The state attorney general's office released bodycam footage Thursday of the police shooting of Ali Ali in Woodbury
WOODBURY -- State Police pursued Ali Ali through a forested area, issued multiple verbal warnings and attempted to incapacitate him with a Taser before fatally shooting him in September, body camera footage released Thursday by the state attorney general's office shows.
Ali, 28, was a suspect in several violent felony crimes, including a Sept. 16 murder at a Brooklyn laundromat. On Sept. 19, he fled New York City in a stolen car, crashed it on the state Thruway and then led law enforcement on an hours-long manhunt in Orange County, ending with the fatal shooting.
Over the prior 18 months, he had also been arrested for sexual abuse, robbery, sexual misconduct, forcible touching and criminal mischief, according to the NYPD's public information office.
In New York, incidents in which civilians are killed during encounters with police are subject to review by the state attorney general. On Dec. 5, the attorney general's Office of Special Investigation released footage from a body camera worn by two State Police officers identified only as Trooper Raymond and Trooper Colby.
The graphic videos, each of which is about a minute long, open at 1:51 p.m. in the middle of the woods near Trout Brook Road. At least three officers and a police dog can be seen following Ali, who is approximately 25 yards ahead of them. Trooper Raymond says, "Please just stop man, we don't have to do this," while an unidentified officer can be heard saying, "Ali, no one wants to get hurt," according to the videos.
Leading the pursuit was Trooper Colby, who pulls a Taser upon encountering Ali crouched in the forest, according to the video. He shouts "drop the knife" before Ali runs away, prompting Colby to deploy the Taser, which appears to strike Ali in the back. The suspect turns while falling to the ground, then stumbles to his feet and begins to move toward the officers, according to the video.
At that point, Trooper Raymond fires four shots at Ali with his patrol rifle, a long gun that some state troopers carry in addition to the standard-issue Glock 21 pistol. Ali allegedly had a knife in his hand when he moved toward the troopers, according to the attorney general's office. Police recovered a knife at the scene.
The release of the video follows Attorney General Letitia James' directive that "camera footage obtained by her office during an OSI investigation be released to the public to increase transparency and strengthen public trust in these matters," James' office said in a statement.
The attorney general's investigation remains active.