWASKI TRAWICK, continued on p.7
November 26 - December 2,6 2020 | GayCityNews.com
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