State Attorney General Letitia James released police body-camera footage for the 2024 death of a man in Massapequa.
The Office of Special Investigation of the Attorney General’s Office, which investigates all incidents in which police are alleged to have caused the death of a civilian, released six body-cam videos from five officers related to the death of Jeremy Bennett on Sept. 21, 2024.
Officers from the New York City Police Department, Freeport Police Department, and Nassau County Police Department were involved in a vehicle pursuit through Queens and Nassau on Sept. 20, 2024, according to the state attorney general.
The released footage first shows officers at 11:31 p.m. in pursuit of Bennett in a grey SUV. The video titled “Officer Judd” shows officers breaking the driver’s side window of the vehicle before Bennett drives away.
The next encounter occurred at 11:36 p.m. with Bennett’s car positioned near shrubbery off of a main road, which the attorney general’s report said was Sunrise Highway in Massapequa. The titles of these videos are “Officer Judd 2,” “Officer Braun,” “Officer Gabbe,” “Officer Haubold” and “Officer Marinello.”
Multiple body cameras show officers approaching Bennett, as at least one officer shouted, “Hands, hands, show me your f****** hands,” before shots are fired into the vehicle.
Bennett was then transported to an unknown local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the state attorney general said. He was 37 at the time of his death.
James made the announcement about an investigation into the incident four days later.
OSI said the release of this footage is not an expression of any opinion as to the guilt or innocence and that the investigation is still ongoing. The office also did not provide any comment about the investigation and stated that the release of the footage was to increase transparency and strengthen public trust.
