Makeup-applying Cop Who Ran Over Sleeping Man And Dragged Him To His Death Won't Face Charges

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You'd deliberation that if you ran complete a sleeping man successful a parkland pinch your car and dragged him to his death, only for nan tribunal discovered that you'd been doing your constitution astatine nan clip of nan crash, you'd beryllium screwed. Time to see really overmuch you really retrieve from nan first 4 seasons of "Orange Is The New Black," because you aren't getting retired of that one. Which whitethorn beryllium existent for a normie, but according to Streetsblog, New York announced nan constabulary serviceman accused of doing precisely that will not look charges.

In nan report that New York Attorney General Letitia James' agency released April 14, nan authorities doesn't contradict that, at 4:37 p.m connected August 23, 2025, NYPD Officer Levonje Devone was driving pinch her partner Officer Keisha Compere erstwhile she killed Mr. Huerta Gonzalez pinch her car. The clang took spot successful Flushing Meadows Corona Park, nan largest parkland successful Queens and location to the Queens Zoo, Queens Theater, and Queens Museum. The study besides adds:

At nan clip of his death, Mr. Huerta Gonzalez was lying connected a roadway by nan Queens Theater. The roadworthy was not unfastened to civilian car postulation but was utilized by NYPD cars, Parks Department cars, and nan cars of immoderate labor of nan various attractions located successful nan park. There were nary postulation signals connected nan roadway.

Additionally, nan study acknowledges that Officer Devone "had what appeared to beryllium an unfastened conduit of articulator gloss betwixt nan thumb and scale digit of her correct manus arsenic it gripped nan wheel." However, successful its report, nan Attorney General's Office of Special Investigation declined to urge immoderate charges against nan officer, penning that:

Having thoroughly investigated nan facts and analyzed nan law, OSI concludes a prosecutor
would not beryllium capable to beryllium beyond a reasonable uncertainty that nan serviceman driving nan car that ran
over Mr. Huerta Gonzalez committed a crime and, therefore, will not activity charges and closes
the matter pinch this report.

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Basically, yes, Officer Devone hit Gonzalez pinch her car and killed him. Yes, she was distracted trying to put her articulator gloss connected while she was driving. But does nan authorities see an serviceman of nan rule sidesplitting a man while applying constitution down nan instrumentality to beryllium "criminally negligent" behaviour worthy of prosecution? According to AG James, no, it does not. So thing will beryllium done astir an supplier of nan authorities sidesplitting a man not accused of immoderate crimes punishable by nan decease penalty. But what makes this business moreover worse is that Streetsblog reports witnesses had already called 911 and tried to pass Officer Devone:

But onlookers astatine nan segment surely believed Devone was distracted, arsenic astatine slightest 1 shouted astatine her to extremity arsenic she drove towards nan sleeping Gonzalez, whose beingness successful nan roadway had been flagged for nan NYPD a infinitesimal earlier by 2 Mets employees, nan study revealed.

"A person!" personification tin beryllium heard shouting connected NYPD body-worn camera footage of nan incident released by nan lawyer general's agency past week.

A adjacent constabulary lieutenant flagged down Devone, who joined nan unit successful 2021, to get her to extremity before nan crash, according to James's Office of Special Investigations. But investigators concluded that they could not clear nan ineligible load of impervious that Devone was criminally negligent.

Bystanders reportedly created capable of a segment earlier Devone deed Gonzalez that NYPD Lieutenant Maritza Meade told OSI:

she heard a commotion and turned and saw a constabulary car slow moving on United Nations Avenue South straight successful nan way of a personification who was lying connected nan roadway. She said she rushed toward nan driver's broadside of nan constabulary car to show nan officers to stop. Officer Compere said she and Officer Devone looked to nan near and saw Lt. Meade gesturing and trying to pass pinch them, but Officer Compere was not clear what she was saying and thought Lt. Meade was telling them to rotation down nan car window. Officer Compere said she besides heard personification yelling "hey" from location down nan car.

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The worst portion of this full business is that Officer Devone didn't deed Gonzalez astatine a precocious velocity and termination him quickly. The NYPD's Collision Investigation Squad concluded she deed him astatine 7.14 mph. They ran complete him slowly, and CIS determined Officer Devone's car dragged him 10 feet earlier stopping. Officer Compere told OSI "she heard what sounded for illustration debased screams and moaning coming from nether her seat." And contempt having conscionable been woken up by being tally over, Gonzalez was reportedly alert capable to reply basal questions and supply his name. 

Officers past utilized a jack to assistance nan constabulary cruiser disconnected Gonzalez's assemblage and spot him successful an ambulance astatine 4:47 p.m. However, a fewer minutes later, he became unresponsive, and moreover though they arrived astatine nan infirmary by 5:05 p.m., by 5:14 p.m., he had been pronounced dead. An autopsy later recovered that, while he had been intoxicated astatine nan clip Officer Devone ran him over, Gonzalez's origin of decease was "blunt unit trauma of torso," pinch nan mode of death listed arsenic "struck and tally complete by constabulary vehicle."

Had Officer Devone not deed Gonzalez pinch her car, he apt would person woken up hungover but different fine. Not dead, that's for sure. According to nan NYAG's office, however, location was "no
indication that she was incapable to steer because of what was successful her hand," and truthful she won't look ineligible consequences for moving a man complete and dragging him to his death. Do we really want to unrecorded successful a nine wherever sidesplitting group is okay if you declare it was an oopsie? And what does it opportunity astir you if your guidance is, "It's good that he died. He was doing thing he wasn't expected to do?"