Investigation into the Police-Involved Shooting Death of George Tillman

Transcription

1 OFFICE OF THE QUEENS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY Investigation into the Police-Involved Shooting Death of George Tillman Richard A. Brown District Attorney Kew Gardens, New York October 7, 2016

2 PREFACE The following report details the results of my Office s investigation into the April 2016 police-involved shooting death of George Tillman. The six-month inquiry involved extensive interviews with over two dozen witnesses, including the officers involved, police personnel, emergency responders and civilians. The investigation also included review of video surveillance recordings, police radio runs, 911 call reports, crime scene unit and ballistics reports, the autopsy report and DNA reports. All the credible evidence in this case points to the inescapable conclusion that Mr. Tillman was armed with a loaded and operable.40-caliber semi-automatic pistol at the time of his encounter with the police. The evidence clearly shows that Mr. Tillman pointed the pistol in the direction of a police officer and failed to heed police directions to drop the weapon. The officers had no choice but to fire in order to stop Mr. Tillman from killing or inflicting serious physical injury on them. I have an ethical duty to institute criminal charges only where there is probable cause to support them. As the following report shows, this is not such a case. Kew Gardens, New York October 7, 2016 Richard A. Brown District Attorney

3 NOTE In order to protect the privacy and safety of those involved in this investigation and to encourage other witnesses to cooperate in future investigations, the names of all witnesses have been redacted in this report. Witnesses are identified by a letter and a number as follows: I. Tillman Family A1 through A9 II. Civilian Witnesses and Civilians Mentioned C1 through C31 III. Responding Police Officers and Police Officers Mentioned Police Officers RP(PO1) through RP(PO9) Detective RP(DET1) Sergeants RP(SGT1) through RP(SGT4) Lieutenants RP(LT1) through RP (LT3) Captains RP(CAPT1) through RP(CAPT2) PBA Union Delegates RP(PBA1) & RP(PBA2) SBA Union Delegate RP(SBA1) IV. Emergency Medical Service Responders E1 through E5 V. Involved Members of the Service IO1 through IO5 VI. Locations ADDRESS1 through ADDRESS14

4 Table of Contents Chapter Page I. Synopsis of Incident 1 II. Information about the Decedent, George Tillman 8 III. Police Officers Involved 9 Member of the Service ( MOS ) Witness Member of the Service ( MOS ) Subjects IV. Information concerning the Location of the Incident 11 V. Interviews Conducted 13 Member of the Service ( MOS ) Witnesses IO1 13 RP(PO1) 16 RP(PO2) 17 RP(LT1) 18 RP(SGT1) 20 Civilian Witnesses 22 Emergency Medical Service ( EMS ) Responders: E1 22 E2 23 E3 25 E4 25 E5 27 A1 29 A2 31 A3 33 C1 35 C2 36 C3 38 C4 40 A4 42 Member of the Service ( MOS ) Subjects 44 IO2 44 IO3 46 IO4 49 IO5 51 VI. Review of Radio Run and Sprint 54 VII. Overview of Crime Scene Unit Investigation 55

5 VIII. IX. Overview of Canvass conducted by New York City Police Department ( NYPD ) 59 Review of the Findings by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ( OCME ) 61 The Autopsy 61 Report by the Department of Forensic Biology 64 X. Review by the Office of the New York State Attorney General 65 XI. Analysis 66 XII. Conclusion 71 XIII. Acknowledgments 71

6 I. Synopsis of Incident On Saturday, April 16, 2016, some time in the early evening, the deceased, George Homer Tillman III, (a.k.a. True ), (Male, African-American, 32 years of age, dob 8/1/1983,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ), along with his wife, A1, (aka,œœœœœœœœœœ),(female, œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ), and three of their children, traveled from their home in Maryland to New York. A license plate reader picked up Mr. Tillman s vehicle, a black 2003 Ford Expedition, Virginia registration WZA-4469, VIN# 1FMPU16W03LC20135, going eastbound over the Verrazano Bridge at approximately 6:03 p.m. The Tillmans have resided in Maryland since August 2015 and resided in Pennsylvania for approximately four years prior to that. George and A1 had been married for approximately five years. They often traveled to New York to visit family. Many of A1 s relatives reside in the South Ozone Park area of Queens County. After arriving in New York, A1 attended a barbecue at her grandmother s home. George Tillman did not attend the barbecue. He stayed behind at her mother s home. Plans were made for their children to stay with A1 s mother so that George and A1 could go out for the evening with friends. A1 made plans to go to the home of C3 (Female,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ) and C2 (Male,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ), located at ADDRESS 1, œ œœœ œœœœœœœœœin the South Ozone Park area of Queens County, New York. Their house is located across the street from the home of A1 s aunt, A6 (Female,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ). A1 and her cousin, A3 (Male, œœœœœœœœœœœœœ œœ œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ) arrived at ADDRESS 1 first and called George Tillman to tell him to meet her there. When A1 arrived at the location, it was approximately 11:00 p.m. The other people present at that time included C3, C2, C11, (also k n o w n a s œœœœ), w h o i s C 2 s c o u s i n, a n d C 1 ( F e m a l e, œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ œœ œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ), a friend and former co-worker of C3 s. C3 s œœœœ year old son,œœœœœœœœ, was also in the apartment. Between midnight and 1:00 a.m., Mr. Tillman arrived at the residence with A2 (Male, œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ). A2 is A1 s cousin. They remained at C2's and C3 s apartment for some time after Mr. Tillman arrived. It was the first time that C2, C3, and C1 met Mr. Tillman. Prior to that, they had only met A1. All of the people who attended the party admitted to drinking some alcohol, although accounts vary as to how much everyone, including Mr. Tillman, had to drink. All of those interviewed who attended the get-together state that Mr. Tillman appeared to them to be sober and that he was not drinking heavily. However, Mr. Tillman had a.16 to.18 percentum of alcohol in his blood, more than double the legal limit to operate a motor vehicle, at the time of his death. Between 1:00-1:30 a.m, now on Sunday, April 17 th, 2016, they decided to go to a hookah lounge, although which hookah lounge had not yet been determined. The plan was for Mr. Tillman to drive himself, A1, C2, C3, C1 and C11 to the hookah lounge. A3 and A2 did not plan to go to the lounge. They all left the apartment 1

7 through the front door on 116 th Avenue. They got into Mr. Tillman s Ford Expedition. Mr. Tillman was to be the driver, A1 was seated in the front passenger seat, C2 was seated in the rear seat behind the driver, C3 was in the rear middle seat to the right of C2, C1 was in the rear middle seat to the right of C3, and C11 was in the rear seat behind the front passenger. After everyone was in the car, Mr. Tillman walked to the rear of the Expedition and opened the rear hatch. A2, who had been walking from ADDRESS 1 across the street to œœœœœœœœœœœœœœaddress 2, stood at the rear of the Expedition with Mr. Tillman. Video surveillance recovered from ADDRESS 8, appears to show Mr. Tillman searching for something in the rear of the Expedition and then making a motion towards his waist. While Mr. Tillman was doing this, A2 appeared to be looking up and down the block. When Mr. Tillman began to walk back towards the driver s side of the Expedition, he was holding a bottle. A2 confirmed that Mr. Tillman was holding a bottle of Smirnoff vodka in his right hand. Video surveillance further shows that Mr. Tillman walked towards the driver s side of the Expedition and as he was standing there with A2, an unmarked police vehicle which was traveling westbound on 116 th Avenue made a U-turn and came back eastbound on 116 th Avenue. It appears A2 was looking northbound as the unmarked car turned southbound on to 135 th Street and said something to Mr. Tillman, causing Mr. Tillman to turn his head and look in the direction of the approaching unmarked police car. A2 then walks off in the direction of ADDRESS 2 as the unmarked police car pulls up alongside the Expedition. The unmarked Ford Taurus, NYPD Vehicle #551, was being operated by IO5,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ, of the 106 th Precinct Conditions team. In the front passenger seat of the Taurus was his partner, IO1, œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ, of the 106 th Precinct Conditions team. Both officers were in plain clothes. Upon pulling up alongside Mr. Tillman, IO1 informed Mr. Tillman that he was not allowed to be holding an open bottle of alcohol. He further informed him that he could not get behind the wheel of the car if he had been drinking. Mr. Tillman agreed by stating, in substance, You re right. Upon seeing the officers speaking with Mr. Tillman, A2 came back out into the street, across the front of the officers car, and informed the officers that he would take the bottle. Mr. Tillman handed the bottle to A2 and A2 began to walk back in the direction of œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœaddress 2. The officers never asked Mr. Tillman for identification and were planning on letting him go with a warning. None of the occupants of the vehicle heard any of the interaction between the officers and Mr. Tillman because the windows of the Ford Expedition were rolled up. However, none of them was concerned that Mr. Tillman was in any kind of trouble, even though they were all aware that IO5 and IO1 were police officers. While Mr. Tillman was handing the bottle to A2, IO5 observed a large bulge at Mr. Tillman s right waist and the butt of a gun pointed out to the right. IO5 quietly told IO1 that Mr. Tillman had a gun. IO1 shone his flashlight towards Mr. Tillman s waistband. IO1 also observed a large bulge and a black object between Mr. Tillman s shirt and pants at his 2

8 waistline. Mr. Tillman began walking towards the front of the Ford Expedition. The officers car moved forward and again the officers shone a flashlight at Mr. Tillman s waist. IO1 asked Mr. Tillman to stop so that they could speak with him. Mr. Tillman ignored the officer s request to speak with him and continued to walk towards the front of the Expedition. The officers opened the doors to their vehicle and Mr. Tillman began to flee. Mr. Tillman ran around the front of the Expedition and between parked cars on to the sidewalk on the west side of 135 th Street. He then sprinted northbound on 135 th Street towards 116 th Avenue. IO5 pursued him by going around the front of the Ford Taurus, around the rear of the Expedition, between parked cars, and followed Mr. Tillman on to the westbound sidewalk. He then ran northbound on the sidewalk towards 116 th Avenue. IO1 ran northbound in the street on 135 th Street parallel to Mr. Tillman. They were shouting for him to stop. Mr. Tillman ignored their commands and continued to run. When Mr. Tillman reached 116 th Avenue, a second unmarked police car, a Ford Fusion, Vehicle #1520, had pulled into the intersection at 116 th Avenue and 135 th Street on the south side of 116 th Avenue. Three members of service were inside of the Ford Fusion, IO2,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ, IO3,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ, and IO4,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ, also of the 106 th Precinct Conditions team. There were no prior communications between IO1 and IO5 and the members of the second unit to arrive. They were merely patrolling and happened upon the scene, purely by coincidence. The three officers exited their vehicle as Mr. Tillman was approaching 116 th Avenue. As the three officers exited their vehicle, IO1 and IO5 informed their fellow team members that Mr. Tillman was armed with a gun by shouting gun and he has a gun. When Mr. Tillman turned left on to 116 th Avenue, he ran into the roadway. All five officers followed Mr. Tillman westbound on 116 th Avenue in pursuit. They were yelling commands, including, Police, get on the ground and drop the weapon. Mr. Tillman did not comply with their commands. Although all of the officers first saw the weapon at different times while pursuing him, they all observed Mr. Tillman holding a large black pistol in his right hand. Mr. Tillman continued to run approximately two to three houses in a westerly direction on 116 th Avenue, before he turned to his left, still holding the black pistol in his right hand. As he turned to his left, he began to raise his right arm in the direction of IO5, who was closest to Mr. Tillman, and slightly to Mr. Tillman s left towards the south sidewalk on 116 th Avenue. IO5 and his fellow officers were in a semi-circle or horseshoe-like shape behind Mr. Tillman, with IO5 being the closest to the southbound sidewalk. To his right was IO2, then IO3, and IO4 was closest to the north sidewalk and to Mr. Tillman s right side. IO1 was slightly behind the other officers. As Mr. Tillman turned to his left ( bladed, or was turned sideways) and raised his right arm, while still holding a large black pistol, towards IO5 (with his left shoulder now pointed in the direction of IO5), IO5 shouted, in substance, He s going for it, and began to fire his weapon. IO2, IO4 and IO3 also fired their weapons, until Mr. Tillman slumped first to his knees and then to the ground. Video surveillance recovered from ADDRESS 3 3

9 appears to show the officers moving westbound down 116 th Avenue in a horseshoe-like pattern and suddenly beginning to back away while firing their weapons, as indicated by muzzle flashes. The four officers who discharged their weapons had a fire capacity of approximately sixty-four rounds, not including the additional magazines several of the officers had with them. They fired a total of thirteen rounds. IO1 did not shoot his weapon because his fellow officers were in his line of fire. Mr. Tillman did not fire his weapon. After Mr. Tillman was motionless on the ground, IO2 and IO4 approached Mr. Tillman s body. In his right hand was a black.40 caliber Smith & Wesson Hi Point semiautomatic pistol. IO4 removed the gun from Mr. Tillman s hand with his shoe and kicked it approximately one to three feet from Mr. Tillman s body. Mr. Tillman appeared to have sustained a gunshot wound to his left temple and was not moving. His body was slightly turned on his right side in a fetal-like position. His head was facing west and his feet were facing east. This information is confirmed by a photograph taken by C4, from œœœœœœœœœœœœœœaddress 4, South Ozone Park, within two minutes of the time of the shooting in which a black pistol is lying on the ground near Mr. Tillman s body. IO2 made a transmission on the police radio at 01:30:38 hours, and indicated that shots were fired and gave their location. He also requested an ambulance for Mr. Tillman. He asked that the ambulance be rushed. Approximately three and one-half minutes elapsed from the time IO2 made the first call of shots fired and gave their location to the time the first EMS responder, E1, arrived on scene and began to render aid to Mr. Tillman. None of the individuals who had been in Mr. Tillman s vehicle, or A2, observed the shooting. However, A2 said he saw Mr. Tillman running from the police northbound on 135 th Street, although he does not admit to knowing why Mr. Tillman would flee the police. He stated as he saw Mr. Tillman running, he too began to run towards the intersection at 116 th Avenue. He stated that he reached a tree on the eastbound sidewalk of 135 th Street, just south of the intersection, when he heard multiple shots fired. He states that he hid behind the tree and waited for the shots to stop before going towards the intersection. The individuals in the vehicle did not hear any police commands prior to the shots being fired, but they also said that they could not hear the conversation that was taking place next to their vehicle due to the windows being rolled up. A2 also did not report hearing any shouting, yelling, or commands given prior to the shots being fired. However, other civilian witnesses, including C4, did hear yelling prior to the shots being fired. Some witnesses could not make out what was being said, but C4 heard the police giving Mr. Tillman commands like, get on the ground, and states that Mr. Tillman did not comply with the commands prior to the shots being fired. After the shots were fired, A2 continued to the corner of 135 th Street and 116 th Avenue. He was still holding the Smirnoff vodka bottle that Mr. Tillman had handed to him. Although the accounts differ, all witnesses agree that the vodka bottle broke and A2 was ordered to the ground and placed under arrest. IO3 stated that A2 had thrown the bottle in 4

10 the officers direction and charged at them, shouting that they killed his cousin. A2 denies charging at the officers and states that he dropped the bottle and was ordered to the ground at gunpoint, and he complied. IO3 recovered a pocket knife from A2 s pants pockets. A black wool ski mask was also recovered from A2. Responding officers, RP(PO1) and RP(PO2), both of the 106 th Precinct, assisted IO3 in placing A2 into a patrol car at the scene. RP(PO1) stated that A2 kicked at the windows of the patrol car. A2 denies this. He was transported to the 106 th Precinct. He was interviewed by the Force Investigation Division and was released without charges. The individuals who were in the Expedition also exited the vehicle after hearing the gunshots and tried to approach the intersection of 116 th Avenue and 135 th Street, but state they were ordered back by the police. C2 and C3 made it back into their home and saw George Tillman s body lying in the street on 116 th Avenue. At no time that they observed him did Mr. Tillman move. Shortly after the first sector car arrived, RP(LT1) arrived on the scene and established that all members of service were accounted for and set up a crime scene. She asked all of the involved officers if they were all right and whether they fired their weapons, and spoke with IO2 briefly about what had happened. The officers indicated that they were not shot, but complained of headaches and ringing in their ears. RP(LT1) ordered an ambulance for them. All of the members of the Conditions team indicated that they had fired their weapons, except for IO1. IO2 informed her that Mr. Tillman had a weapon, he turned on them, and they shot him. EMS arrived at the scene approximately three and one half minutes following the transmission of the shots fired call. The first EMS responder on scene was E1, of the 51 Conditions Unit, FDNY. œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ He determined that Mr. Tillman had no pulse and appeared to have a gunshot wound to the left temple. He also observed some brain matter at the scene. However, CPR was administered and continued through Mr. Tillman s transport to Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced dead by C12 (DR), at approximately 0200 hours. Mr. Tillman was never conscious nor did he display any vital signs from the time EMS arrived on scene through the time he was pronounced. An autopsy was conducted on Sunday, April 17, 2016, by C13(ME1), of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. C13(ME1) determined that George Tillman suffered multiple gunshot wounds. However, only one of them was fatal. A single bullet that entered Mr. Tillman s left temple, deflected off the right side of his skull and traveled upward into his brain, where it lodged, caused Mr. Tillman s death. He also sustained gunshot wounds to the lower right side of his back, the upper right side of his back, his upper right arm, the back of his upper right leg, the back of his lower right leg, and two to the back of his upper left leg, as well as graze wounds of the right foot and ankle. There was a bullet found in the back of Mr. Tillman s throat. As C13(ME1) observed, there was minimal damage to any of the soft tissue at the back of the throat, indicating that the bullet had lost energy prior to entering the mouth, likely the result of a ricochet that entered through Mr. Tillman s mouth. There was no stippling present at 5

11 any of the wound sites. The officers, including IO1, were transported by ambulance to Long Island Jewish Hospital, where they were treated for tinnitus, headaches, and elevated blood pressure. IO2 was transported by car. All of the officers who fired their weapons were administered portable breathalyzer tests (Intoximeter Alco-Sensor FST, Serial #075084) by RP(SGT2), of the Force Investigation Division. They all registered.000. RP(SGT1),œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ, of the 106 th Precinct, inspected their service weapons. It was determined that IO2 had twelve (12) cartridges in the magazine and one (1) in the chamber of his Glock 19. This was consistent with him firing three (3) rounds. IO3 had thirteen (13) cartridges in the magazine and one (1) round in the chamber of his Sig Sauer P226. This was consistent with him having fired his weapon two (2) times. IO4 had thirteen (13) cartridges in the magazine and one (1) cartridge in the chamber of his Glock 19. This is consistent with him having fired his weapon two (2) times. And, IO5 had nine (9) cartridges in the magazine and one (1) cartridge in the chamber of his Glock 19. This is consistent with him having fired his weapon six (6) times. IO1 had not discharged his weapon. The weapons of all of the officers who discharged were photographed by the Crime Scene Unit and vouchered. The officers remained at the hospital for observation for several hours. Upon being released, IO1 was brought back to 116 th Avenue and 135 th Street, where he briefly discussed what had happened with his superiors. He was then brought to the 106 th Precinct where he provided the Force Investigation Division with a statement of what happened pursuant to Patrol Guide The other officers returned to the 106 th Precinct from the hospital. They did not return to the scene on Sunday, April 17, They did not give compelled statements to the Force Investigation Division at the request of the Queens District Attorney s Office. In the aftermath of the shooting, several people were interviewed by police who responded, including A3, C2, and C3. They all admit that they did not tell the police that they had been with George Tillman shortly before the shooting. C3 told the police that the video surveillance system on their home did not have a memory card in the recording device at the time of the shooting. She later admitted that following the shooting, she removed the memory card from the device and hid it in her home, and lied to the police about it. A2 was also interviewed by the Force Investigation Division ( FID ) of the New York City Police Department and stated to them, in substance, that he was going to tell them as little as possible. A2 believed Mr. Tillman was still alive at the time of his interview with FID. A1 was also interviewed at the hospital by the Force Investigation Division. She did not provide the names of the other people she was with when she was interviewed that night. They all admitted that they did speak with C14 œœœœ œœ œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ and other community representatives and told them about what had happened. The black.40 caliber Smith & Wesson Hi Point pistol was recovered from the scene and sent for ballistic testing and for DNA analysis. It was recovered loaded with one (1) live 6

12 round in the chamber and seven (7) live rounds of ammunition in its magazine. The serial number on the weapon,œœœœœœœœœœœœœ, was traced back to C15, a resident of the Portsmouth, Virginia area. C15 informed police that he was burglarized in Spring 2013 and this weapon, along with a.38 caliber gun, were stolen during the burglary. He did not report them stolen to the authorities. Mr. Tillman was not licensed to carry a pistol in New York State. Several of Mr. Tillman s family members, including his aunt, uncle and wife believe that he was licensed to carry a pistol elsewhere and state they have seen his permit in the past. However, all searches indicate that he was not licensed in any state to carry a pistol. A1 states that she knows George kept a black gun in their home in Maryland, but does not know what kind of gun. A1, and all of those who were with Mr. Tillman during the evening hours of Saturday, April 16, 2016, into the early morning hours of Sunday, April 17, 2016, deny seeing Mr. Tillman with a gun and also deny that Mr. Tillman spoke about having a gun during that time. George Tillman s aunt stated that she knew George had a gun, but that she saw the picture of the gun on the news and that is not the gun she has seen George with in the past. On January 27, 2012, Mr. Tillman filed an Application for a Concealed Handgun Permit with the Commonwealth of Virginia. On December 18, 2012, The Office of the Commonwealth s Attorney in Petersburg, Virginia, issued a letter recommending that Mr. Tillman s request be denied due to his failure to report all of his prior addresses in a five year period. On January 7, 2013, an Order was entered by the C16, in the Circuit Court for the City of Petersburg, under Docket # , officially denying Mr. Tillman s application for a concealed weapon permit pursuant to Section of the Code of Virginia. The Court noted Mr. Tillman s failure to provide a list of addresses within the past five years on his application. RP(DET1), of the Force Investigations Division, was the lead detective on this investigation. He conducted the investigation under the supervision of RP(LT2) and RP(CAPT1). 7

13 II. Information about the Decedent, George Tillman (Male/African-American/32 years of age, dob 8/1/1983, (had also used 4/23/1985), height: 5'8", weight: 147 lbs., œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ George Tillman George Homer Tillman III was married to A1 for approximately five years. They dated for approximately three years prior to being married. He had five children. He had two biological children from a prior relationship with C17 (Female,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ). He had one biological child with A1 and he was the stepfather of her two children from a previous relationship. He was employed as a linesman for a utility company, LE Myers. He was a trained electrician. Mr. Tillman had prior contacts with the criminal justice system including an arrest for Assault in the Third Degree on June 13, That case was dismissed and sealed. He was arrested on January 7, 2003, and charged with PL , Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, under Indictment Number QN10342/03. He plead guilty to PL , Criminal Facilitation in the Third Degree, on December 22, 2004, and was sentenced to time served. There were also prior Domestic Incident Reports on file between Mr. Tillman and C17 with the Baltimore Police Department. Mr. Tillman was also the victim of a gang assault that occurred on March 9, 2003, at approximately 2:30 a.m., at ADDRESS 5. Mr. Tillman was stabbed three times and kicked repeatedly. Mr. Tillman applied for a pistol permit in the Commonwealth of Virginia in 2012, and was denied for failure to disclose all of his prior addresses. He had a Commercial Class A driver s license issued by the State of Virginia, CID #:œœœœœœœœœœœœœœ, with a listed address of ADDRESS 6. The license was valid through 8/1/2017. A black 2003 Ford Expedition, Virginia registration WZA-4469, VIN #1FMPU16W03LC20135, is registered to him. Mr. Tillman had.18 (in his heart)/.16 (in his vitreous humour, which is the clear gel that fills the space between the lens and retina of the eyeball of humans and other vertebrates) 8

14 of one percentum of alcohol in his blood at the time of his death. No drugs were detected. He had no other known health conditions at the time of his death. (Note: In New York a person is considered to be intoxicated if he has.08 of one percentum or more of alcohol in his blood.) Mr. Tillman was wearing a red hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans on Sunday, April 17, 2016, at the time of the shooting. III. Members of the Service (Police Officers) Involved MOS Witness: IO1, œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ œœœœ 106 Precinct, Conditions MOS Subjects: IO2, œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ, of the 106 Precinct, Conditions IO3, œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ œœ, 106 Precinct, Conditions 9

15 IO4, œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ 106 Precinct, Conditions IO5, œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ, 106 Precinct, Conditions 10

16 IV. Information concerning the Scene of the Incident The shooting occurred on Sunday, April 17, 2016, at approximately 1:30 am, just west of the intersection of 116 th Avenue and 135 th Street, in the vicinity of the front of th Avenue, in the South Ozone Park section of Queens County, New York. This address is located in the confines of the 106 th Precinct. It was clear and dark, approximately sixty degrees and the ground was dry. Street lamps provided lighting at the location. 116 th Avenue runs eastbound and westbound. There are two lanes (one parking and one for travel) in each direction separated by a double yellow line. 135 th Street runs northbound and southbound. There are two lanes in each direction, one for parking and one for travel. Mr. Tillman s body was found in the street, lying on his right side, his head facing westbound, and his feet facing eastbound. A black firearm was approximately two to three feet away from where Mr. Tillman s body fell. Thirteen (13) shell casings were recovered from the scene. A parked 2012 Honda Accord, New Jersey registration B71CNL, which was parked on the south side of 116 th Avenue in front of th Avenue, sustained ballistic damage. The South Ozone Park section of Queens County, NY (106 Precinct) Location of Initial Police Contact with Mr. Tillman 11

17 The following homes appeared to have video surveillance systems that did/would have captured portions of the incident: ADDRESS 3, ADDRESS 7, ADDRESS 4, ADDRESS 1, and ADDRESS 8. After the New York City Police Department s Technical Assistance and Response Unit examined the systems, only two video systems yielded any probative footage. Surveillance footage was recovered from ADDRESS 3 and ADDRESS 8. Several other cameras were observed and deemed not operational or were not recording at the time of the incident. (See further details in Crime Scene Investigation section below.) Mr. Tillman s Expedition on left / unmarked RMP #551 on right; the front of RMP # 1520 is partially within view behind the Expedition. 12

18 V. Interviews Conducted Between Wednesday, May 4, 2016, and Tuesday, June 21, 2016, civilian witnesses, first responders, an MOS witness, and the MOS Subjects, were interviewed at the Queens County District Attorney s Office, located at Kew Gardens Road, 8 th Floor, Kew Gardens, New York, and via telephone, in regards to their actions and observations. Below is a summary of the witnesses interviewed. (Note: handwritten notes were taken by ADA Kristin J. Papadopoulos and Detective Perelene Kaalund and are contained in the HIB Investigation file). Member of the Service (Police Officer) Witnesses IO1: Male/œœœœœœœœœœœ œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœof the 106 th Precinct Conditions Team On Wednesday, May 4, 2016, at approximately 10:25 a.m., IO1 was present for an interview at the Queens County District Attorney s Office 8 th Floor Conference Room, located at Kew Gardens Road, Kew Gardens, New York. Conducting the interview were Senior Assistant District Attorney Robert Ciesla, Assistant District Attorney Kristin Papadopoulos, and Detective Investigator Perelene Kaalund. IO1 was represented by RP(PBA1), Trustee for the Police Benevolent Association, and C18, Esq. IO1 has been a member of the New York City Police Department (hereinafter, NYPD ), since beginning the Police Academy in July He was first assigned to the 103 rd Precinct and then to the 101 st Precinct on their IRT, where he patrolled high crime areas. In July 2014, he was transferred to the 113 th Precinct Impact. He was there for approximately one year, three months. He began in the 106 th Precinct in September 2015 and was assigned to patrol. He was transferred to the Conditions Team in January He had never worked with any of his Conditions team members at any of his prior commands. The role of the Conditions unit included addressing quality of life issues, such as, drinking in public. The team sometimes worked in uniform and sometimes in plain clothes. IO1 received a three-day plain clothes training course through the NYPD in February He has also received CPR training. On Saturday, April 16, 2016, IO1 worked a 2315x0750 tour of duty with the 106 Precinct Conditions Team. During their roll call meeting, which was conducted by IO2, he was partnered with IO5, his regular partner. They were wearing plain clothes that evening. IO1 recalls wearing jeans and a black sweatshirt. He had white (the color of the day) on his right arm and his shield prominently displayed around his neck. He was armed with his Smith & Wesson 5946 model semiautomatic pistol. It was fully loaded with sixteen (16) cartridges. He is right-handed. He also had his radio, flashlight, pepper spray, additional magazines, and handcuffs. He did not carry a Taser. During the roll call meeting, he recalled reviewing job complaints that came in during the previous twenty-four hours, as well as discussing a recent robbery pattern that was ongoing in the precinct. He recalls the group deciding to concentrate their efforts that evening in the vicinity of Sector Frank/George, which is in the vicinity of the location of occurrence. He and IO5 were assigned an unmarked, NYPD issued black Ford Taurus, Auto 13

19 #551. IO5 was the assigned operator and IO1 was the recorder. The team usually mutually agreed on who would drive and who would be the recorder; it is often a decision left up to them. IO2, IO4, and IO3 went together in another vehicle. IO1 recalls the team leaving the stationhouse at approximately 12:50 a.m. He does not recall making any other stops prior to the shooting. On Sunday, April 17, 2016, at approximately 1:30 a.m., IO5 was driving westbound on 116 th Avenue. As they passed 135 th Street, IO5 said he thought he saw someone with alcohol. Drinking in public is a condition their unit would address. He made a U-turn on 116 th Avenue between 135 th and 134 th Streets. He then made a right turn on to 135 th Street going south. There was an SUV double-parked on 135 th Street. The driver s side door was open and there was a guy standing next to the door. He was a tall, skinny, African-American male with braids. The SUV was parked approximately two houses in from the corner on the right side of the street. He did not recall the rear hatch being open. They pulled up parallel to the SUV. He was approximately two arm lengths away from the man, who he later learned to be George Tillman. Mr. Tillman had a clear bottle of alcohol in his hand. IO1 could not recall the label on the bottle, but recalls that it was clear. It may have been Smirnoff or Bacardi. He does not believe that the bottle was full, but could not recall how much was in the bottle. IO1 asked Mr. Tillman, What s going on? Mr. Tillman didn t respond. He told Mr. Tillman that he can t be drinking out on the street and that he didn t want Mr. Tillman to get in the car if he was drinking. Mr. Tillman responded, I m not. They were speaking through IO1 s open window. The lighting conditions were such that he saw Mr. Tillman clearly. He could not recall if he used his flashlight while speaking with Mr. Tillman. IO1 told Mr. Tillman that he was going to let him go without giving him a ticket. Mr. Tillman tried to hand the bottle to IO1, but IO1 told him to get rid of it. Another person then came from across the street. This second individual was a black male, a little shorter than Mr. Tillman and stockier than Mr. Tillman. He could not recall what the second male was wearing. That individual walked in front of the officers vehicle and said that he would take the bottle. Mr. Tillman handed the bottle to the second male. Mr. Tillman passed the bottle with his right hand. As Mr. Tillman was passing the bottle, IO5 told IO1 to look at his waistband, he has a gun. IO1 saw a large bulge at the waist of Mr. Tillman and a little bit of black between his shirt and pants. IO1 went to open the door and said, Hey, my man, I want to talk to you. Mr. Tillman started moving towards the front of the SUV. He doesn t recall where the second individual was at that time. His focus was on Mr. Tillman. IO5 also opened his door. Mr. Tillman s eyes got wide, he grabbed his waistband, turned to the right, and started running around the front of the SUV. He believes that IO5 also went around the front of the car, so he ran northbound in the street. As Mr. Tillman ran northbound, he was holding his waist with his right hand. As they ran up the block, IO1 was approximately fifteen feet from Mr. Tillman. IO5 was a lot closer to Tillman. IO1 was yelling, Stop, stop, get on the ground, but Mr. Tillman continued running. IO1 did not draw his weapon as they were running. He does not know if IO5 had his weapon drawn. As they were running northbound on 135 th Street, IO1 saw the second Conditions car 14

20 pull up. Neither he nor IO5 had any prior communications with the other unit; they pulled up to the scene by coincidence. IO1 yelled to them that Mr. Tillman had a gun. All three members of the second team exited their vehicle. He does not know if any of the three drew their weapons as they exited their vehicle. IO5 was also yelling to them that Tillman had a gun. He heard numerous commands, including stop, get on the ground, shouted at Mr. Tillman. When Mr. Tillman reached 116 th Avenue, he came off the sidewalk and into the street and ran westbound on 116 th Avenue. After the three officers exited their car, they were closer to Mr. Tillman than IO1 was. IO5 was to IO1 s left and the closest one to Mr. Tillman. The other three officers were in a semi-circle-like shape. He heard IO5 yell, He s going for it. IO1 observed a black object in Mr. Tillman s right hand and saw Mr. Tillman turn to the left. He heard shots fired. He went to draw his weapon, but the shots were done before he was able to draw his gun. He could tell that there was more than one person firing, but he only saw IO5 shoot. After the shots, he saw that all of the officers he was with had their weapons drawn. There was a pause when the shots stopped and then he heard someone ask if everyone was okay. IO2 walked up to Mr. Tillman s body and there was a gun in Mr. Tillman s right hand and he kicked it away. The gun moved about a foot. It was a big semiautomatic pistol. IO1 did not touch the firearm, but remembers asking if it was real. He remembers someone saying not to touch it. IO1 stated that Mr. Tillman had a visible gunshot wound to the side of his head. He was lying on his side. He was motionless. It was apparent that Mr. Tillman was deceased. He did not administer CPR. Mr. Tillman was not handcuffed. After the shots were fired, he recalls seeing the second male, the one that had taken the bottle from Mr. Tillman, behind them at the corner of 116 th Avenue and 135 th Street, near the second Conditions car. The man was screaming No, no and was holding the bottle. He said You shot him and threw the bottle on the ground. IO3 ordered him to the ground and handcuffed him. IO1 returned to the vicinity of 135 th Street because he had dropped his radio during the pursuit. He believes he yelled that there were shots fired and to send a bus. He also remembers other people going over the radio. He recalls a sector car responding on 135 th Street, but he did not speak with those officers. He recalls RP(LT1) showing up and asking if he was okay. He did not discuss the shooting with her. EMS also responded, but he doesn t know how long they took to arrive. He remembers seeing Mr. Tillman on a gurney and EMS rendering CPR. There were other people on scene after the shooting, probably more than ten. Some were on 135 th Street and some came out of their homes. Some were shouting that they had the shooting on video. He did not interact with any civilians. He recalled one woman trying to go up to Mr. Tillman s body and yelling that she had his ID. He did not speak with that woman. He doesn t recall her going near the weapon. He was on scene for a little while after the shooting and then they were brought to LIJ. He had some ringing in his ears. They were at the hospital for a few hours. RP(SGT1) inspected his weapon. He had not discharged any rounds. From the hospital they went to the precinct, but he never went inside. He was brought back to the scene with RP(PO3), of the 106 th Precinct, and a Police Benevolent Association ( PBA ) 15

21 delegate. He did a walk through of what happened. He has since spoken with members of his team about the incident. They have spoken generally about what happened. IO1 is still assigned to the 106 th Precinct. He is not limited. He was out sick for one week following the shooting. He returned to work on Tuesday, April 26, He did not go out in the field during that tour. He returned to patrol on Wednesday, April 27, IO1 was also previously interviewed by the Force Investigations Division pursuant to Patrol Guide on Sunday, April 17, 2016, at approximately 7:46 a.m., at the 106 th Precinct. There are no material inconsistencies between his interview with the Force Investigations Division and the interview with the Queens District Attorney s Office. RP(PO1),œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ: On Friday, May 6, 2016, at approximately 10:25 a.m., Police Officer RP(PO1),œœœœœ œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ, of the 106 th Precinct, was present at the Queens District Attorney s Office, located at Kew Gardens Road, Kew Gardens, New York to be interviewed in connection with the shooting death of George Tillman. Conducting the interview were Senior ADA Robert Ciesla, ADA Kristin Papadopoulos, and Detective Investigator Perelene Kaalund, of the Queens District Attorney s Office. RP(PO1) joined the NYPD on July 6, He attended the Police Academy for six months and then was assigned to Transit Manhattan Impact, where he spent the next eleven months. He next worked in Transit Division 3 on the midnight patrol, school team, and Conditions team. Prior to working Conditions there, he received plain clothes training. Plain clothes training was a three day course at the Police Academy. He learned rules, procedures, and attended physical and tactical training. He described the difference as being proactive policing rather than reactive policing. He worked in TD3 from Spring 2014 through Fall In Fall 2014, he was transferred to the 106 th Precinct, where he has worked midnight uniformed patrol since his arrival. On Saturday, April 16, 2016, he was working a 2315x0750 tour of duty. He was working in uniform as the operator of a marked radio patrol car ( RMP ). He was working with RP(PO2). They left the precinct at approximately 11:30 p.m. On Sunday, April 17, 2016, at approximately 1:30 a.m., they received a radio call of shots fired. He recognized the voice over the radio as being that of IO2. Prior to receiving this call, they had responded to several other calls, but none in the vicinity of 135 th Street and 116 th Avenue. When they received the call, they were on Linden Boulevard in the proximity of Lefferts Boulevard. It took them approximately one minute to respond to the location. While they were driving there, they heard additional transmissions. IO2 asked for additional cars. Other units were saying they were responding. When they arrived at 116 th Avenue and 135 th Street, their patrol car stopped on southbound 135 th Street at the intersection with 116 th Avenue, about twenty feet north of one of the Conditions cars. IO2 and IO5 were flashing their flashlights at them, waving them down. IO2 and IO5 were in plain clothes. RP(PO1) saw IO3 on top of a handcuffed individual between the Conditions car and where they stopped their patrol car. He asked IO3 if he was all right and IO3 responded yes. RP(PO1) never learned the name of the handcuffed individual. At times, the man would yell out. RP(PO1) observed a broken glass 16

22 bottle nearby. There were a lot of people moving around and yelling at the scene. IO4 came eastbound on 116 th Avenue to where RP(PO1) was standing. He needed assistance securing the unmarked Conditions vehicles. There were several people on the west side of 135 th Street standing near the garage of the corner house and several people on the east side of the street near the park. RP(PO1), RP(PO2) and IO4 went south on 135 th Street and told the people to get back and away from the vehicles. The people complied and moved back. RP(PO1) asked IO4 if everyone was okay and IO4 said yes. As additional units arrived, RP(PO1) walked back up towards the intersection where IO3 was with the handcuffed individual. RP(PO1) informed IO3 that he had a patrol car with a partition and asked if he wanted to put the cuffed individual into the car. IO3 said yes. RP(PO1), RP(PO2) and IO3 then placed the individual into the patrol car. The individual did not struggle while he was being placed in the car. RP(PO1) locked the power locks. The cuffed individual was banging his head on the partition and kicked the driver s side rear window and the partition. He told the cuffed man to calm down and stop. The man replied, Why? Are you guys going to shoot me too? After that, the individual began to calm down. RP(PO1) and RP(PO2) stayed at the patrol car with the prisoner and RP(LT1) told them to transport him back to the 106 th Precinct. RP(PO1) was not present for the initial search of the prisoner. He was given a knife, wallet, and wool ski mask by IO3. RP(PO1) conducted his own search before placing the individual in the patrol car, but did not find any additional property. RP(PO1) did not voucher the property recovered. The prisoner was silent during the transport to the precinct. The prisoner was searched again at the desk and no additional property was recovered. The prisoner refused to give his name or any pedigree information. He was otherwise compliant with movement requests at the precinct. RP(PO1) and RP(PO2) remained at the precinct. They did not return to the scene after transporting the prisoner. Several hours later, he gave a statement to the Force Investigations Division pursuant to Patrol Guide [Interrogation of Members of Service: compelled statement to an interrogating officer which confers use immunity]. The only communications he had with the officers on the scene were asking if they were all right. He did not ask them about the details of the shooting. He found out the following day that IO1 had not fired his weapon. He never went over to where Mr. Tillman s body was while he was at the scene and did not see a gun. He did see EMS moving Mr. Tillman to the ambulance. He is not sure who the arresting officer was for the prisoner. He was not present during any interview of the prisoner. RP(PO2),œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ: On Friday, May 6, 2016, at approximately 11:00 a.m., RP(PO2),œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ œœœœœœœœœ, of the 106 th Precinct, was present at the Queens District Attorney s Office, located at Kew Gardens Road, Kew Gardens, New York to be interviewed in connection with the shooting death of George Tillman. Conducting the interview were Senior ADA Robert Ciesla, ADA Kristin Papadopoulos, and Detective 17

23 Investigator Perelene Kaalund, of the Queens District Attorney s Office. RP(PO2) joined the NYPD in January He attended the Police Academy for six months. He was then assigned to the 106 th Precinct conducting uniformed patrol. On Saturday, April 16, 2016, he was working a 2315x0750 tour of duty. He was working in uniform in a marked radio patrol car ( RMP ). RP(PO1) was his partner. He was working as the recorder and RP(PO1) was the operator. They left the precinct at approximately 11:30 p.m. On Sunday, April 17, 2016, at approximately 0130 hours, they received a location of 116 th Avenue and 135 th Street and then heard shots fired. He can t recall where they were when the call came over, but he recalls they responded to the location in under two minutes. They approached the intersection at 116 th Avenue southbound on 135 th Street. He recalls seeing flashlights waving and an unmarked radio motor patrol car ( RMP ) at the intersection of 116 th Avenue. He observed IO3 holding down a male. When he exited his RMP, he asked IO3 if he was okay and IO3 said yes. He saw people coming towards the intersection. They were walking northbound on 135 th Street. There were approximately four people, at least one of them he recalls being a female. He told them to back up and they complied. He first observed George Tillman lying in the street as he was exiting his RMP. He never approached Mr. Tillman s body. After backing up the civilians, he helped IO3 with his prisoner. They put the prisoner into the back of their RMP. The prisoner was placed in the RMP approximately five to seven minutes after their arrival. RP(PO2) remained on scene with the prisoner for approximately four minutes after placing him in the patrol car. RP(PO2) did not have any conversation with the prisoner. RP(LT1) asked them to transport the prisoner back to the precinct. The prisoner did not speak during the transport. He appeared to be visibly upset, but did not say anything. IO3 told them that he had searched the prisoner. He recovered a box cutter and ski mask. IO3 handed the property to RP(PO2). RP(PO2) brought it back to the precinct, but he did not voucher it. He gave it to the desk sergeant. The prisoner refused to provide pedigree information. RP(PO2) did not return to the scene after transporting the prisoner to the precinct. They were sent back out on patrol. RP(PO2) does not know who the arresting officer for the prisoner was. RP(PO2) did not make any physical observations regarding the prisoner s condition. He did not notice any signs of intoxication. While at the scene, RP(PO2) asked IO2 if he was all right. IO2 didn t speak, he just waved like he was okay. RP(PO2) also asked IO4 if he was all right and IO4 said yes. At breakfast later that morning, he spoke to IO5 and IO1. He asked them if they were okay and they said yes. He also saw IO3 and IO4 at traffic court and asked them if they were okay and they said yes. RP(LT1),œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ: On Thursday, May 5, 2016, at approximately 10:25 a.m., RP(LT1),œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ, of the 106 th Precinct, was present at the Queens District Attorney s Office, located at Kew Gardens Road, Kew Gardens, New York to be interviewed in connection with the shooting death of George Tillman. Conducting the interview were Senior ADA Robert 18

24 Ciesla, ADA Kristin Papadopoulos, and Detective Investigator Perelene Kaalund, of the Queens District Attorney s Office. RP(LT1) has been a member of the NYPD for approximately twelve (12) years. She attended the Police Academy for six months. She was assigned to the 115 th Precinct Impact patrol for approximatelyseven months, the 110 th Precinct uniformed patrol for approximately four and one half years, the 113 th Precinct uniformed patrol as sergeant for approximately eleven months, and served part-time in the 100 th Precinct as a patrol sergeant. She was transferred to the Internal Affairs Bureau ( IAB ) in September She was assigned to Group 54 which investigated deaths in custody and police involved shootings. She was assigned to IAB for approximately three years. During her time there, she did respond to police involved shootings citywide. She attended IAB training and she is plain clothes trained. She was promoted to lieutenant in October She was assigned to the 106th Precinct as the midnight platoon commander. She is responsible for four sergeants and approximately thirty police officers. As the commanding officer, she is usually on patrol. She responds to all high priority jobs. On Saturday, April 16, 2016, she was working a 2300x0745 tour of duty. RP(PO4) was her driver that night. She was working in uniform in a marked RMP. IO2 was the Conditions unit supervisor that night. He would report to RP(LT1) if the Special Operation lieutenant, RP(LT3), was not there. Sometimes the team would brief RP(LT1) before they go out, but she could not recall if IO2 briefed her that night. She conducted roll call at approximately 2320 hours and left the precinct at approximately 2330 hours. She recalls responding to a dead on arrival ( DOA ) prior to the call involving the Tillman shooting coming over. On Sunday, April 17, 2016, at approximately 0130 hours, she heard a shots fired call come over the radio. She remembers hearing more than one officer making transmissions. She was at 110 th Street and Rockaway Boulevard, near the Resorts Casino, when the call came over. They were about to issue a summons. They left right away. It took approximately three minutes to get to the scene. They approached 116 th Avenue northbound on 135 th Street. When they got to the location, she observed a black SUV with the passenger side door open and the headlights on. They parked their RMP just south of the SUV. At the corner of 116 th Avenue, she saw members of the Conditions unit and she could see George Tillman lying in the roadway. She recalls seeing IO1, IO5, IO4 and IO3. She remembers hearing a commotion over by the SUV. She told officers to back them away and expand the crime scene to include the vehicles. She later asked RP(PO5) to expand the crime scene back to 115 th Avenue and up to the Van Wyck. It was expanded one block in every direction from the intersection of 116 th Avenue and 135 th Street She recalls RP(PO1) being at the scene when she arrived, as well. She remembers buses being requested while she was responding, but she also called for ambulances. When she went over to where George Tillman was, she saw a black semi-automatic on the ground to the left of his body. Mr. Tillman was motionless and unresponsive. She doesn t recall any civilians being near Mr. Tillman s body and she did not speak to any civilians at the scene who claimed to have knowledge about what had happened. EMS 19

25 arrived and gave Mr. Tillman CPR. EMS arrived a few minutes after she did. When she arrived, A2 was already in handcuffs and in the back of RP(PO1) s car. RP(PO1) informed her that they had a guy in the car who they believed threw a bottle at the officers and tried to interfere with the officers securing the scene. RP(LT1) told RP(PO1) to take the prisoner back to the stationhouse after asking if the prisoner was involved in the incident and being told yes. She did not speak with A2. She asked the members of the Conditions team if they were all right and what happened. IO2 explained that Mr. Tillman had a gun, he spun towards the officers and they fired. The other officers all said they were okay. She asked IO1 if he fired and IO1 said no. The other four officers said they had fired. She found all four officers to be fit for duty in that she did not observe any indications that they had been using drugs or alcohol. She did not inspect their weapons at the scene. She asked RP(SGT1) to go to the hospital to check the state of the weapons. She remained on scene. Protocol is for a portable breath test ( PBT ) to be administered to the shooting officers at the hospital. While on scene, she recalls a female attempt to go towards Mr. Tillman s body, but she was prevented from getting close to him. She recalls Crime Scene, Nightwatch and Force Investigations responded to the scene. She instructed an officer to ride to the hospital with Mr. Tillman, but there was a miscommunication and he ended up going to the hospital with the officers. RP(LT1) left the scene at 0800 hours. She did not collect any evidence or property at the scene. RP(SGT1),œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ: On Monday, May 9, 2016, at approximately 10:21 a.m., RP(SGT1),œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ œœœœœœœ, of the 106 th Precinct, was present at the Queens District Attorney s Office, located at Kew Gardens Road, Kew Gardens, New York to be interviewed in connection with the shooting death of George Tillman. Conducting the interview were Senior ADA Robert Ciesla, ADA Kristin Papadopoulos, and Detective Investigator Perelene Kaalund, of the Queens District Attorney s Office. RP(SGT1) began working for the NYPD in July He attended the Police Academy for six months and then was assigned to Impact in the 75 th Precinct. He worked patrol from January 2006 through September In September 2015, he was promoted to sergeant. He was assigned to PSA 4 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan as their patrol sergeant. In December 2015, he was transferred to the 106 th Precinct where he works as the midnight supervisor. On Saturday, April 16, 2016, he was working a 2305x0802 tour of duty. He was the uniform patrol sergeant. His responsibilities include supervising patrol officers and responding to the more serious jobs. He recalls this night being particularly busy and he had responded to several calls prior to the George Tillman shooting coming over the radio. Prior to receiving the job, he had no contact with the Conditions team that evening. The Conditions sergeant is responsible for their team. RP(SGT1) recalls being in the vicinity of 116 th Street and Liberty Avenue when the shots fired call came over the radio. It took approximately four to five minutes to respond to the vicinity of 135 th Street and 116 th Avenue. He approached the scene eastbound on 116 th 20

26 Avenue. They parked at the corner of 134 th Street and 116 th Avenue. When he arrived on scene, he saw RP(LT1) at the intersection of 116 th Avenue and 135 th Street. She had established a crime scene. He observed George Tillman lying in the street. He had a gunshot wound at his temple. There was a black pistol near his body- about one foot away. There were cops standing near the body securing the scene. Mr. Tillman appeared to be deceased. He was totally unresponsive. His body was facing southbound. He saw IO2 and other members of the Conditions team at the scene. He recalled seeing IO5, IO4 and IO3. They appeared to be in a daze and shaken up. He believes RP(LT1) called an ambulance for them. RP(SGT1) recalls seeing civilians approaching 116 th Avenue northbound on 135 th Street. He recalls some of them saying that the shooting victim was a family member. He recalls asking them to back up because they needed to secure the vehicles on 135 th Streetthey were making the crime scene bigger to include the vehicles. RP(SGT1) recalled one male being in the back of a patrol car. He was already in the patrol car when RP(SGT1) arrived on scene. He believes that he told the officers to take the prisoner back to the precinct. RP(SGT1) did not have any conversation with the prisoner. He did not know the details of the arrest. RP(SGT1) was present when an ambulance arrived. The victim went in the first ambulance to leave the scene. He believes RP(PO6) went with Mr. Tillman to the hospital. RP(PO3) went in the ambulance with the officers. RP(SGT1) went with RP(PO10) to LIJ in their car. After they were triaged, RP(SGT1) inspected the officers weapons. He observed the following about each of the officers weapons and the officers physical condition at the time of his inspection: IO2 had one (1) round in the chamber and twelve (12) rounds in the magazine of his Glock 19. This is consistent with IO2 having fired three (3) rounds. He had a magazine with fifteen (15) spare rounds. He had no other firearm. IO2 appeared visibly shaken and upset. He complained of tinnitus and a headache. He was sweating and appeared dazed. IO3 had one (1) round in the chamber and thirteen (13) rounds in the magazine of his Sig Sauer. He had fifteen (15) rounds in an additional magazine. He had no other firearm. IO3 also appeared shaken up and upset. He was also sweating and appeared dazed. IO5 had one (1) round in the chamber and nine (9) rounds in the magazine of his Glock 19. He had two additional magazines each containing an additional fifteen (15) rounds, a total of thirty (30) additional rounds. He had no other firearm. IO5 also appeared shaken up. He was staring and was sweating. IO4 had one (1) round in the chamber and thirteen (13) rounds in the magazine of his Glock 19. This is consistent with him having fired two (2) rounds. He had two additional magazines that had fifteen (15) rounds each. He had no additional firearm. IO4 appeared shaken up. He was dazed and sweating. IO1 had one (1) round in the chamber and fifteen (15) in the magazine. He said he had not fired. He had a full load, which is consistent with having not fired his weapon. IO1 s weapon was returned to him. IO1 also appeared physically upset. He was dazed and sweating. RP(SGT1) did not discuss the details of the shooting with the officers. He only asked 21

27 them how they were feeling and if they were okay. They primarily complained of tinnitus and headaches. He was at the hospital for approximately two hours. He secured the firearms and returned to the 106 th Precinct. While he was at the hospital he recalls a PBA delegate, RP(PO7), and RP(PO3) were with the officers. He believes there was also an Sergeant Benevolent Association ( SBA ) delegate present. RP(SGT1) did not return to the shooting scene after leaving the hospital. He spent approximately twenty to twenty-five minutes at the scene prior to going to the hospital. He does not recall whether the officers were given a PBT, but he did not administer one. The officers delegates were present during the firearm checks. The delegates were already there when he arrived at the hospital. No photos of the weapons were taken at the hospital. They were photographed back at the precinct. The weapons were turned over to the Crime Scene Unit. CSU vouchered the weapons. RP(SGT1) prepared some of the line of duty paperwork, so he had some general contact with the shooting officers. They did not discuss details of the incident. He did speak with IO3 regarding the arrest. IO3 informed RP(SGT1) that A2 picked up a bottle and tossed it at the ground towards the cops and tried to run towards Mr. Tillman s body and they had to stop him. RP(SGT1) did not have any contact with A2 and did not fill out any of his arrest paperwork. It was worked out that IO3 would inform the TS, RP(PO8), and RP(PO8) would be the arresting officer, but RP(SGT1) does not know the outcome of the arrest. Civilian Witnesses / EMS E1, FDNY,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ: On Wednesday, May 11, 2016, at approximately 11:38 a.m., E1,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ, of the FDNY, was present at the Queens District Attorney s Office, located at Kew Gardens Road, Kew Gardens, New York to be interviewed in connection with the shooting death of George Tillman. Conducting the interview were Senior ADA Robert Ciesla and ADA Kristin Papadopoulos, of the Queens District Attorney s Office. E1 has been an EMT since He has worked with the FDNY since He was promoted to lieutenant in He has supervised one hundred or more emergency situations. His job as a lieutenant is to ensure member safety, supervise patient care, and, on occasion, administer patient care. On Saturday, April 16, 2016, he was working a 2000x0600 tour of duty. He was assigned to Conditions 51 out of ADDRESS 9, which is located atœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ. Conditions 51 is a unit designation of patrol supervisor- it is how the dispatcher would call him. His primary area of supervision is Q3, which covers the Van Wyck Expressway and west, south of Hillside Avenue. He is not limited to that area, but it includes that area. He was operating a Chevy Suburban. He works alone. He does not have a partner or driver. He directly supervises approximately fifteen ambulances. On Sunday, April 17, 2016, at approximately 0130 hours, he heard a call come over the Police Department radio. He was on Cross Bay Boulevard in Howard Beach when he heard the call. He followed an RMP to the scene. He called for basic life support ( BLS ) and advanced life support ( ALS ) units to dispatch. The call over PD radio was for a

28 It sounded like someone had been shot. He could not tell at first whether it was an officer or civilian, but they were calling for a rush on a bus. At that point, the FDNY dispatcher did not have the job yet. It took E1 approximately two to three minutes to arrive at the scene. He approached the scene southbound on 135 th Street. An RMP was parked in front of his vehicle. No crime scene tape had been set up yet. He asked an officer on scene whether an officer was shot and the officer replied no. He asked where the person who was shot is and the officer pointed up 116 th Avenue. He observed George Tillman s body in the street. He approached Mr. Tillman. Mr. Tillman was lying on his right side and appeared to have a gunshot wound to his head. There was some blood underneath of him. There were officers standing near him. He saw a black gun on the ground a couple of feet from Mr. Tillman. He determined Mr. Tillman had no pulse. He recalls seeing what appeared to be some brain matter. He began cardiopulmonary resuscitation ( CPR ). He found a female lieutenant and told her that it appeared to him that the patient was deceased but stated that the patient should be transported for public and member safety reasons. He went back to the patient and continued CPR. E2 arrived and assisted with CPR. The patient was loaded on to the ambulance. An ALS team joined the BLS team in the ambulance. Once the patient was loaded in the ambulance, he turned his attention to the officers that had been involved in the shooting. They called another ambulance for them. He believes a Jamaica unit responded. There were four officers. He asked if they were okay. Physically, he did not observe any injuries, but they appeared to be very upset, especially the taller guy in the two man team. They were suffering ringing in their ears. He believes the officers were transported to LIJ. He ensured that no civilians or family members needed medical assistance. No further medical attention was required at the scene, so he left to go to Jamaica to follow up. When he arrived at the hospital, he learned that the patient had been pronounced dead. Once he left 116 th Avenue and 135 th Street he did not return to the scene again. He had no contact with any family of the patient while on scene, except for one female who approached claiming to know CPR. She had to be removed by NYPD. She appeared to be intoxicated. He could not recall whether he noticed an odor of alcohol on the patient or not. At no point was Mr. Tillman responsive nor did he display any signs of life. E2, FDNY,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ: On Wednesday, May 11, 2016, at approximately 10:34 a.m., Emergency Medical Technician ( EMT ) E2,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ, of the FDNY, was present at the Queens District Attorney s Office, located at Kew Gardens Road, Kew Gardens, New York to be interviewed in connection with the shooting death of George Tillman. Conducting the interview were Senior ADA Robert Ciesla and ADA Kristin Papadopoulos, of the Queens District Attorney s Office. E2 became an EMT in September He was a volunteer firefighter with theœœœœœ œœœœœœœœœœœœand œœœœœœœœœœœœœfire departments. He graduated college from œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœin 23

29 2014 with a degree in radio and television production. He joined the FDNY as an EMT in February He received his EMT training through LIJ in summer He also attended FDNY EMT training, which included agility, psychological and medical tests, a three month academy class at Fort Totten, which he attended five days per week, eight hours per day. All EMTs are trained in basic life support. Paramedics are also trained in advanced life support. He is not paramedic trained. On Saturday, April 16, 2016, he was working a 2300x0700 tour of duty. He was assigned to ADDRESS 9, which is locatedœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ. His partner that evening was E3. E3 was the driver and he was the technician. They were assigned Bus #50H. There were no prior jobs that evening prior to receiving the call regarding this incident. On Sunday, April 17, 2016, at approximately 0130 hours, theyheard E1 saythere was a confirmed person shot at 135 th Street and 116 th Avenue. They radioed that they were responding. They left from the station. They approached the intersection southbound on 135 th Street. They parked just outside of the police caution tape. E1 was already there. They parked behind his car. They were the first EMTs on scene. They went over to the patient. E1 was already performing CPR. E1 told them that the patient was in traumatic arrest and that he had been shot. E2 observed injuries to the patient s head, groin and leg. The patient was not breathing and did not have a pulse. He joined E1 in administering CPR. Other units were responding. E3 got the stretcher from the ambulance. They all helped load the gurney on to the ambulance. While at the scene, E2 recalled a female civilian run towards the body. She was removed by the police. He also recalls observing a black handgun on the ground approximately one arm length away from where Mr. Tillman s body was. Jamaica paramedics arrived as they were loading the patient on to the ambulance. The paramedics came in to their ambulance and they all continued CPR on the patient. E3 drove 50H to Jamaica Hospital. E2 and the two Jamaica Hospital paramedics were in the back of the ambulance with the patient. A third ambulance that had arrived drove the Jamaica paramedics ambulance to the hospital. No police officers were in the ambulance that transported the patient. They performed CPR the entire time during transport. Mr. Tillman had no pulse and was not breathing from the time they arrived on scene through the transport to the hospital. They radioed that they were coming in with a trauma. When they arrived at the hospital, they all helped take the patient off the ambulance and placed him on a hospital bed. He did not provide the Jamaica Hospital trauma team with any information. The Jamaica paramedics team provided the intake information. They turned the patient care over to the trauma team. After doing so, they cleaned their equipment at ADDRESS 9. Most of the paperwork they completed while they were at the hospital. They never went back to the scene. He did not see or speak to any civilians at the hospital. He did not discuss the incident with E1. While E2 was at the scene, he did not have any discussions with anyone about how Mr. Tillman came to be shot or by whom he was shot. He did not have any conversations with any police officers or civilians on scene. He learned of the police involvement through media reports later that morning. 24

30 He does not know where E1 was when they transported Mr. Tillman. He may have remained on scene. E3, FDNY,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ: On Wednesday, May 11, 2016, at approximately 11:12 a.m., E3,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ, of the FDNY, was present at the Queens District Attorney s Office, located at Kew Gardens Road, Kew Gardens, New York to be interviewed in connection with the shooting death of George Tillman. Conducting the interview were Senior ADA Robert Ciesla and ADA Kristin Papadopoulos, of the Queens District Attorney s Office. E3 has been an EMT since He was a member of the FDNY from and then returned again in1997. On Sunday, April 17, 2016, he was working a 0000x0800 tour of duty. He was working with E2 on ambulance #50H. They turned out of ADDRESS 9, locatedœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ. At approximately 0130 hours, they received a radio call of a PD 13 officer needs assistance. E1 called for an ambulance forthwith for a male shot. It took them approximately four minutes to arrive at the intersection of 116 th Avenue and 135 th Street. E3 was the driver. He approached the scene southbound on 135 th Street. He parked just north of the intersection of 116 th Avenue. He went and grabbed the stretcher. When they arrived, the patient was already in traumatic arrest. They loaded the patient on to the ambulance. He recalls the patient was bleeding from his head. E2 went in the back of the ambulance with the patient and paramedics. They transported the patient to Jamaica Hospital. It took them approximately two to three minutes to get to the hospital from the scene. They took the patient into the emergency room where they met the trauma team. E3 recalls that he was interviewed by detectives while at the hospital. E2 prepared the paperwork in regards to the patient. E3 cleaned the ambulance. He recalled there being a lot of blood. E3 did not discuss the incident with E1. He learned about how the patient was injured through media reports. He did not have any conversations with any police officers or civilians either at the scene or at the hospital, except for the detective he spoke with. The patient was never responsive in any time E3 observed him. E4, Jamaica Hospital,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ On Monday, May 16, 2016, at approximately 10:28 a.m., E4,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ, of Jamaica Hospital Center, was present at the Queens District Attorney s Office, located at Kew Gardens Road, Kew Gardens, New York to be interviewed in connection with the shooting death of George Tillman. Conducting the interview were Senior ADA Robert Ciesla, ADA Kristin Papadopoulos, and Detective Investigator Perelene Kaalund, of the Queens District Attorney s Office. E4 became a certified EMT in She became a paramedic in She attended the Rescue Training Institute for six months. Classes were two times per week for two to three hours per class. She was trained in basic trauma care, basic life support, and 25

31 identifying and treating basic injuries, amongst other things. She first worked for Transcare. She responded to emergency situations and conducted transport services for approximately one year. She then was transferred to the Bronx, where she responded to 911 calls, including gunshot wounds, for approximately four years. In August 2013, she became a paramedic. She took a one year state-approved course at Laguardia Community College. She attended class Monday through Thursday from 6-10 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m-5 p.m. She was required to complete hospital and ambulance rotations. She learned basic care and advanced life support measures, intubation, medicine administration, amongst other things. In July 2014, she became an EMT at Jamaica Hospital Center. She became a paramedic there in January In her experience with Jamaica Hospital she has responded to medical emergencies, including gunshot wounds. On Saturday, April 16, 2016, into the early morning hours of Sunday, April 17, 2016, E4 was working a 2200x0600 tour of duty. She was assigned to 51W, Tour 1. At the beginning of her shift, she responded to the garage, located at ADDRESS 10. She conducted an equipment check. At approximately 1:30 a.m, she was at a diner on Atlantic Avenue and 112 th Street when the radio call regarding the shooting at 116 th Avenue and 135 th Street came over. The call was transmitted byœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ, E1. She was with her partner, E5. E4 was the operator of the ambulance and E5 was the technician. The technician would be the one who completes the paperwork associated with a call. If there is no backup, then the technician would provide patient care. If there is a BLS backup, then they would both provide patient care. It took them approximately five to six minutes to get from the diner to the intersection of 116 th Avenue and 135 th Street. E4 drove southbound on 135 th Street to the intersection at 116 th Avenue. She pulled up behind one of the BLS vehicles, a little north of the intersection. Ambulance #50H was already on scene and had established patient contact along with E1. They took #50H s keys and went over to their ambulance. E5 got their equipment and put it on to #50H. The patient was placed on a stretcher and loaded into the ambulance. She believes that the patient was already on the stretcher a little bit west of the intersection at 116 th Avenue when they arrived on scene. The patient was motionless and Emergency Medical Service ( EMS ) was performing CPR. She did not personally observe any injuries while the patient was out on the street. She did not observe anything in the roadway other than EMS equipment near the patient. Less than a minute after they arrived, they loaded the patient into ambulance #50H. The only contact she had with the police was upon their arrival when she asked an officer, did you see where EMS is?, and he pointed to the west of the intersection at 116 th Avenue. She did not have any other conversation or contact with any other police on scene. When they got into ambulance #50H, she observed blood coming from what appeared to be a gunshot wound on the left side of the patient s head. She continued CPR. The patient was unresponsive and had no pulse. They cut away his clothes and found other gunshot wounds. They hooked him up to an EKG machine- he had a cardiac arrest rhythm. The patient was transported in ambulance #50H to Jamaica Hospital. She and E5 were treating the patient. Someone else drove the ambulance. They were on scene approximately 26

32 five minutes before transport began. There were no police officers in the ambulance with them during the transport. It took approximately five minutes to get from the scene to the hospital. She could not recall if any police met them at the hospital. Upon arriving at the hospital, they transferred care of the patient to the emergency room trauma team. She assisted moving the patient on to the hospital bed from the stretcher, but rendered no other aid to the patient once they arrived. E5 did the paperwork and she took care of the equipment. They went back to the garage and restocked their ambulance supplies. E5 had to change her clothes because they had the patient s blood on them. They returned later to the hospital on an unrelated job and learned that the detectives wanted to speak with them. She does not recall the name of the detective she spoke with, but he was a white male. She did not speak with any civilians at the scene or at the hospital. E5, Jamaica Hospital,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ On Monday, May 16, 2016, at approximately 11:07 a.m., E5,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ, of Jamaica Hospital Center, was present at the Queens District Attorney s Office, located at Kew Gardens Road, Kew Gardens, New York to be interviewed in connection with the shooting death of George Tillman. Conducting the interview were Senior ADA Robert Ciesla, ADA Kristin Papadopoulos, and Detective Investigator Perelene Kaalund, of the Queens District Attorney s Office. E5 became an EMT in She attended North Shore-LIJ s three month summer course. She attended classes four days per week, for eight hours per day. She has been a volunteer with the œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœfor approximately five years. She is also a volunteer with theœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ, where she is an alumni member. She graduated fromœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ in 2012 with a B.S. in molecular neuroscience. She became a paramedic in March She attended a one year training course through St. John s University. She attended class two times per week for eight hours per day, plus had to complete rotations. She began working at Jamaica Hospital as an EMT in April She worked approximately three to four shifts per month. In April 2016, she began working as a paramedic at Jamaica. She works approximately two to three shifts per month. On Saturday, April 16, 2016, into Sunday, April 17, 2016, she was working a 2200x0600 tour of duty. She reported for her shift at the Jamaica Hospital EMS garage located at ADDRESS 10. Her partner that evening was E4. E5 was the assigned technician that evening. The technician is responsible for patient care and completing the paperwork. She recallse1 transmitting the first call regarding the shooting at 135 th Street and 116 th Avenue. Ambulance #50H was rolled out. E1 requested ALS. She was at a diner with her partner when the call came over. It took them approximately five minutes to get to the scene from the diner. When they arrived on scene, 50H s ambulance was parked in front of them. She went to the back of their ambulance and grabbed their equipment, as it had been decided that they would transport in 50H s ambulance. When she arrived at 50H, the patient was on the stretcher and was coming towards the ambulance. Prior to their arrival, she heard E1 transmit that the patient was in cardiac arrest, so she was aware that CPR was being 27

33 administered. It took about forty-five seconds from the time she brought the equipment to #50H to the time the patient was loaded on to the ambulance. When the patient was loaded, CPR was being performed. They continued CPR throughout the transport. The patient had no pulse, he was unresponsive and appeared lifeless. He had a gunshot wound to the left temple. When they cut away his clothing, she also recalled observing gunshot wounds to the leg, groin and top of his foot. They inserted an airway, placed a collar around his neck and bandaged his head wound with gauze. They continued CPR throughout. They monitored his heart rhythm. During the entire time, the patient s rhythm was asystole (a life threatening heart rhythm characterized by the absence of electrical activity and no heartbeat.) There was no shock advised. It took approximately five to seven minutes to get from the scene to the hospital. There were no police officers in the ambulance during transport. When they arrived at the hospital, patient care was transferred to the emergency room s trauma team. They remained at the hospital for approximately a half hour. She did not have any conversations with any civilians at the hospital. She did not have any conversations with police on the scene. She spoke to the police later in the night after they returned to the hospital on an unrelated job. 28

34 Civilian Witnesses A1: On Wednesday, May 18, 2016, at approximately 2:32 p.m., A1 (Female,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ), the wife of George Tillman, was present at the Queens District Attorney s Office, located at Kew Gardens Road, Kew Gardens, New York. The interview was conducted by Senior ADA Robert Ciesla, ADA Kristin Papadopoulos, and Detective Perelene Kaalund, of the Queens District Attorney s Office. Also present were Joshua Gradinger and Detective John Sullivan, of the Office of the Attorney General. A1 was represented by C19, Esq., of the Office of Jeffrey Lichtman. A1 met her husband approximately eight years ago in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They married approximately five years ago. They moved to Baltimore, Maryland in August 2015 to be closer to George s two children from a prior relationship. She and George have one child in common,œœœœœyear old son,œœœœœœœ. She has two older children from a prior relationship. The nickname she would call George was True. The Tillman s would travel to New York, on average, two times per month to visit A1 s family, including her mother, grandmother, aunts and cousins, most of whom reside in the South Ozone Park area of Queens County, New York. George was employed as a lineman with LE Myers, a utility company. He would travel often for work. He worked approximately six days per week and would reside in hotels wherever his work would send him. He was often assigned to locations in New Jersey. George is the registered owner of a black Ford Expedition SUV. He has had the truck for approximately three to four years. On Saturday, April 16, 2016, their family (George, A1, and three of their children), traveled from Maryland to New York to visit with family. A1 and George had planned to stay overnight and return to Maryland the next day since the kids had school on Monday. When they would travel to New York, they primarily would stay at her mother s house. When her child was diagnosed with cancer in 2014, they resided with her aunt, A6, at ADDRESS 2, South Ozone Park. When they traveled to New York, they traveled in George s Ford SUV. She recalls waking George up at approximately 8:00 a.m. on the sixteenth. She recalls they left Maryland during daylight hours and believes they arrived during daylight hours, as well, although she could not recall the time. After arriving in New York, A1 went with her brother, A7, to her grandmother s house for a barbecue. George did not attend. He stayed behind at her mother s house with the kids and got them fed. She called George from the barbecue and asked if he was coming. George told her no because he was talking with her dad. She told him to meet her at C3 s house. A1 met C3 through her cousin A8. C3 lives across the street from A6's house,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ œœ œœœœœœœœ œœœœœœœœœ œœ œœœœœœœœœœ. She remembers her brother left her grandmother s house and her cousin, A3, came to the barbecue. She and A3 left and went to C3 s together. W h e n s h e a n d A 3 a r r i v e d a t C 3 s a p a r t m e n t - œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ œœœœœœœ- also present were C3 and C2 (who reside at that location), C2 s cousin C11, and C3 s friend C1. They were hanging out and listening 29

35 to music and having some drinks. A1 states that she drank approximately two shots of Smirnoff vodka before the shooting occurred. She did not recall what time she started drinking, but stated that it was late. She did not have anything to drink while she was at her grandmother s barbecue. She didn t start to drink until she arrived at C3 s. George called her and told her he was downstairs. She recalled that he was parked in front of A6's house at ADDRESS 2. George told her to come down. She went downstairs and got George and they went back upstairs. She remembers that, at one point, she went downstairs to get her shoes from the truck and that it was still parked on 135 th Street on A6's side of the street. She remembers C3 s friend had to call her daughter to come babysit for C3 s son. They were getting ready to go out. She was wearing light blue jeans, a lace shirt, heels and a brown leather jacket. She believes George was wearing a red hoodie, light blue jeans and a grey shirt. She stated that from the time George arrived at C3 s to when they left, George only had one shot and he appeared to be sober. While they were at C3 s, George got hungry. They drove to the corner store on Rockaway Boulevard at 142 nd Street. They drove in George s truck. It was just her and George in the car. They bought fish sandwiches. When they returned, they left the Ford double parked on 135 th Street on C3 s side of the street. They ate their sandwiches in the car and then they brought some food upstairs for C3 and told everyone to prepare to go out- they were planning to go to a hookah lounge, but did not know which one yet. She was thinking of one on Hillside where they had been before. They did not have any drinks when they went back upstairs because all of the bottles were empty. She remembers A3 left and went to A6's house. It was just her, George, C3, C2, C11, and C1. They were all going to go in George s car. A1 was the front passenger and the other four were in the rear seat, although she does not know where exactly each was sitting. She believes everyone entered the truck on the passenger side of the car. George had opened the door for them on the passenger side. He never got into the truck. When they left C3 s and were walking to George s truck, they saw her cousin, A2. They said hi to A2 and he and George were talking. George and A2 walked around the back of the SUV towards the driver s side door. She does not believe George opened the rear hatch because the interior light would have come on and it did not. A2 was not going out with them- he was going home to A6's house. She recalled telling everyone in the SUV to check for their ID s so that there wouldn t be any issues when they arrived at the lounge. That s when she recalls seeing a flash of light- not police sirens or car lights, just a flash. She looked over and saw an unmarked police car with two white males in it. When shown a photograph of IO5 and IO1 s Ford Taurus, she said she was not sure if that is the vehicle she saw. She believes it was a gold color. She could not tell what the cops were wearing, but assumed that they were police officers. She saw George standing on the driver s side of the Expedition near the driver s side rear door when the unmarked pulled up. A2 was walking across the street towards A6's house. She did not see A2 once the unmarked pulled up and she does not recall what he was wearing that evening. She continued looking for her identification when she heard what sounded like fireworks. She is not sure how many gunshots she heard, but stated that it was a lot. She 30

36 is not sure how much time elapsed from the time the unmarked pulled up until the time she heard the gunshots. She was still in the Expedition at the time she heard the gunshots stop. She never saw or heard the police get out of the unmarked car. She never saw anyone firing a weapon. Nobody in the SUV said anything about George or the police prior to the time she heard the shots fired. After she heard the gunshots, she exited the Expedition, removed her shoes and began to run northbound towards 116 th Avenue. She recalls that she didn t make it past the rear of the Expedition before she was told to get on the ground and back up. She did not get on the ground. But, the police started putting up crime scene tape. She was asking them what happened, but they didn t provide her with any information. She went back to A6's house at ADDRESS 2. A3 came out of the house. She told him that she didn t know what happened, but that she thinks someone got shot. She said she wasn t sure if it was True or A2. She assumed that it was one of them because she hadn t seen either of them. She called her mom and told her she thinks that True or A2 were shot. She remembers A3 told her that it wasn t A2 because A2 was in a cop car. She never personally saw A2 in the cop car. She believes that A3 called 911. After realizing that it must be George that was shot, she approached a police officer and asked where they were bringing him. The cop finally told her that he was brought to Jamaica Hospital. She never saw George s body on 116 th Avenue and did not want to see it at the hospital. In her time with George, she had never seen George with a gun. She is aware that George had applied for a permit and he had told her that he wanted a gun for safety reasons since he was out working a lot. He owns a black gun. He has had the gun for years. He used to keep it on a shelf in their house. She never really saw it and has not personally handled it. She knows George and A2 to have a good relationship, but they would usually only hangout at family events- they wouldn t socialize together one on one. She has never known A2 to have a gun. A2: On Tuesday, May 18, 2016, at approximately 4:05 p.m., A2 (Male,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ), was present at the Queens County District Attorney s Office, located at Kew Gardens Road, Kew Gardens, New York, to be interviewed in connection with the shooting death of George Tillman. Conducting said interview were Sr. ADA Robert Ciesla, ADA Kristin Papadopoulos, and Detective Perelene Kaalund. Also present were Joshua Gradinger and Detective John Sullivan, of the Office of the Attorney General. A2 was represented by C20, Esq. A2 grew up in South Ozone Park and has lived at ADDRESS 2 his entire life. He resides there with his mother, A6. A2 is currently not employed. He is attending a GED program. A1 is his cousin- his mother and A1 s mother are sisters. He met George Tillman approximately four to five years ago when George was dating A1. He would see George and A1 approximately 1-2 times per month and at holidays and birthdays and other family events. On Saturday, April 16, 2016, he was aware that A1 and George planned to visit. He spent most of that day hanging out at his house. His mother had gone out earlier that 31

37 morning with her boyfriend and did not plan to return until the following day. His cousin, A3, had stopped by to visit. The first time he saw George and A1 that day was across the street at a neighbor s house. They attended a get together at C2 and his wife s house atœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ œœ œœœœœœœœœœœœœ œœœœ œœ œœœœœœœœœœ, which we know to be ADDRESS 1. C2 and his wife liveœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ. He recalls that he was coming from somewhere, possibly the store, when he saw lights on in C2 s house, so he went upstairs to see what was going on. He was alone when he entered. Already inside the apartment were A1, C2, A3, George, C2 s cousin and another female. They were drinking, listening to music, and hanging out. He believes they were drinking Remy Martin but isn t sure. He had not been drinking prior to going to C2 s house. He remembers having one shot of Remy and recalls that the bottle was almost gone by the time he arrived. He only saw George take one shot while he was with him and George appeared to be sober. He stayed at C2 s apartment for approximately a little over an hour. He recalled it was already dark out. He then left and went to his house. A1 and George were still at C2 s apartment when he left. He stayed at his house for approximately thirty to forty minutes. He was by himself while at his house. He decided to go back to C2 s house and all of the same people were still there. At that time, George was holding a bottle of Smirnoff. The Smirnoff had been opened and everyone was taking shots, including George. He does not know how many shots George took. A2 only recalls taking one shot himself. George still appeared to be sober. When he returned to C2 s house they weren t there too long, probably thirty to forty-five minutes before they left again. The others in the apartment were getting ready to go to a hookah lounge. A2 was not planning to go to the lounge because he didn t have any money. A2 left C2 s house before everyone else and went to his house. While he was home, A3 also returned to the house. A2 went back outside to say goodbye to everyone and tell them to stay safe. A2 saw George in the driver s seat of the Ford. George told A2 that he had to urinate and George went over and stood by the black fence on 135 th Street to urinate. While George was urinating, A2 recalls that he was standing at the car by the driver s side door. When George returned, he went to the rear of the car and took out the bottle of Smirnoff (approx 1/3 full) from the back of the truck. A2 was standing at the back driver s side door while George was at the back of the truck. A2 does not recall him taking anything else out of the back of the truck or putting anything in the truck. At that point, A2 remembers seeing an unmarked police car- he believes it was an all black Ford. He recalls a flashlight sticking out of the window and two white men in the front seat, so he knew it was the police. A2 remembers thinking that he didn t want George to get in trouble, so he walked over and took the bottle away from him. He held the bottle to show the police that he was taking it and turned to walk towards his house. He said he heard doors closing and a commotion and turned to look. He saw George s red hoodie and the police running towards 116 th Avenue. He began to follow them northbound on 116 th Avenue on the east side of 135 th Street. Right before he reached a tree on the sidewalk, he heard approximately five to six gunshots. He could not see anyone shooting. He did not see any muzzle flashes. He recalls there was another police car, but he never saw it approach, so he 32

38 doesn t know what direction it came from. After the shots were fired, when he got to the intersection at 116 th Avenue, he saw George lying on the ground in the street. George was in a fetal position and was not moving. The cops pointed their guns at A2 and ordered him to get down. He remembers he dropped the bottle at that point, got down, they searched him by going through his pockets, and he was placed in handcuffs. They placed him in a patrol car and brought him to the precinct. He remained at the precinct for approximately ten to eleven hours. He was interviewed by RP(DET1). They told him that George was alive. He was released without being charged. He does not recall hearing anything prior to hearing the gunshots- not from the police, not from George, not from the passengers in the Expedition. In the time he has known George, he never saw George with a gun, including during the evening of Saturday, April 16 th and the early morning hours of Sunday, April 17, He never saw a gun in George s Expedition either. He does know that George has a gun permit. George has shown A2 his permit in the past. They never discussed whether George had a gun or why he had a permit. A2 assumed he had it because he lives out of state and it is more common there to have one. A2 stated that he does not have a gun. In the days after the shooting, A2 stated that he saw film footage on a girl s phone, he believes on Facebook- although he did not know the screen name of the individual who posted it. He recalls the footage showed George s legs running past and then his body falling to the ground. He does not know who the girl was that showed it to him, but stated that he will try to find out. A2 never provided that information to the District Attorney s Office. A3: On Tuesday, May 18, 2016, at approximately 5:27 p.m., A3 (Male, œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ œœ œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ), was present at the Queens County District Attorney s Office, located at Kew Gardens Road, Kew Gardens, New York, to be interviewed in connection with the shooting death of George Tillman. Conducting the interview were Sr. ADA Robert Ciesla, ADA Kristin Papadopoulos, and Detective Perelene Kaalund. Also present were Joshua Gradinger and Detective John Sullivan, of the Office of the Attorney General. A3 was represented by C20, Esq. A3 resides inœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœwith his father, stepmother and younger brother. He grew up in the Bronx. He lived on œœœœ œœœ œœœœœœœœin Queens for a few years. His mom, aunts, and cousins reside in Queens and he visits almost everyday. He has been employed as a TSA agent since 2010 and works atœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ. A1 is his cousin. He has known George Tillman for approximately seven or eight years and met him through A1. He sees George primarily at family events, but has socialized with him many times. He has not seen George as frequently since George and A1 relocated to Maryland. He would describe his relationship with George and A1 as very close. He considers them to be like a sister and brother to him. On Saturday, April 16, 2016, the first time he saw George was when he came by the home of his aunt, A6, to say hi. George then left to take the kids to get food. A3 remained at his aunt s house. At approximately 10-11pm, he received a phone call from A1 and he went to a friend s house across the street œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ œœ œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ œœ œœœœœœœœ. His 33

39 friend C2 lives there. He agreed and went to C2 s house alone. When he got to C2 s house, also present were C2, C3, A1, and C11 (C2 s cousin). They were talking and smoking cigarettes, just hanging out. He doesn t recall if anyone was drinking. He was not drinking because his tooth was hurting. He remained at C2 s house for about forty minutes and then returned to his aunt s. Approximately fifteen minutes prior to A3 leaving C2 s house, A2 and George arrived together. He remembers that George and A2 wanted to go to the store and went back downstairs to the cars. A3 decided not to go to the store, but he remembers A2, A1 and George all getting ready to leave for the store in George s Ford. A3 was at his aunt s house for approximately forty minutes before he returned to C2 s apartment. When he returned, the same people who had been there earlier were there, plus a woman named C1. He recalls that when he returned, there was a bottle of alcohol there and they were getting ready to go out. A3 was not planning to go out with them because his tooth still hurt. While they were at C2 s, he spoke with George and believed that George was sober. He believes that A2 was also sober. When everyone was getting ready to leave, he and A2 were not planning to go, so they went to a store on Rockaway Boulevard and 135 th Street. They drove to the store in A3 s Nissan Altima. They were gone approximately ten minutes and when they returned, A3 went to his aunt s house. A3 received a call from A1 saying she needed to get her ID out of his car and he told her that the door to the Altima was open and to go ahead and get it. Around the same time as that happened, he remembers A2 left ADDRESS 2 and went outside. A3 remembers that he was standing at the refrigerator when he heard a gunshot, approximately a two second pause, and then eleven shots in rapid succession. He grabbed his phone and ran outside. He could not hear any voices prior to the gunshots. When he got outside, he saw George s Ford and a black car with tints and the doors open. He saw C2, A1, C1 and C11. He could not see George or A2. Everyone was panicking. He called 911 and told them that shots were fired on 116 th Avenue and 135 th Street. He saw two officers walking towards the Expedition- one was a tall male/white, heavyset, plain clothes with a vest on. The officers told them to get on the floor. He did not get on the floor. He walked towards the intersection. He was able to see George lying on the ground on 116 th Avenue in a fetal like position. George was lying in the street near the front of C2 s house. A3 was standing just about at the corner when he saw George. He never got past that point and could not get over to where George s body was. He never saw George move while he was able to see him. After approximately five to ten minutes, George was removed from the scene. A3 called his older cousin, A7, to tell him that they shot George. He tried to go to George s truck to get their personal belongings out of the car and the police told him to get away from the truck and not to touch anything. He did not identify himself as a TSA agent. His only interaction with any police officers at that time was when they were telling him to get down, back up and get away from the car. A3 did not go to the hospital. Approximately one hour after the incident, detectives came to speak with him at his aunt s house (one white detective/one black detective) because he was a 911 caller. A3 has not seen any videos of what happened. Nobody in the neighborhood has told him that they 34

40 witnessed any part of the shooting. A3 did not film anything on his phone- he only used it to call 911. He knows that George has a gun permit. He has seen George s permit in the past. He has seen a black gun that George owned. He saw it years ago when George and A1 lived in Pennsylvania. He never saw George with a gun in Queens, including on the evening of Saturday, April 16, 2016, into the early morning hours of Sunday, April 17, George never told him that he had a gun during that time. C1: On Tuesday, May 18, 2016, at approximately 6:05 p.m., C1 (Female, œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ œœ œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ), was present at the Queens County District Attorney s Office, located at Kew Gardens Road, Kew Gardens, New York, to be interviewed in connection with the shooting death of George Tillman. Conducting the interview were Sr. ADA Robert Ciesla, ADA Kristin Papadopoulos, and Detective Perelene Kaalund. Also present were Joshua Gradinger and Detective John Sullivan, of the Office of the Attorney General. C1 was represented by C20, Esq. C1 is employed as a temp doing secretarial work for a consulting firm that provides services to hospitals. She has been working in this capacity for approximately three months. Prior to that, she was employed at St. John s Hospital for approximately three years. It was during her time at St. John s when she met C3. They worked together there. C3 lives at œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ œœ œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ œœ œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ. She believes that C3 has lived there for approximately one year. On Saturday, April 16, 2016, she went to C3 s house alone. When she arrived, C3, C2 (C3 s boyfriend) and C11 (C2 s cousin) were there, as well as, C3 s œœœœœ year old son. She brought a bottle of Remy Martin with her. At approximately 9-10pm, A1 arrived. They were all discussing whether they were going to go out. C3 asked C1 if C1 s daughter could babysit for her son. C1 called her daughter, her daughter agreed to babysit, and C1 told her she would come pick her up. Just before C1 left to get her daughter, A1 s husband arrived with one of A1 s cousins. This was the first time she ever met George Tillman. Because they had been drinking, she took a cab from C3 s to œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœto pick up her daughter, C6 (17 years old). C11 came in the cab with her. She texted her daughter at 11:53pm that she was outside and it took them approximately twenty-five to thirty minutes to get back to C3 s apartment. When she returned, there was no liquor left and they got ready to go out. Present in the apartment when she returned were C3, C2, A1, A1 s husband, C11, C3 s son and C1 s daughter. She never saw George drinking. They got ready to go out and she gave her daughter everyone s phone numbers and they walked outside. They got into George s car and turned the corner on to 135 th Street. Mr. Tillman exited the car to talk to one of A1 s cousins who was walking. The next thing she remembers is Mr. Tillman running across the front of the car. She did not see anyone else running. She heard a male voice that was loud, but couldn t hear what was being said. Next, she heard what sounded like firecrackers. She remembers that the noise came from behind her. She remembers she also saw light flashes. When she heard the noise and saw 35

41 the light flashes, she was seated in the rear seat of George s car. In the rear seat, C11 was closest to the passenger side door, then C1 was in the center passenger seat, C3 was in the center driver seat and C2 was closest to the driver s side rear door. She remembers that after hearing the gunshots, she saw C3 run. She then got out of the car and went to the front of the car and then towards the house. She stopped at a tree and looked for C3. She saw her daughter at the window and her daughter was asking for the address because she was on the phone with 911. She remembers C2 gave her daughter the address. A1 was saying, He s shot and she was very upset. Approximately minutes after the shooting, she hopped the fence and went upstairs. The police were not letting them in the house, but she wanted to get to her daughter. She did not see anyone shoot a weapon. She could not see anything that was happening on 116 th Avenue while she was down on the street. When she got upstairs, she could see 116 th Avenue. She discussed the incident with her daughter and her daughter also heard the shots and saw lights flash. C2: On Wednesday, May 26, 2016, at approximately 11:39 a.m., C2 (Male, œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ), was present at the Queens County District Attorney s Office, located at Kew Gardens Road, Kew Gardens, New York, to be interviewed in connection with the shooting death of George Tillman. Conducting the interview were Sr. ADA Robert Ciesla, ADA Kristin Papadopoulos, and Detective Perelene Kaalund. Also present were Joshua Gradinger and Detective John Sullivan, of the Office of the Attorney General. C2 was represented by C20, Esq. C2 is employed with the Ironworkers Localœœœœœœ. He has been residing at ADDRESS 1 for approximately one year with his girlfriend, C3. Prior to that they resided at ADDRESS 11, where they moved after being displaced by Hurricane Sandy. Prior to the storm, he resided in Far Rockaway. They live in œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœat ADDRESS 1 along with C3 s œœœœœ year old son,œœœœœœœœ. The landlord of the home lives inœœœœœœœœœœœœ. Upon entering the apartment, there is a kitchen and a large living room. Upstairs, there are two bedrooms and a bathroom. C2 stated that he purchased a home security system on Amazon. There are two security cameras on the side of the house. One faces towards the corner of 116 th Avenue and 135 th Street and one faces towards the garage southbound on 135 th Street. There is also one camera in the front of the house that faces towards the mailbox/front door area. He installed the system and it can be viewed on a tablet-like device. The system records on an SD memory card. When the memory reaches capacity, the screen indicates that there is a file error. The system came with a memory card. On Saturday, April 16, 2016, A1, known to him as œœœœœœœ, came over to hangout. She wanted them to meet her husband. They had never met George Tillman before. He had met A1 two times prior to this night. He met her through C3. It was getting dark out when she came to the house. Already at the house when A1 got there were C3, C2, C3 s son, and C11. C11 arrived at approximately 7-8 p.m. and he was there before A1. George arrived about a half hour after A1. C2 approximates that it was around 10-11p.m. George and A1 36

42 sat in the living room. They were making plans to go out. They were drinking Smirnoff. He believes A1 also brought a bottle and they had beer. C3, A1 and C2 took two shots each. C11 took one shot. George did not drink in his presence. He had an approximate fifteen minute conversation with George and he appeared to be sober. A1 and George went to the store and got fish sandwiches and they all ate at the apartment. Around midnight, they decided to go out. Just prior to leaving the apartment, A1 s cousin, A2, came by. He was there approximately five minutes prior to everyone leaving. George was the first to leave the apartment. A1 also left, but C2 remembers her returning to the apartment to get some lemon water. When they got outside, George s SUV was parked on the side of the house on 135 th Street. He recalls the hazard lights were on. George was not in the SUV, he was standing outside of it. C2 got in the truck behind the driver s seat, C3 sat next to him, then C11, and C1 was next to C11. A1 was in the front passenger s seat. C2 recalled seeing a light and then saw the window cracked on a car that pulled up. George was standing near the truck, about to get into the driver s seat. He did not see how George got to the driver s side of the truck. He stated that the rear hatch of the Expedition never opened while he was in the car. He realized that the individuals in the car that pulled up were police officers. They were in a Ford with tints. He could not hear the interaction between George and the police, but he does recall that George had a Smirnoff bottle with lemon juice and water in his hand. It looked like the police were about to pull off and then their doors popped open. He could not see where A2 was at this time. He saw George moving towards the front of the Expedition, but did not see George run. He could hear what sounded like jingling and then he heard shots. He heard about ten shots, probably more. He could not see any muzzle flashes. He stated that he knew they were gunshots because he is aware of what they sound like. He was still in the car when the shots were fired. After the shots were fired, they exited the Expedition. He tried to run to the front door of his house, but the cops were yelling for everyone to back up. He walked towards the Van Wyck and then ran to his front door. He saw George on the ground in the fetal position. He saw a lot of blood coming from George s head. He was standing near the sign at the corner of 116 th Avenue and 135 th Street when he saw George. He only saw him for a few seconds, but George s body was approximately a car length away from where he was standing. He appeared to be dead. C2 then looked for C3. She was inside the house crying on the living room floor. He remembers the babysitter was on the phone with the cops and she was asking for the address. He gave her the address. He never saw anyone shooting. After the incident, he did not discuss the shooting with A2. He described A2 s residence as not Kosher and stated that there s often a ruckus there. He never saw anyone with a gun during the evening hours of Saturday, April 16, into the early morning hours of Sunday, April 17, He saw a picture of George s gun on the news online. It was the same gun he saw next to a crime scene cone when he looked out of his bedroom window the morning of the shooting. The gun he saw was within a foot of where he saw George s body lying. It was a black gun and looked like a semiautomatic. He saw it outside approximately one half hour after the shooting. Prior to the 37

43 shots being fired, he never heard yelling or any human voices. Approximately three hours after the shooting, two detectives came to the door. One of the detectives was RP(DET2). He knows RP(DET2) from Far Rockaway. He felt that the other detective was harassing him and RP(DET2) backed him off and they left. He did not give the police any information. At that time, the detectives did not come in the house to get the video. A tech crew came later on. The video cameras were not recording on the night of the incident. The last time it had recorded was approximately on Tuesday, April 12, He has no knowledge as to where the SD card for the video system is. He does not know when the SD card was removed from the system. He never discussed with C3 what happened to the SD card. George s family was asking them for the footage. They spoke with a Senator, but never gave him anything. They felt they were being harassed. They never provided the card to anyone else in the community or to any attorney, to his knowledge. C3: On Wednesday, May 26, 2016, at approximately 12:32 p.m., C3 (Female, œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ), was present at the Queens County District Attorney s Office, located at Kew Gardens Road, Kew Gardens, New York, to be interviewed in connection with the shooting death of George Tillman. Conducting the interview were Sr. ADA Robert Ciesla, ADA Kristin Papadopoulos and DI Perelene Kaalund. Also present were Joshua Gradinger and Detective John Sullivan, of the Office of the Attorney General. C3 was represented by C20, Esq. C3 worked as an ICU technician for approximately five years prior to going on disability in January She has resided at ADDRESS 1 in South Ozone Park since October She livesœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœat the location with her œœœœ year old son and her boyfriend, C2. C3 met A1 on Easter Sunday She was outside cleaning the garbage cans and talking to her neighbors, who are A1 s relatives. They stayed in touch after that. She received a text message from A1 that they were coming to town on the 16 th of April. She told C3 that there was going to be a party at her mother s house and they were going to go out. On Saturday, April 16, 2016, she received a text message from A1 at 10:11 p.m., saying that she was going to come over to C3 s apartment. A1 arrived approximately one hour after she sent the text message, so probably around 11:00 p.m. A1 brought over a bottle of vodka. Everyone was drinking from it. C3 had two shots. That bottle was the only alcohol they had at the apartment. That was the first time she met A1 s husband, George. George came to the apartment with A1 s cousin, A2. They were hanging out, listening to music and talking. She recalls at one point, they got hungry. She gave George twenty dollars to go to the store at 134 th Street and Rockaway Boulevard to get fish sandwiches. A1 s cousins, A9 (A2 s uncle) and A3, also came over. A9 and A2 didn t stay long- maybe only ten minutes. At approximately 1:30 a.m., they decided to leave and go to a hookah lounge. She paid for a cab for C1 s daughter to come babysit for her son. When they left the apartment, she was the last one out. They left through the front 38

44 door. A1 said they were going to go in George s Ford SUV. She got into the car through the back driver s side door. In the back seat C1 was seated closest to the rear passenger door, then C11, then her, and C2 was seated closest to the rear driver s side door. A1 was seated in the front passenger seat. George pulled around the corner on to 135 th Street. George got out of the car and was speaking to one of A1 s cousins. The rear of the SUV opened and she saw some stuff in the back. A1 also got out of the car. She doesn t know why they got out of the car. She recalls that a black car pulled up. When the car pulled up, George was on the driver s side of the truck. The cops jumped out of the car. She knew they were cops because it was two white guys in a black neighborhood. She later admitted that she had seen an unmarked police car with turret lights on that had stopped a car at Van Wyck and 116 th Avenue when they were getting into George s car. She described the officers jumping out of the car as an ambush. George walked to the front of the SUV and on to the passenger side of the vehicle. She did not see him running. She lost sight of the officers when George went around the front of the SUV. She did not see George with anything in his hands. She believes that A2 had a bottle in his hands. The last she recalls seeing George, he was standing between the SUV and a parked car. She doesn t recall seeing anyone with a flashlight. The next thing she recalls is hearing what sounded like fireworks. She realized they were gunshots. She heard a lot of them. She jumped out of the car, took off her shoes, and jumped the fence of a neighbor s house. Shots were still being fired when she got out of the SUV. She ran south on 135 th Street. She jumped the fence of the second house in from the corner of 116 th Avenue. She ran through the backyards, jumping those fences, until she came out the front on to 116 th Avenue. When she was jumping the fences, she heard a voice yell help. She later learned that it was A2. She didn t hear any other voices. She had not heard any voices prior to the gunshots. She went upstairs to her apartment. There were already a lot of police there when she got to the front of her house. She went upstairs and came back down approximately 90 seconds later and offered to administer CPR. She saw George lying on the ground. He was motionless and there was blood coming from his brain area. She did not recall seeing a gun. They declined her offer of assistance. Her babysitter had called 911. She also had called 911 from her fax lineœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ. She remembers telling 911 that she is calling the police on the D s because they shot her friend and that this is wrong. She did not see the shooting. There is a video surveillance system at her house. It is a Unidan system. They bought it online. There are two cameras on the side of the home. One faces the garage. The other faces the intersection of 135 th Street and 116 th Avenue. There is one in front of the house that faces more towards the corner at 116 th Avenue. The system was working on the date of the shooting, but didn t record because the memory card was full. The memory card was a 32G SD card. After the shooting, she removed the SD card, placed it in a condom and hid it in a piano at her home. The next day, A1 asked her for the footage. She gave the SD card to George s uncle, A4. When the police asked her for the footage, she admitted she lied to them and told them that she didn t have it. She did not give it to the police because she felt they were too aggressive. She also did not tell the police that she had been with George Tillman immediately prior to him being shot. 39

45 She viewed the video footage with A4 and his wife and daughter on Monday, April 18, The screen came up indicating that the last day it had been modified was Monday, April 11, Despite there being no images pertaining to the shooting, C3 gave the SD card to A4. She admitted that, had it been recording, it would have captured the entire incident. She stated she has spoken with C14, C21, and another representative about the incident and that she had told them and Jeffrey Lichtman s office that she gave the card to A4. She was introduced to them by A1. C4: On Thursday, May 12, 2016, at approximately 3:58 p.m., C4 was interviewed by telephone by Senior ADA Robert Ciesla and ADA Kristin Papadopoulos. C4 stated, in substance, that he has resided at ADDRESS 4, in the South Ozone Park area of Queens County, New York, since He is retired. He worked as a police officer in the West Indies. In the United States, he worked as a foreman of a shipping department. On Sunday, April 17, 2016, at approximately 0115 hours, he was sitting in a chair next to the second story front window of his home napping. He heard yelling and saw a black male running. He heard people, who he assumed were police officers, telling him to stop and get on the ground. There were approximately four plain clothes officers chasing the black male. The male who was being chased did not comply. The black male turned towards C4 s driveway and then C4 heard approximately five gunshots. He could see flashes. He saw a tall, slim white male shooting. He was the officer standing closest to C4 s house. The black male fell to the ground. He recalls seeing the right hand of the black male, but doesn t recall seeing his left hand. He heard from neighbors that the black male had a gun, but he doesn t recall seeing a gun that night. He took photos shortly after the shooting from his window. He used the zoom on his Canon Rebel. (See photograph on following page.) He recalls someone trying to give the black male CPR and he was taken away in an ambulance. He appeared to be dead before the ambulance arrived. He heard one of the guys saying, in substance, I know he had a gun. I seen he had a gun. He was a taller man with a light colored sweatshirt. A shorter man bent over the black male and said, Where is the gun. The other man replied, It s got to be here. Fuck it, I know he had a gun. It s somewhere around here. He did not see or hear anyone drop a gun. He did not see any police officer bring any gun or any other object near the body in front of the house. C4 remained at the window until approximately 0145 hours. C4 told the police what he saw and heard and he also spoke with C14. On or about Monday, May 2, 2016, C4 provided RP(DET1), of the Force Investigation Division, with the memory card containing the pictures he took. He took these pictures within two minutes of the shooting. 40

46 NOTE: These photographs were downloaded and were originally in color but are reproduced here in black and white. The photo below depicts Mr. Tillman lying on his right side in a pool of blood with a black pistol nearby. Other photos (not shown below) depict Mr. Tillman lying on his back in a pool of blood with a black pistol nearby. E1 is depicted in the background. E1 arrived on scene within three and one half minutes of the first calls of shots fired. C4 s photographs were taken before and after E1 arrived on scene and rolled Mr. Tillman on to his back. Therefore, C4 s photos were taken less than three and one half minutes after the first call of shots fired was transmitted over the radio. The recovered loaded black Smith & Wesson Hi Point.40-caliber semiautomatic pistol lying in front of the left foot of an officer standing at the center of C4's photograph taken with his Canon camera that recorded a digital date/time of 4/17/2016 / 12:31 a.m. (Note: the camera s digital clock had been set to Daylight Savings Time.) (image enlarged) 41

47 A4: On Tuesday, June 21, 2016, at approximately 2:46 p.m., A4 (Male,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ) was present at Kew Gardens Road, Kew Gardens, New York, to be interviewed by the Queens County District Attorney s Office in connection with the shooting death of George Tillman. Conducting said interview were Senior ADA Robert Ciesla, ADA Kristin Papadopoulos, and Detective Investigator Perelene Kaalund. A4 was represented by C19, Esq., of the Office of Jeffrey Lichtman. A4 is the uncle of the deceased, George Tillman. George s father was A4's only brother. They were very close. When George s father passed away, A4 took in George and George s sister. They were a very close, tightknit family. He would often see George when George visited New York. He estimates he would see George approximately ten to fifteen times per year. George was a licensed electrician and provided for his five children. On Sunday, April 17, 2016, at approximately between 1:00-2:00 a.m., he received a telephone call from George s stepfather, A10. A10 told A4 that he had received a call that George was shot and was at Jamaica Hospital. A4 and his wife,œœœœœœœœœœœœ, went to Jamaica Hospital. They arrived at approximately 2:00 a.m. When they arrived at the hospital, A1, A1 s mother, and A1 s stepfather were already there. The nurse informed them that she believed George had been hit approximately fifteen times. He was able to go see George s body. He observed a bullet hole to his left temple. He believes that George must have died instantly at the scene based on that wound. While at the hospital, a female captain from the NYPD realized that A1 had been at the scene and was a witness. She told them that A1 should have been brought to the precinct to be interviewed and that the cops at the scene had fucked up. Detectives then came and interviewed A1 at the hospital. He was present for A1 s interview. A4 stated that when he left the hospital, he spoke with Eyewitness News. He believes it was still before dawn, maybe just around daybreak, when he left the hospital. He went home from Jamaica. He did not go to the scene where the shooting occurred. Either later in the day on the 17 th, or on the 18 th, A4 spoke with C3 at A1 s mother s house. She gave him a disk. Her intent had been to give it to A1. He stated that there was nothing on the card. It didn t show anything. It never even opened. He had not shown it to his attorney because there was nothing on it. However, he still held on to it. Also present when they tried to view the disk that day were A1, A1 s mother, and A1 s aunts. No community representatives were present. He did not show the video to anyone else. He also spoke with A2 about the shooting. A2 told him that he did not see the shooting. He spoke with some of the people that were in the car and they also told A4 that they had not seen the shooting and that the windows were tinted. A4 stated that he spoke with a 5' stocky black male, who livesœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ œœœœœœœœ(describing C4), and that this individual told A4 that he provided C14 with everything he needs. C4 told A4 that he heard the cops saying, We fucked up, we fucked up. He told A4 that he has video of the shooting. A4 also said that there was a œœœœœœœœ guy who lived in one of the houses across the streetthe house where the video came from- that posted the video to Facebook because he had been recording with his phone too. The œœœœœœœ guy told A4 that he saw what happened and that it was a slaughter and he will do everything he can to help the family. (Note: It is believed that the œœœœœœœœ Guy referred to by A4 above is C10; see below interview of C10.) 42

48 A4 stated that he has videotape of the incident. He then gave a description of what you can see in the videotape. When we viewed the tape, we realized that it was the same video already in our possession- the video from ADDRESS 3. A4 stated that the guy who lives at the location where the videotape came from told him that George didn t have a gun. A1 s cousin A3 is the one who provided him with the videotape. The Attorney General s Office was told about the video. When we returned from watching the videotape, we observed that A4 was recording our conversation on his cellular phone and we asked him if he was, in fact, taping our conversation. A4 admitted that he had been taping us. Prior to us asking him, A4 had not informed anyone that he was recording the conversation. After conferencing with his attorney in private, he informed us that he had shut off the recording and that he had been recording us as a way for him to remember what he said. A4 never heard of George having ever been arrested. He did recall George s mother telling him that George had a pistol license. A4 believes George wanted a pistol license so that he could go to the shooting range. He has never known George to own or possess a gun. He never discussed owning or possessing a gun with George. NOTE: On Tuesday, July 26, 2016, a 32G SD card was provided to the Queens County District Attorney s Office. The card was analyzed and determined to have been last modified on Monday, April 11, It contained no video images of the incident. Note: During the course of the investigation it was agreed that the relatives of Mr. Tillman who may have been witnesses to the event would be produced by the attorney hired by the Tillman family, Mr. Jeffrey Lichtman, Esq. Other civilians associated with Mr. Tillman and his family who may have been witnesses would be represented by C20, Esq. One such individual, C11, was never produced for an interview by C20. C11, also known asœœœœ, is C2 cousin. He was sitting in a rear seat of Mr. Tillman s Ford Expedition behind the front passenger seat at the time of the initial encounter on 135 th Street between Mr. Tillman and IO1 and IO5. Other witnesses who were occupants of the Expedition have stated that the vehicle s windows were closed at the time. It is not suspected that C11 is an audio witness to that initial encounter or an eyewitness to the subsequent shooting on 116 th Avenue. On Tuesday, August 30, 2016, ADA Kristin Papadopoulos was informed by C20, Esq. that his client, C11, one of the passengers in Mr. Tillman s auto, just prior to the shooting, and the only remaining passenger of that vehicle not to be interviewed by either the NYPD or the Office of the Queens County District Attorney, had declined our invitation to be interviewed in regards to the shooting incident involving Mr. Tillman. MEMBER OF THE SERVICE ( MOS ) Subjects IO2: (Male, œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ), 106 Precinct Conditions Team On Tuesday, May 31, 2016, at approximately 10:50 a.m., Senior ADA Robert Ciesla, ADA Kristin Papadopoulos, and Detective Investigator Perelene Kaalund, C22, Esq., and RP(SBA1), of the Sergeant Benevolent Association, were present in the eighth floor conference room at Kew Gardens Road, Kew Gardens, New York, for the interview of IO2,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ œœœœœœœœ, in connection with the shooting death of George 43

49 Tillman which occurred in the vicinity of 135 th Street and 116 th Avenue, on Sunday, April 17, 2016, at approximately 1:30am. IO2 has been a member of the New York City Police Department (hereinafter, NYPD ) for approximately nine and one half years. After attending the NYPD Academy for six months, he was first assigned to impact patrol in the 71 st Precinct. In July 2008, he was transferred to the 60 th Precinct. While at the 60 th Precinct, he was assigned to uniform patrol and then spent approximately five years in the anti-crime unit there. He received plain clothes training, a three day course, prior to going into anti-crime. He was at the 60 th Precinct until approximately May 2015, when he was promoted to sergeant. Prior to being assigned as a sergeant, he attended a one month training course at the NYPD Academy, which included classroom lectures and some hands-on training. At the end of June 2015, he was assigned to the 106 th Precinct as the midnight patrol supervisor. In that position, he would sometimes work in the field and sometimes on the desk. In the field, he would respond to major incidents, be responsible for officer oversight and verifying arrests, amongst other responsibilities. When working the desk, he was responsible for prisoner safety and administrative duties, amongst other things. In December 2015, he was reassigned to be the 106 Conditions Sergeant, where he oversaw a unit responsible for quality of life enforcement. This unit would sometimes operate in uniform and sometimes as a plain clothes unit. On Saturday, April 16, 2016, into the early morning hours of Sunday, April 17, 2016, IO2 was scheduled to work 2305x0802. He was the commanding officer of the Conditions team that evening, which included IO1, IO5, IO3 and IO4. They were operating in plain clothes that night. They left the precinct in two unmarked patrol cars at approximately 2340 hours. IO4 operated the Ford Fusion that contained himself, IO2 and IO3. IO5 and IO1, who were usual partners, went together in a dark colored Ford Taurus. While on patrol, prior to the Tillman shooting, the sergeant s car conducted a car stop and they called IO1 and IO5 for back up, but it turned out to be nothing and they split up again. IO2 is not aware of any other communication anyone in his vehicle had with IO1 or IO5 prior to the incident. On Sunday, April 17, 2016, at approximately 0130 hours, IO2 recalls his vehicle traveling southbound on 135 th Street. IO4 slowed down in the vicinity of 116 th Avenue. He recalls seeing two cars in the road and a small group of individuals behind the cars. At first, he didn t realize that one of the cars belonged to members of his team. He recalls a commotion and IO4 said, That s us, which he took to mean that is our other guys, IO5 and IO1. He saw the officers chasing a male who was running northbound on 135 th Street. IO4 yelled, They re running, they re running. He doesn t recall seeing the officers exit their vehicle, they were already out of the vehicle when he first noticed them. He recalls a black male, who was wearing red, running and the officers chasing after him. He later learned this individual to be George Tillman. He does not recall his officers having their guns drawn at that time. When he exited his vehicle, the officers and the male were on the sidewalk running. The officers started screaming, He has a gun. IO2 could not see a gun at that point- there were parked cars between him and the male running and the officers. He could only see the 44

50 top parts of their bodies. The male was running in the direction of where IO2's car was parked. IO2 went towards the corner to try to cut Tillman off. When Mr. Tillman came out towards the corner and into the street westbound on 116 th Avenue, IO2 could see a black, semi-automatic pistol in Mr. Tillman s right hand as he ran. IO2 did not see the other officers at that time because he was focused on the firearm in Mr. Tillman s hand. IO2 screamed at Mr. Tillman to drop his weapon. He recalls other officers yelling commands too, including, Police, drop the gun, but he could not determine who was saying what. He remembers collective commands to drop the gun. Mr. Tillman slowed down and began to turn his body towards IO5 (counterclockwise), who was still on the sidewalk to IO2 s left. At the time Mr. Tillman was turning, IO2 was slightly to the right of George Tillman and behind him. IO2 heard IO5 scream he s going for it as Mr. Tillman turned towards IO5. Tillman had turned enough towards IO5 that IO2 was able to see the gun pointed at the officer. At the time George Tillman turned toward him, IO5 was approximately fifteen feet away from Tillman and approximately ten feet to the left of IO2. IO5 began firing his weapon. IO2 does not recall how many times IO5 fired. Despite IO5 firing, George Tillman was still standing and IO2 recalls firing his Glock 19 service weapon three times. His weapon has a fifteen round magazine and one in the chamber when fully loaded- which it was on the night of the shooting. He was carrying an extra fifteen round magazine with him at the time of the incident. He learned after the incident that IO3 and IO4 also fired their weapons. He estimates that the entire shooting took less than ten seconds. Following the shooting, IO2 approached George Tillman s body. The black semiautomatic pistol was still in Tillman s hand and IO4 used his foot to kick it away from Tillman. IO2 later learned that the pistol was a.40 caliber Hi Point. IO2 observed George Tillman to be motionless with a gunshot wound to the head. He transmitted a radio call for shots fired and requested an ambulance forthwith. He provided the location of the incident. He looked around and saw all of the members of his team were accounted for and that nobody was shot. He made the radio transmission within approximately forty-five seconds of the gunfire stopping. Sector cars responded very quickly. He remembers seeing one coming and flashing his flashlight at them to get their attention. He did not have any physical contact with George Tillman s body and Mr. Tillman was not handcuffed, but he made sure that an officer stood near the pistol for security. He recalls a member of FDNY EMS arriving within a few minutes and working on Mr. Tillman. He recalls that a female civilian tried to approach while EMS was working on Mr. Tillman and other patrol officers who had already arrived on scene asked her to back away. He did not have contact with any civilians on scene. He was asked by responding officers if he was okay, but that s all he discussed with them while at the scene. RP(LT1) took over the investigation as soon as she arrived. He was transported in an ambulance with the other members of his team to get treated for tinnitus. They were brought to LIJ Hospital. He recalls being given a PBT, which registered.000. RP(SGT1) inspected their weapons and it was determined that he had fired three rounds. He spoke briefly with RP(SGT3) from the Force Investigations Division, but was not interviewed. 45

51 Since the shooting, he has spoken with members of his team about what happened. He learned that IO3 heard a bottle break, and saw a civilian who was rushing the scene and when he was trying to back him up, the civilian was not complying and he believed that the civilian had tried to throw the bottle at him. IO2 does not know what happened to that civilian and had no personal contact with him. He saw IO3 handcuffing someone on the ground near their vehicle while he was transmitting the shots fired job, but other than that he only knows what IO3 later told him. He also learned the reason for the initial stop from IO1 and IO5. He did not know why or how they came into contact with George Tillman initially at the time of the shooting. There had been no communication between the two cars. It was purely coincidence that they happened upon IO1 and IO5 chasing Mr. Tillman. IO2 explained that due to the size of the precinct and the fact that there are only two cars in the unit, they do try to stay in the same vicinity for safety/backup reasons. However, there were no communications between the teams in regards to the initial stop of Mr. Tillman. IO3: (Male, œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ), 106 Precinct Conditions Team On Friday, June 10, 2016, at approximately 9:51 a.m., Senior ADA Robert Ciesla, ADA Kristin Papadopoulos, and DI Perelene Kaalund were present at the Queens County District Attorney s Office, located at Kew Gardens Road, in the 8 th floor conference room, to interview IO3,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ IO3 was represented by C18, Esq., and Trustee RP(PBA1), of the Police Benevolent Association, was also present. Queens District Attorney s Office interns Reid Harris and Jurianne Brown were present to observe. IO3 began his career with the New York City Police Department in January He attended the Police Academy for six months and then was assigned to the 113 th Precinct doing Impact patrol for approximately six and one-half months. He was then transferred to Queens Patrol Borough South, where he was assigned to patrol. In November 2013, he was transferred to the 106 th Precinct, again performing patrol duties. In August 2015, he was assigned to the 106 th Precinct Conditions team. In addition to his initial academy training, in December 2013, IO3 attended EMT training through the NYPD s Emergency Services Unit. The training was five weeks long, five days per week, at Floyd Bennett Field. In August 2015, he participated in the NYPD s plain clothes training, a three day course at the Police Academy. Since being assigned to the Conditions team at the 106, IO2 has been his regular boss and his regular partner has been RP(PO9). He has been working 2315x0750 hours and his usual RDO s are Monday/Tuesday. He is regularly equipped with his service pistol, mace, asp, two pairs of handcuffs, his police radio, the color of the day, and an extra magazine. His service weapon is a Sig Sauer, which holds fifteen in the magazine and one in the chamber. On Saturday, April 16, 2016, into Sunday morning, April 17, 2016, his service weapon was fully loaded. He does not carry an off-duty pistol while he is working. He attends the range biannually to qualify and the last time prior to Sunday, April 17, 2016, that he attended the range was in late On Saturday, April 16, 2016, IO3 was scheduled to work a 2315x0750 tour. He arrived at the 106 th Precinct at approximately 11:00 p.m. He was assigned to the Conditons team, which is a unit that addresses quality of life issues within the command. He was 46

52 working with IO2, IO5, IO1, and IO4 that evening. His regular partner was off. They were operating in plain clothes, although they would sometimes work in uniform. After they arrived at the precinct, they looked at the complaints from the prior twenty-four hour period and discussed patterns that were going on in Queens South, including a taxi cab robbery pattern, pizza delivery robberies, and burglaries in the 106 and Queens South, generally. He recalls that he was wearing blue jeans, a blue zip up Carhart sweatshirt, his shield hung prominently around his neck and white was the color of the day. At approximately 11:45 p.m., they exited the precinct. They took two unmarked vehicles- IO3 believed that they were two Ford Fusions- one older model and one newer. He recalled that IO5 and IO1 were together in one vehicle. He went in the second vehicle with IO4 and IO2. They were the only two Conditions units working in the 106 th Precinct that evening. They typically operate in sector Henry/Ida/John, which is the eastern part of the precinct by the Van Wyck Expressway. It is a well-known gang area. The two units typically operate in the same area because they are addressing the same conditions. He recalls that on Saturday, April 16, 2016, into the early hours of April 17, 2016, prior to the incident, his vehicle conducted vehicle stops that did not result in any arrests. He also recalled two instances where he saw the other Conditions team while they were driving around. The two teams would usually communicate by either cell phone or department radio, but he did not recall any communications with the other unit prior to the shooting. He personally has two mobile telephones, his personal and an NYPD-issued cell phone. On Sunday, April 17, 2016, at approximately 1:30 a.m., IO3 recalled that the vehicle that he was in was traveling southbound on 135 th Street going towards 116 th Avenue. IO4 was driving, IO2 was in the front passenger seat, and he was in the rear seat behind IO4. He recalled IO4 saying, They re running; they re running! He observed IO5 exit the other Conditions car and heard him say, Gun, gun, he s got a gun. The first time IO3 saw George Tillman was as Mr. Tillman was running northbound on 135 th Street and about to turn westbound on to 116 th Avenue. IO3 was about twenty-five feet from Mr. Tillman when he first saw Tillman. He described Mr. Tillman as a black male with a black firearm in his right hand running. He recalls yelling to Mr. Tillman, Police, drop the gun. At that time, IO3 unholstered his service weapon. Mr. Tillman continued to run westbound on 116 th Avenue and began to turn towards his left. IO3 believes he was approximately ten to fifteen feet away and slightly to Mr. Tillman s right when Tillman started to turn. As Tillman turned to his left, he was turning towards IO5, who was to IO3 s left. IO3 recalls that, at that time, IO2 was to his immediate right and IO4 was to the right of IO2, almost in a horseshoe-like pattern. IO3 believes that IO5 fired first. He recalls Mr. Tillman propped up on the ground with a gun in his hand and turning towards his side when IO3 fired his weapon. He believed that Mr. Tillman was going to fire at IO5. He recalls firing his weapon two times. He recalls that Mr. Tillman did not move after he fired his weapon twice. He also recalls hearing shots come from his right side, but he didn t know who was firing, nor does he recall how many times the others fired their weapons. After the shooting, he recalls hearing screaming coming from behind them in the direction of 135 th Street. He turned and ran towards their police vehicles. At that time, a 47

53 bottle was thrown in the direction of the vehicle. A black male ran towards him. He does not know that individual s name. IO3 ordered the man to the ground at gunpoint. He recalls the man stating, You murdered my friend, you murdered him, my cousin. IO3 recalls telling the man, He had a gun - he pointed it at us. He handcuffed the man and searched him for weapons. He recovered a boxcutter from the man s front right pocket. He remembers a backup unit arriving and telling RP(PO1) that the man had thrown a bottle at them and ran at them. IO3 recalls that the man also had a ski mask, which was recovered by the transport officers. He remembers someone making a radio communication asking for a bus for a male shot and requesting ESU. RP(LT1) asked him if he discharged his weapon and he stated that he had and she asked him to stand off to the side with other members of his team. IO2 asked him if he fired his weapon and he said yes. He also was asked at the scene by RP(PBA2), his delegate, whether he fired his weapon and he said yes. Once IO3 went towards the intersection at 135 th Street and 116 th Avenue to deal with the man who had run at him, he never returned to where Mr. Tillman s body was while he was at the scene. IO3 recalls that he was still on scene when Mr. Tillman was removed by EMS. He did not speak with EMS. They remained there approximately ten more minutes until they were transported to Long Island Jewish by ambulance. He recalls having a headache, his ears were ringing, and he was a little bit hot from elevated blood pressure. RP(PO3), from the 106 th Precinct, escorted them to the hospital. The only thing he remembers saying to any of his other team members, besides IO2 asking him if he fired his weapon, was asking everyone if they were all right. When they arrived at the hospital, he recalls RP(SGT1) and RP(CAPT2) were there. RP(SGT1) checked their weapons and determined that he had fired two rounds. His gun was removed, photographed by Crime Scene and vouchered. Someone from the Force Investigation Division administered a breathalyzer exam and he blew.000. He recalls talking with his other team members about what had happened at the hospital. They were talking about how big Mr. Tillman s gun was. He recalls IO5 telling them that he thought one of them was going to get killed. He also recalled that IO4 indicated that he had kicked the gun away from Mr. Tillman s hand, but he did not see IO4 do this. He did not learn what kind of gun Mr. Tillman had that evening while they were at the scene because he had gone over to deal with the black male who had run towards him. He learned later from IO2 that it was a.40 caliber and that it was real. 48

54 IO4: (Male, œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ), 106 Precinct Conditions Team On Friday, June 10, 2016, at approximately 10:48 a.m., Senior ADA Robert Ciesla, ADA Kristin Papadopoulos, and DI Perelene Kaalund were present at the Queens County District Attorney s Office, located at Kew Gardens Road, in the 8 th floor conference room, to interview IO4,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœIO4 was represented by C18, Esq., and Trustee RP(PBA1), of the Police Benevolent Association was also present. Queens District Attorney s Office interns Matthew Powers and Monaliza Seepersaud were present to observe. IO4 joined the New York City Police Department in July He attended the Police Academy for six months and then was assigned to the 106 th Precinct, where he underwent field training with a senior officer for approximately six months. After completing that assignment, he was transferred to midnight patrol, where he worked for approximately one year. In January 2016, he was assigned to the Conditions team. He attended a three day plain clothes training, including tactics, at the Police Academy prior to entering the Conditons unit. IO4 regularly is equipped with a bulletproof vest, his service weapon, his shield, the color of the day, an asp, mace, two sets of handcuffs and two magazines. His service weapon is a Glock 19, which has a load capacity of fifteen rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. On Saturday, April 16, 2016, into Sunday, April 17, 2016, IO4 was assigned to the 106 th Precinct Conditions team. They were operating in plain clothes that evening. He was wearing a black sweatshirt, blue jeans and his shield was prominently displayed over his white tee shirt. He recalls that prior to leaving the precinct, they discussed a recent taxi robbery pattern in the area and they were going to be covering the anti-crime team, who were off that evening. He was scheduled to work 2315x0750 hours. He arrived at the 106 at approximately 2245 hours. He is usually assigned to IO2. He recalls that they went over the complaints from the prior 24 hours. He believes that the two units left the precinct at approximately hours. They were assigned two unmarked cars. He recalls IO5 and IO1 took the Ford Taurus. IO2, IO3 and himself took a Ford Fusion, vehicle #1520. They were going to focus in the Henry/Frank sectors. The teams would usually stay in the same areas for safety reasons, so they would run into each other on patrol fairly often. He was not sure if they saw the other team prior to the shooting, but recalls that there may have been a car stop prior. He could not recall any communications between the two teams prior to the shooting, only seeing the car while they were on patrol. He was the operator of the Ford Fusion, IO2 was seated in the front passenger seat and IO3 was in the rear behind the driver s seat. On Sunday, April 17, 2016, at approximately 1:30 a.m., he recalls traveling southbound on 135 th Street going towards 116 th Avenue. He observed a double-parked car. At the point when he observed this, his vehicle was at the stop sign on the north side of 116 th Avenue. He realized it was the other Conditions car. He saw a male, who he later learned to be Mr. Tillman, standing near an SUV and making a weird move. He then saw IO1 and IO5 get out of their car. At that point, Mr. Tillman made a turn and started running in a full sprint northbound on 135 th Street towards IO4 s car. IO1 and IO5 were screaming, Gun, gun, gun. 49

55 Tillman turned westbound on to 116 th Avenue. He got approximately three to four houses in when he made a turn towards IO5, who was the closest to Mr. Tillman on the southbound side of 116 th Avenue. IO4 was the furthest from Mr. Tillman, more towards the north side of 116 th Avenue. IO4 recalls that IO2 was to his left and then he believes IO5. They were in a semi-circle or horseshoe shape. He recalls Mr. Tillman raising his right hand up as he turned towards IO5. He was able to see the gun in Mr. Tillman s right hand. IO4 recalls yelling at Mr. Tillman to drop the gun. He heard a shot fired and then he fired his service weapon two times. After he fired twice, he recalls hearing another shot or shots fired. He recalls Mr. Tillman s body kind of slumping down on his knees and then going to the ground on his side. He estimated that the entire shooting took approximately five seconds. Once Mr. Tillman went to the ground, he was motionless. After the shots ceased, IO4 and IO2 approached Mr. Tillman s body. IO4 dragged the gun from Mr. Tillman s right hand with his boot and kicked it approximately three feet away from him. He recalls that he bent down and, without touching the weapon, looked inside the barrel and saw that it was a real pistol. They then heard a commotion and glass breaking. He learned later that someone had thrown a bottle, but he did not see who that was. He remembered seeing IO5 and IO3 arresting the guy. There were a lot of people on scene trying to come towards them and people were coming out of their houses and he remembers yelling at people to back up. He recalled a lady running up and screaming, so he stayed with the gun to secure it until other units arrived. The boss or the first sector to arrive moved the lady away and she never got to Mr. Tillman s body or the weapon. He does not recall having any other contact with any other civilians on scene. IO2 put the job over the radio. He did not make any radio communications. When shown a photo of someone standing over the gun in a photograph provided by C4, IO4 indicated that it is not him in the photo- he believes that it is one of the 102 nd Precinct anti-crime detectives who arrived and relieved him. He believes that he was securing the gun for approximately five minutes or less because other units arrived very quickly. He recalls EMS also arrived quickly and he was still present on scene when Mr. Tillman was removed by ambulance. After the shooting, he recalls everyone asking each other if they were okay. He doesn t recall having any other conversations about what had happened at that point. He remembers everyone being in shock. The 102 anti-crime sergeant gathered them together and RP(LT1) arrived right after that and took over the scene. They were transported to Long Island Jewish Hospital. He recalls suffering from ringing in his ears and a headache. He recalled his delegate being at the scene, but isn t sure if he went to the hospital. At the hospital, they were observed for approximately three hours. He recalls RP(SGT1) checking his weapon and determining that he had fired two rounds. His weapon was removed and vouchered. He was given a breath test by the Force Investigation Division and he registered.000. He did not discuss the shooting with anyone at that point and was not interviewed by FID. 50

56 IO5: (Male, œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ), 106 Precinct Conditions Team On Friday, June 10, 2016, at approximately 11:42 a.m., Senior ADA Robert Ciesla, ADA Kristin Papadopoulos, and Detective Investigator Perelene Kaalund were present at the Queens County District Attorney s Office, located at Kew Gardens Road, in the 8 th floor conference room, to interview IO5,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœIO5 was represented by C18, Esq. Queens District Attorney s Office interns Taylor Barnard and Jennifer Westphal were present to observe. IO5 has been a New York City police officer for approximately three and one half years. He began his career by attending the Police Academy for six months. After that, he was assigned to the 103 rd Precinct, where he performed impact patrol for approximately six months. He then was transferred to the 105 th IRT where he served for four months. He then was transferred to the 113 th IRT for approximately five months and back to the 105 th IRT for approximately one year. In June 2015, he was transferred to the 106 th Precinct and assigned to patrol. In January 2016, he was transferred to the 106 th Conditions team. Approximately two to three weeks after beginning in Conditions, he received plain clothes training. IO5 also received Combat Objective Battle Ready ( COBRA ) anti-terrorism training and breathalyzer training. Since becoming a member of the midnights Conditions team, IO1 has been his regular partner. Their normal tour of duty is 2315x0750 hours. They usually work in plain clothes, but sometimes work in uniform, as well. On Saturday, April 16, 2016, he was working with IO1, IO2, IO3, and IO4. They were working in plain clothes. He was wearing a black sweatshirt, his bulletproof vest, dark blue jeans, white (was the color of the day) on his left arm, and his shield on a chain prominently displayed around his neck. He was equipped with his service pistol, mace, two extra magazines, his radio, memobook and two pairs of handcuffs. On Saturday, April 16, 2016, IO5 arrived at the 106 th Precinct at approximately 11:00pm to begin his tour. He recalls the team meeting and going over the previous complaints from the day before and any major offenses that took place (in order to best figure out where to focus resources). He recalled discussing a burglary pattern, a taxi robbery pattern and a pizza delivery robbery pattern. The taxi robbery pattern was taking place in Sector HIJM. The location of the shooting is in Sector Henry, which covers approximately 111 th Street to Foch Boulevard and the Van Wyck Expressway to 130 th Avenue. IO5 and IO1 were assigned unmarked Vehicle #551- a black Ford Taurus. IO5 was the operator and IO1 was the recorder. The other members of the team were assigned to a Ford Fusion. He recalls they left the precinct at approximately midnight. After leaving the precinct, IO5 recalls conducting some car stops in Sector Henry that evening. He remembered stops at 130 th Avenue and Rockaway Boulevard and Van Wyck and 109 th Avenue, but none of these stops resulted in arrests. He remembers running into the other unmarked throughout the time leading up to the shooting. They would cross paths because they would stay in the same sector for officer safety, especially since the area is a known high crime area. On Sunday, April 17, 2016, at approximately 1:25 a.m., IO5 recalled driving southbound on the Van Wyck service road. He made a right turn on to 116 th Avenue going 51

57 westbound. He drove past 135 th Street and observed a double parked SUV with two people outside the vehicle in the middle of the street. He made a U-turn and turned right southbound on to 135 th Street and pulled up next to the Ford SUV. One of the individuals stood in front of the officers car. The other was standing next to the Ford SUV with a bottle of Smirnoff vodka in his hand. The individuals were two black males. One was wearing jeans, he believes a black shirt, was approximately 5'9", with a thin build. He later learned this individual to be George Tillman. The other was approximately 6' tall, wearing a gray sweatshirt and jeans. He never learned the name of this individual. It was dark, but there was some street lighting at the time. He recalled that Mr. Tillman was about to get into the SUV. IO5 could see that there were other people in the vehicle, including a front seat passenger, but he could not tell how many. IO1 told Mr. Tillman that he can t be doing this, referring to holding an open container and drinking and driving. IO1 was speaking to Mr. Tillman through the open passenger window of the Taurus. Mr. Tillman said, You re right. The other individual came over and said, Hey, I ll take the bottle, and reached over and took the bottle from Mr. Tillman. Neither he, nor IO1, ever asked either individual for their identification. They were planning to let Mr. Tillman go with a warning in regards to the open container. When Mr. Tillman handed the bottle to his friend, IO5 observed a large bulge on Mr. Tillman s right side and the butt of a gun pointed out to the right. The individual who took the bottle walked back towards the sidewalk and out of IO5 s line of sight. IO5 told IO1 quietly, in substance, He has a gun on his right side on his right waistband. IO1 acknowledged the information and they exited the car. Mr. Tillman was walking towards the front of his Ford SUV. They shouted to him, Hey buddy, come over here. He did not respond and began to run. Mr. Tillman ran around the front of the Ford SUV and on to the sidewalk northbound on 135 th Street. IO5 followed him around the front of the Ford SUV and up the sidewalk. He unholstered his weapon and was shouting to Mr. Tillman to stop. IO1 was to his right on 135 th Street in the street on the other side of the parked cars. He believes they remained parallel most of the time they were running up 135 th Street. When Mr. Tillman made a turn on to 116 th Avenue, IO5 observed a large black firearm in his right hand. IO5 stated that as soon as he saw the bulge, he knew it was a large caliber weapon. As he pursued Mr. Tillman, he saw a car pull up, but didn t know it was his other team members right away. Then he heard IO1 say, œœœœœœœœœ, and he knew that he was referring to IO2. This happened just as they were about to turn on to 116 th Avenue. They yelled, œœœœœœœœœ he s got a gun, he s got a gun. Then he and the other members began shouting, Police, stop, drop the fucking gun - he recalls multiple people yelling commands. Mr. Tillman slowed down and turned to his left, his arm at his waistline and pointed the gun at IO5. IO5 stated he was twenty feet or less away from Mr. Tillman. The officer then raised his shooting arm and fired his weapon six times. He heard other officers firing their weapons, but did not see anyone firing. He does not know where IO1 was standing. After he fired his last shot, he turned and saw that IO2 was standing to his right, he believes that IO3 was to the right of IO2 and a little behind IO2, and IO4 was also to the right. He thinks that IO1 was behind and to the right and in between IO2 and IO3. 52

58 As they fired, he recalled Mr. Tillman fell to the ground and was lying on his side in a fetal-like position. The firearm he was holding was about one to two inches from his hand. He appeared to be deceased and had a visible bullet wound at his left temple. He did not touch Mr. Tillman s body. IO4 kicked the gun away from Mr. Tillman. It was a large black pistol- bigger than a 9mm. He heard a bottle break behind him and a man screaming. He turned to look and saw it was the man Mr. Tillman had handed the bottle to. He saw IO3 struggling to arrest the man. He went over and helped IO3 handcuff the individual. The man was yelling, You killed my brother, you killed him. IO5 didn t respond to the man. He recalled people came out of the Ford SUV and people were coming out of their houses. The officers were shouting, Police, get back, stay back, get back in your homes, but the people were not complying at first. IO5 is not sure, but he thinks he went over the radio and called in shots fired and gave the location. He recalls IO2 asking for a rush on a bus. He was busy trying to maintain crowd control because people were trying to get to the intersection at 135 th Street and 116 th Avenue. The first sector responded very quickly he recalled. He recalls having to wave his flashlight to slow down one of the responding vehicles. While at the scene, he recalled everyone asking each other if they were all right. RP(LT1) asked him if he had fired his weapon and he responded yes. He believes they remained at the scene for approximately ten to fifteen minutes following the shooting. He remembers an ambulance coming for Mr. Tillman very quickly and recalled someone doing CPR on Mr. Tillman at the scene. He also recalled PBA delegate, RP(PBA2), speaking with him. An ambulance came and took all of the officers from his team and RP(PO3) to the hospital. He believes IO2 went in a car. In the ambulance, he remembers saying, I can t believe he had a gun. I can t believe we had to shoot. IO5 recalls they put oxygen on him in the ambulance because he was in shock. He recalls requiring ice packs when he got to the hospital because he was overheated from elevated blood pressure. At the hospital, he recalls there were two sergeants from Force Investigations. He believes RP(CAPT2) checked his weapon and determined that he had fired six rounds. He took a breathalyzer test and registered.000. He believes a sergeant from FID administered that to him. FID did not question him. He remained at the hospital for approximately one and a half hours. He then went back to the 106 th Precinct with his delegate. He doesn t recall if he spoke with anyone else at the precinct. He left the precinct at approximately 10:50 a.m. He went out sick on Tuesday morning. 53

59 VI. Overview of Radio Run and Sprint ICAD Event #: D On Sunday, April 17 th, 2016 at 01:30:38 hours, the first call of shots fired came over the Central dispatch system. A male voice gave the address of 116 Avenue and 135 Street and said shots fired. Another male also transmitted shots fired and the address was repeated several times to the dispatcher. Approximately 42 seconds later, an individual identifying himself as the Conditions Sergeant says, Send a bus here- one perp shot, and six seconds later someone states, Send a bus, followed six seconds later by, Central- get a bunch of units here. Send a bus. Approximately one minute later another transmission of Central- get a bus here is made. Seventeen seconds later a transmission is made stating, I need as many units to respond. Fifty-four seconds later, another transmission is made stating, We need a bus. At 01:36:06 hours, RP(LT1) transmitted that she was 84" and called for a Level 1 mobilization. Approximately one minute and forty-five seconds later, she advised Central that they can slow the response to 116 th Avenue and 135 th Street. Approximately fifteen seconds later, RP(LT1) asks Central for an ETA on a bus. EMS Unit 51W1 was dispatched at 01:33:01 hours. EMS Unit 50H1 was dispatched at 01:33:49 hours. E1 arrived on scene at 01:34:06 hours, approximately three and one half minutes after the initial call of shots fired came over the radio. BLS Unit 50H1 (EMTS E2 and E3) arrived on scene at 01:37:19 hours. ALS Unit 51W1 (EMTS E4 and E5) arrived on scene at 01:38:34. The patient was transported to Jamaica Hospital at approximately 01:43:21 hours. The patient was pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital at 02:00 hours. At approximately 01:35:51 hours, EMS BLS Unit 51D1 was dispatched to the location. This unit arrived at the scene at approximately 01:41:35 hours. This unit transported the subject officers and IO1 to Long Island Jewish Hospital. At approximately 01:43 hours, 106 F transmits that there is one under in regards to the shots fired job and indicates that they are transporting one male back to the stationhouse. The Central dispatch gives 106 F an under time of 0143 hours. After the initial transmissions stating that shots were fired and giving the location, there were repeated requests to get medical assistance as quickly as possible to the location. The first EMT arrived on scene approximately three and one half minutes after the initial transmission of shots fired went over the radio. There does not appear to be any delay in seeking medical attention for Mr. Tillman. 54

60 VII. Overview of Crime Scene Investigation The crime scene was processed under Crime Scene Unit Run # The following property was found at the crime scene and documented: Black 2003 Ford Expedition, Invoice # Ford Taurus Ford Fusion Thirteen (13) shell casings and two (2) fired bullets A loaded black.40 caliber Smith&Wesson Hi Point semi-automatic pistol Shattered glass Smirnoff vodka bottle A search warrant, #486-16, was issued by C23, of the Queens County Criminal Court, on Tuesday, April 19, 2016, to conduct a search of Mr. Tillman s Ford Expedition. There were no weapons or any other contraband found in the vehicle. The personal property of Mr. Tillman was inventoried and vouchered for safekeeping. The vehicle was subsequently returned to A1. Mr. Tillman s cellular telephone, a black Apple Iphone, was recovered at the hospital from Mr. Tillman s person. It was vouchered under Invoice # However, it could not be analyzed by the Computer Crimes Unit because it was password protected. All the involved firearms were inspected, photographed and vouchered. RP(SGT1) s interview regarding results of the inspection). (See The.40 caliber Smith&Wesson Hi Point semi-automatic pistol, Serial #œœœœœœœœœœœœœ, Model JCP, was photographed, recovered, vouchered (Invoice Number # ) and sent for ballistic testing and for DNA analysis. A computer search of the serial number revealed that the pistol was purchased on October 25, 2012, by C15 (Male/White, dob 5/24/1988,œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ), at C30, located at ADDRESS 12, in Portsmouth, Virginia. When C15 was interviewed by telephone, he informed police that at the time he purchased the weapon, he was residing at ADDRESS 13, Portsmouth, Virginia. He stated that in Spring 2013, his apartment was burglarized. He recalled that the.40 caliber pistol and a.38 caliber gun were the only things that had been stolen. He never made a police report, although he stated that he had mentioned it to a few of his friends that were police officers. Ballistic testing on the.40 caliber pistol revealed that it was loaded with seven (7) cartridges in the magazine and one (1) cartridge in the chamber- a total of eight (8) rounds. It had a load capacity of ten (10) rounds. The ammunition in the chamber and the first two rounds in the magazine were Winchester.40 caliber rounds. The other five in the magazine were Federal.40 caliber rounds. The pistol was operable. 55

61 The.40 caliber Smith&Wesson Hi Point semi-automatic pistol, Serial # X , Model JCP, was photographed, recovered, vouchered (Invoice Number # ) and sent for ballistic testing and for DNA analysis. This latter testing revealed that human DNA, sufficient for STR DNA typing, was detected on a swab of edges of trigger guard and trigger and a swab of top and bottom edges of magazine. Mixtures of DNA from at least three people were found. The DNA profile of the major contributor was determined. This DNA profile matches the DNA profile of George Tillman on the swab of the textured grips and the swab of the top and bottom edges of magazine. A mixture of DNA from at least two people was found on a swab of the slide. The DNA profile of the major contributor was determined and matched the DNA profile of George Tillman. A mixture of DNA was also found on the edges of trigger guard and trigger. The DNA profiles of the individual contributors to the mixture could not be determined. However, George Tillman was excluded as a possible contributor to this mixture. 56