NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James on December 30 released police body-worn camera footage from members of the Syracuse Police Department that the Office of the Attorney General obtained as part of its ongoing investigation into the death of Allison Lakie, who died on October 20, 2021, following an encounter with members of the Syracuse Police Department.
The Office of Special Investigation (OSI) in the Office of the Attorney General released three videos from body-worn cameras that responding officers were equipped with during the incident. The release of these videos follows Attorney General James’ directive that redacted camera footage obtained by her office in the course of an OSI investigation be released to the public in order to increase transparency and strengthen public trust in these matters.
Pursuant to New York state Executive Law Section 70-b, OSI assesses every incident reported to it where a police officer or a peace officer, including a corrections officer, may have caused the death of a person, by an act or omission. Under the law, the officer may be on-duty or off-duty, and the decedent may be armed or unarmed. Also, the decedent may or may not be in custody or incarcerated. If OSI’s assessment indicates an officer caused the death, OSI proceeds to conduct a full investigation of the incident.
The release of this footage is not an expression of any opinion as to the guilt or innocence of any party in a criminal matter or any opinion as to how or whether any individual may be charged with a crime.
