NY Daily Record Since 1908
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A Rochester, New York, police officer will not face charges in the fatal shooting of a knife-wielding man who authorities said was threatening to harm himself and others.
The Democrat & Chronicle reported Friday that a grand jury found Officer Matthew Drake justified in fatally shooting Tyshon Jones near a homeless shelter on March 10.
Prosecutors said Drake shot the man five times after he refused commands to drop a large butcher knife and moved toward responding officers.
Police responded to the shelter after getting a report that someone had stolen a bucket of knives from the kitchen.
District Attorney Sandra Doorley said Drake ordered Jones to drop the knife “over 17 times as officers continued to retreat.”
Body camera video showed Jones telling officers he was dangerous and expressing a desire to kill the officers, the newspaper reported.
Family members said Jones was experiencing a mental health crisis.
Rochester police have been under scrutiny in recent months over the March 2020 death of Daniel Prude, a Black man who died after officers put a mesh hood over his head and held him to the ground until he stopped breathing.
A grand jury ultimately rejected criminally negligent homicide charges against three officers in that case.
