The police officer who shot and killed a 13-year-old in upstate New York during a robbery investigation last summer has been cleared by state investigators of criminal wrongdoing.
New York Attorney General Letitia James’s office released an investigative report Wednesday concluding that Utica Police Officer Patrick Husnay should not be charged with a crime for killing teen Nyah Mway on June 28, 2024.
Mway and another unidentified teen were stopped by three police officers in Utica, NY, as the pair fit the description of two people wanted in an armed robbery in the area the night before, the report stated.
Bodycam footage of the incident shows the 13-year-old running away from the officers — setting off a chase that would ultimately end in his death.
As he was fleeing, Mway pointed what appeared to be a black handgun — but was really a pellet gun — at the pursuing Utica Police Officer Bryce Patterson.
The officer said he could see the black barrel of the object pointing at his chest and believed that he was going to be shot and killed, the report stated.
While at a full sprint, Patterson tackled Mway to the ground and struggled for the weapon, at which time officers Husnay and Andrew Citriniti caught up to the ongoing fight for what they believed was a handgun, the report stated.
Officer Husney then leaned over and fired a single shot into the chest of Mway at close range, according to the report and bodycam footage.
The young teen was taken to Wynn Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
The attorney general also released a recording of a bystander’s TikTok of the chase and shooting as part of the report, which shows the dramatic moment Mway is tackled and shot by the UPD officers.
Additionally, James shared information on two armed robberies that the officers were investigating — in which victims said two Asian teenagers robbed them at gunpoint.
Video from a June 12, 2024 robbery shows two apparent males in hoodies and face masks approach an unsuspecting victim on the street, with a person in a red sweatshirt whipping out what appears to be a handgun. The victim in that case was robbed of all his belongings and told cops the assailants were about 5’5” and that he could tell they were Asian “because of their facial features, mainly the eyes,” according to the report.
A second incident on June 27, 2024, saw two people fitting the same description robbing another victim using what appeared to be a handgun just a few blocks away from the previous incident.
Mway and the other unidentified minor fit the description of the two perps wanted for the June 27 incident, according to James’ report.
During the police interaction on the fateful night, cops said Mway kept his hoodie over his head and was instructed by officers twice to keep his hands out of his pockets.
The 13-year-old also sparked cops’ suspicions by apparently “pinning his arm to his waistband,” in an apparent attempt to conceal the pellet gun, according to the report.
Mway was carrying a hyper-realistic pellet gun replica of a Glock 17 that featured the words “Officially Licensed Product of Glock” with a company logo on the side of the piece, the report stated.
James found that the cops were justified in using deadly force in the incident as it was reasonable for the officers to believe that their lives were threatened with a firearm.