Police officers who nearly three years ago shot and critically wounded a teenager barreling toward an NYPD officer trying to stop the teen’s car in the Bronx were justified in their use of force, Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced Tuesday.
An investigation into the March 6, 2022 shooting that resulted in life-altering brain damage for 18-year-old Luis Manuel Monsanto concluded there was no criminal wrongdoing by the officers involved.
According to the report, Manuel Monsanto was behind the wheel of his friend’s Jeep Compass zipping northbound on Third Ave. near E. 163rd St. in Morrisania when he swerved over a double yellow line and around cars stopped at a red light at Boston Road.
As Manuel Monsanto sped through the steady red light just before 8 p.m., Officers Will Rodriguez, Lauren Moriarty, and John Batule noticed his erratic driving.
BRONX SHOOTING
Gardiner Anderson/for New York Daily News Police respond to the scene of a police involved shooting on Boston Rd. and E. 165th Street in the Bronx on Sunday, March 6, 2022. (Gardiner Anderson/for New York Daily News)
They attempted to initiate a stop, with Rodriguez maneuvering his vehicle past the driver’s side of the Jeep and pulling in front at an angle, effectively blocking the teen’s path and preventing him from driving away.
The officers got out of their car to talk with the driver, but as a second police vehicle arrived on the scene, Manuel Monsanto reversed, smashing into it.
“Dude, just stop,” cops heard Manuel Monsanto’s friend beg from the backseat.
But the teen put the Jeep in drive and accelerated forward, toward where Rodriguez was standing in the street. Bot the officer and Moriarty fired their weapons, prosecutors found.
One of the four bullets fired struck Manuel Monsanto in the head, with the Jeep coming to a stop when it crashed into a nearby building. Medics rushed the Clifton, N.J. teen to Lincoln Hospital, where he remained for four weeks as his condition gradually improved.
He was then transferred to Mount Sinai Hospital for the following four months, during which time he regained the ability to walk short distances with the aid of a cane, and could respond to questions with “yes” or “no.” However, he did not regain the ability to form complete sentences, the DA’s office stated.
Clark’s office combed over a body worn camera, surveillance footage and witness interviews, and determined “that we cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officers committed a crime by firing at a car that was accelerating towards one of them on a busy city street,” the report reads.
Manuel Monsanto will never full recover from his injuries, according to the DA’s findings.
“I pray for Mr. Monsanto, and I am sorry his loved ones must endure such hardship,” Clark said in a statement. “This devastating tragedy demands a thorough investigation to provide answers to his family and to the Bronx community at large.”
