SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Nearly three-and-half years after the in-custody death of Alex Rivera, the New York State Attorney General’s office has announced no criminal charges will be filed. The AG’s office says it determined “a prosecutor would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the involved officers caused Mr. Rivera’s death, and therefore criminal charges would not be pursued in this matter.”
You can read the official Attorney General’s report here, but be warned the information it contains is graphic.
Rivera died on May 31, 2023 following an encounter with members of the Syracuse Police Department. The AG’s office says shortly after 4 a.m. on May 31, SPD officers responded to an apartment building on Teall Avenue in Syracuse after receiving multiple 911 calls placed between 2:08 a.m. and 3:55 a.m. from two witnesses reporting Mr. Rivera had barricaded himself inside the bathroom and appeared to be “on something,” going “crazy,” in some sort of “psychosis,” and “not in reality.” When officers arrived, they entered the apartment and found Mr. Rivera lying on the floor in a bathroom. Officers attempted to talk to Mr. Rivera, but he appeared unable to effectively communicate with them. At 4:11 a.m., the officers cuffed Mr. Rivera’s hands behind his back, carried him to the lawn outside of the building, and attempted to keep him on his side in a recovery position while waiting for paramedics and the ambulance to arrive…