The father of a mentally ill man shot dead by NYPD officers after rushing them with a knife voiced outrage Monday over the way a cop initially characterized the incident.
Asked by a NYPD dispatcher whether any officers were hurt the night of Kawaski Trawick’s death in the Bronx, the officer answered, “Just a perp.”
“That’s unacceptable,” Trawick’s dad Rickie Trawick said outside police headquarters shortly after hearing the audio in a NYPD trial room. “My son is not a ‘perp.’
“He’s a human being just like everyone out here.”
The recording was featured in the department trial that started Monday for Officers Brendan Thompson and Herbert Davis, who the Civilian Complaint Review Board says should be fired.
While each was cleared by the Bronx district attorney and the NYPD’s own internal review, the CCRB previously substantiated misconduct charges against the partners.
Davis and Thompson are charged with not providing medical aid to Trawick after the shooting, with the CCRB noting Davis closed the apartment door until EMS arrived.
Murray said the charge has no merit.
“The simple fact of the matter is Officer Davis is being charged with … failing to render aid to a person who was already dead,” the defense lawyer said in his opening statement.
Thompson is charged with unjustified use of force over triggering the Taser that sent Trawick to the ground, only for him to pop right back up, and then firing four shots from his service weapon as Trawick charged at the officers and threatened to kill them.
Thompson’s lawyer Michael Martinez said the officers are victims of a “political persecution” and that police cannot be blamed if someone ignores 19 commands to drop his knife and charges at them. Officers, he said, are required to risk their lives every day.
“We don’t required them to die,” Martinez said.
Arthur argued that the officers raised tensions the minute Davis pushed Trawick’s door open, despite their de-escalation training.
“It didn’t have to end this way,” he said. “Good tactics save lives.”
The one minute, 52-second confrontation was captured on Thompson’s body-worn camera video. Trawick’s father sat in the trial room as it was played, hoping to see something that could help him understand why his son was shot.
Trawick’s mother Ellen Trawick left the room to avoid seeing the video yet again.
The CCRB believes that the “just a perp” comment came from Davis, who was talking to a police dispatcher shortly after Thompson Tasered and shot Trawick on April 14, 2019.
Davis’ lawyer Richard Murray objected to the audio being introduced as evidence, noting that there is no way to conclude Davis made the comment. CCRB prosecutor Brian Arthur noted that Davis can be seen and heard saying those words on the body-worn camera footage of another officer.
Shortly before the shooting, Kawaski Trawick called 911 to report being locked out of his apartment and falsely claiming the supporting housing building where he lived was on fire. Asecurity officer and the superintendent also called 911 to report he was harassing residents and threatened to punch the super in the face.
Firefighters showed up first, breaking open the lock to Trawick’s apartment so he could go back inside.
Thompson and Davis were told by a 911 dispatcher that the building in question, Hill House, is a supportive housing facility for people with mental health and other issues. The DA’s report noted a police supervisor would have been sent to the scene if the call been described more specifically.
Still, when the officers arrived, they did not talk to the firefighters who had had been to Trawick’s apartment, a conversation that may have helped them better understand he was in crisis, Arthur suggested.