By Michele Evans / NYweeklyRecord.com / Date: 10/1/2026
Category: Police Accountability / Public Safety / Civil Rights
NEW YORK CITY, NY –
New York’s attorney general will not bring criminal charges against the state trooper who fatally shot Ali Ali in a wooded area near the Thruway in Woodbury, closing a two-year investigation into the encounter.
The Office of Special Investigation said prosecutors could not disprove beyond a reasonable doubt that the trooper acted in lawful self-defense. The decision addresses only whether the evidence can support criminal charges. Civil liability and the tactics used before the shooting fall outside that determination.
Ali, 37, died on September 18, 2024, after police said he fled a stolen Chevrolet Equinox that had crashed and caught fire when OnStar remotely disabled it. State Police were looking for him in connection with an alleged Brooklyn assault and a separate alleged knife-point carjacking.
According to the attorney general’s report, a State Police tactical team found Ali in the woods holding a knife. Troopers followed him, repeatedly ordered him to stop and drop the knife, and used flash-bang devices as one member tried to persuade him to surrender peacefully.
A trooper then fired a Taser. The report says Ali fell, stood back up and moved toward officers while still holding the knife. Another trooper fired his service weapon. Ali was pronounced dead at the scene, and investigators recovered a knife nearby.
The investigation reviewed witness accounts, surveillance and body-camera footage, police radio traffic, incident logs and the applicable law. Under New York law, an officer may use deadly physical force when the officer reasonably believes it is necessary to defend against deadly force.
The state’s conclusion turns on the prosecution’s burden at trial. OSI said the available evidence would not allow a prosecutor to rule out justification beyond a reasonable doubt. News 12 reported that the shooting followed an alleged stabbing at a Brooklyn laundromat and a search that stretched from New York City into the Hudson Valley.
The report resolves the state’s criminal review. Public questions remain about police tactics during long searches, attempted de-escalation, remote vehicle disabling and encounters involving people reported to be armed.
Ali’s family and the public now have the body-camera footage and written findings as the principal record of why the state declined charges.
Sources
New York Attorney General: Office of Special Investigation Report on the Death of Ali Ali
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