New York Attorney General Letitia James will not pursue criminal charges against three NYPD officers from the 114th Precinct in Astoria for fatally shooting a knife-wielding man during an encounter on April 14, 2025. Her Office of Special Investigations (OSI) released its report on Thursday into the death of King Wong, a 61-year-old Woodside Houses man, who was undergoing a mental health crisis on a public street.
After a thorough investigation, which included review of 911 calls, footage from body-worn cameras and nearby security cameras, interviews with involved officers, and comprehensive legal analysis, OSI concluded that a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the officers’ actions were justified under New York law.
Shortly after 6:20 a.m. on April 14, three people called 911 to report that a man, later identified as Wong, was wearing a mask and vest and holding a large knife as he walked down 30th Avenue in Astoria and looked into store windows and at people. A 911 caller said that it appeared as if the person was “trying to hunt somebody.”
Police Officers Kendouchy Cossy and Jonathan Acosta were on patrol in a marked NYPD vehicle when they saw Wong, who appeared to be talking to himself as he walked across the intersection of 30th Avenue and 31st Street while holding a knife. The cops got out of their vehicle and instructed Wong to drop the knife. Wong moved to the passenger side of the police vehicle and waved the knife at the officers, while shouting at them. The officers later said they couldn’t understand what he was shouting while still holding the knife.
61-year-old King Wong refused to comply with multiple commands to drop the knife he was holding and when he lunged towards on of the cops, three of the officers opened fire. Photo via AG’s report
Police recovered the knife at the scene. Photo via AG’s report
At around 6:26 a.m., Officer Acosta is seen on body-worn video as he fired his Taser at Wong, but it had no effect. Police Officers Robert LaMonica and Jose Taverez, who were also assigned to the 114th Precinct, arrived on the scene as Wong crossed the street. As the officers followed him on foot, they repeatedly instructed him to drop the knife. Officer Coissy fired his Taser at Wong, again with no effect, so he holstered his Taser, unholstered his firearm, and pointed it at Wong. When Wong turned and walked quickly toward Officer Lamonica and lunged toward him, three of the officers discharged their service weapons, striking Wong, who fell to the ground. Officer Tavarez did not fire his service weapon.
Police sealed off the area of the shooting as part of the ongoing investigation. Photo by Dean Moses
EMS rushed him to Elmhurst Hospital. According to medical records, Wong had gunshot wounds to his chest, abdomen, and legs. He was pronounced dead at 7:21 a.m. Officers recovered the knife at the scene.
An autopsy by the city’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that Wong had been shot once in the torso, once in the abdomen, once in the buttocks, three times in the back, once in the right thigh, twice in the left thigh, once in the right hand, and once in the right wrist.
Under New York’s justification law, a police officer may use deadly physical force when the officer reasonably believes it to be necessary to defend against the use of deadly physical force by another. In this case, when officers encountered Wong, he was armed with a knife and ignored repeated commands to drop it. After officers attempted to subdue Wong with Tasers, he walked quickly toward an officer with the knife in his hand. Under these circumstances, given the law and the evidence, a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the officers’ use of deadly physical force against Wong was justified, and therefore, OSI determined that criminal charges would not be pursued in this matter.
The three officers who fired their service weapons that morning are still assigned to the 114th Precinct.