Akm Shehabuddin Kisslu: The family of Win Rozario stood in unity with members of the Bangladeshi community at the rally on the steps of City Hall on Wednesday demanding that the officers involved in his fatal encounter be suspended and fired.
Rozario’s family members spoke about the fatal shooting. This not only marked the first time of all members of the immediate family have spoken publicly, but it is also their first appearance since the attorney general’s office released the bodycam video of both cops.
“I tried to protect my son,” said Costa. “I begged the police not to shoot.”
Rozario’s mother and younger brother, Noton Eva Costa and Utsho Rozario, were present on March 27th, when 911 received a call for “someone in crisis”.
“I’m really angry and disgusted that the people who are supposed to serve and protect us are the ones that are killing us,” said Utsho Rozario
Family members said at the rally that they received little mercy afterward from the officers.
Ushto went on to describe,
“After killing my brother, the NYPD treated me and my mom like criminals and the NYPD and City treated my family like we didn’t matter. They made us go to the police station right after they killed my brother and wouldn’t let us take anything with us,” said Utsho Rozario, Win Rozario’s brother, at the rally.
“After getting to the precinct they threw us in an interrogation room, treating us like criminals, when my brother was shot and killed right in front of my eyes. They didn’t care to see if I and my mother were ok. They seemed to be more worried about how they would cover this up than anything else.”
Utsho, who is only 17 years old, claimed that police questioned him without his mother present. He also alleged that they were not permitted back into their home for several days.
When they were allowed back home, he noted, they found the kitchen floor still coated in Win’s blood. Win’s blood had not yet been cleaned from their home, multiple speakers said. It was Desis Rising Up and Moving, another local organization, that helped sanitize the space for the Rozarios to re-enter.
Utsho said, “They investigated my mother for hours, even in the state that she was in…They investigated me, a minor, without my parents’ consent.”
The Rozarios said they were barred from re-entering their house for 48 hours, and were not able to retrieve their pet cat or their medications.
“It was a rainy day,” Francis Rozario, Win and Ushto’s father, said. “They did not offer any shelter for us. We even tried to tell them that our cat was in the house alone but they did not care.”
Ushto said his family only gained access to their house once the Justice Committee, an activist organization, requested help from the Public Advocate’s Office.
Eva Costa spoke about her son’s dreams for the future.
“Win wanted to join the military and dreamed that afterwards; he would save up to have a farm. He was very disciplined when he took exams; he would be very focused and do very well. He told us he wanted to join the military because he wanted to do something for this country. He would cook for me and help keep everything at home neat. That is who the police stole from us,” Costa said.
“Win was quiet and polite,” she continued. “He was always helping me. When I made new handicrafts with beads, he would help me, and his face would shine because he was happy for me and happy to be with me.”
At the rally, the distraught family embraced one another in a huddle of raw emotion surrounded by the people stood with them.
The video footage of the March 27 shooting show a clearly emotionally disturbed Win Rozario attempting to charge at the cops with a small pair of scissors as his mother, Notan Eva Costa, tried to wrestle the tool out of his hands. The cops shot the boy with tasers while the distraught mother attempted to shield her son.
“Let go of him and back up,” one of the officers could be heard yelling while Utsho Rozario pleaded for the cops not to shoot. As Utsho Rozario pulled his mother out of harm’s way, the officers unloaded several bullets into Win, killing him.
Notan Eva Costa, Utsho Rozario, and family patriarch Francis Rozario all call for the officers to be immediately fired.
The Mayor’s Press Office told,
Patrick Hendry, the president of the Police Benevolent Association, said on Wednesday, “This is a heartbreaking case that underscores the difficult reality police officers face when they respond to many calls… As the body camera footage makes clear, they were trying to minimize the risks to everyone in that room and were forced to make split-second decisions based on those risks.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation is ongoing.
In a statement following the May 3 release of the bodycam footage, the NYPD stated that the cops involved are currently on modified duty and are not holding firearms.
Officers Matthew Cianfrocco and Salvatore Alongi responded to the scene.
Rozario was gunned down during a mental health crisis on March 27 at the family’s Ozone Park residence; police said Rozario, who had called 911 initially, had charged at the officers with a pair of scissors before being Tased and eventually shot. On Friday, March 29,, the office of Attorney General Letitia James released damning bodycam footage of the officers’ response to the home, and the moment in which the teenager was shot — shortly after the teen’s mother begged officers not to pull the trigger.
