NYPD officers accused of misconduct in Kawaski Trawick's shooting death appear before judge
NEW YORK -- Two NYPD officers accused of misconduct in the deadly shooting of a Bronx man appeared before a judge Thursday.
The family of the man who was killed says he didn't have to die, and the city's police watchdog wants the two officers fired.
As CBS2's Lisa Rozner reports, the family flew in from Georgia, eager to see this go to trial within the NYPD's disciplinary system, but the process was delayed until November because one officer didn't have a lawyer.
Police body camera video shows the moment officers Brendan Thompson and Herbert Davis opened the door to the apartment of 32-year-old Kawaski Trawick on Sunday night, April 14, 2019.
In the video, Thompson says, "Oh, he's got a knife." Trawick responds, "I have a knife because I'm cooking."
READ MORE: NYPD: Man Fatally Shot By Police After Lunging At Officers With Knife
Trawick lived at the Hill House for people who are in addiction recovery or in transition.
Minutes earlier, Trawick was accidentally locked out of his apartment while cooking and the FDNY had let him back in, but someone from the Hill House called police reporting harassment.
The Bronx District Attorney found police asked him 19 times to put the knife down before Trawick was tasered. Trawick also asked multiple times why they were there.
After being tasered, the DA found Trawick stood up with a knife and stick in his hands and said in part, "I'm gonna kill you all," and Officer Thompson fatally shot him four times.
"Closed the door and let him die. Neither one of them tried to render any kind of aid to save Kawaski's life. They just let him die," said Ellen Trawick, Kawaski's mother.
"Kawaski was a good, loving person with a heart of gold," said Ricky Trawick, Kawaski's father. "There was no reason for them to kill him. He was in his own home cooking. He was not a threat to anybody."
The family says Trawick moved to New York City to pursue his dream as a dancer.
The medical examiner determined his manner of death as a homicide.
A spokesperson for the Police Benevolent Association said, "The case was thoroughly investigated by both the Bronx District Attorney and the NYPD's Force Investigation Division, which found no evidence of wrongdoing by these police officers. CCRB is not claiming it has any new evidence that would change those findings."
The next step is for a judge at One Police Plaza to make a ruling after the trial. That ruling will be shared with the police commissioner, who ultimately decides whether the two officers will be fired. Both officers are still on active duty.