As part of her ongoing investigation into the June shooting death of Brian Czornyj, a Poughkeepsie man who was slain by police while brandishing a samurai sword, New York Attorney General Letitia James revealed bodycam footage on Wednesday.
On June 5, an officer from the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department responded to a 911 call regarding a sword-wielding assault at a residence on Fair Oaks Drive and shot Czornyj, 36.
Officer’s bodycam footage He can be seen bringing his gun to the scene in Jon Gouger. He enters the house and finds two men standing next to each other, fighting over the sword, which is pointing down and away from them.
According to a statement from the attorney general’s office, the younger man, Mr. Czornyj, clutched the sword by its handle and seemed to be unharmed. The older man grasped the sword by the blade and looked pained.
Both males disregarded the police’s repeated orders to drop the blade.
Put the blade down. Gouger can be heard grabbing for the sword and stating several times that he’s going to shoot. He fires two close-range shots at Czornyj around seven seconds later.
As Czornyj hits the ground and the older man steps aside with the blade, blood splatters.
Officer Tiere Spruill can be seen pursuing Gouger into the residence in a second video. According to the video, Gouger was only five feet away from Czornyj when he shot him.
After being taken to a nearby hospital, Czornyj was declared dead. After receiving medical attention for his wounds, the older man—who has not been identified—was allowed to go later that evening.
Although it’s unknown if they were hurt, Czornyj resided in the house with his parents.
His family posted an online obituary stating that Czornyj’s work for the FDA encouraged him to pursue a career in medicine. But when he was deciding which medical school to enroll in, he suffered from a mental illness that permanently altered his life.
In cooperation with New York State Police, the AG is still looking into the shooting.
