Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The New York State Attorney General's Office says an investigation found a Town of Niagara Police officer's shooting of a man was justified. The report says officers tried to de-escalate the situation and disarm the man before opening fire.
On the evening of Nov. 19, 2022, Attorney General Letitia James says two Town of Niagara Police officers responded to 9-1-1 calls placed by Daniel Kachinoski and his mother, reporting a domestic matter at their residence.
The investigation found Kachinoski began acting erratically and threatened the officers, telling them to leave. In response, the officers directed Kachinoski to put his hands behind his back, but he refused to comply. In the ensuing encounter, an officer attempted to subdue Kachinoski with a taser to no effect.
Kachinoski then picked up a wooden chair, which prompted the second officer to deploy his taser, which also did not serve to deter Kachinoski.
As the officers repeatedly ordered Kachinoski to put the chair down, James says he continued to ignore their requests and instead picked up a knife with his free hand. Kachinoski then advanced towards an officer with the chair in one hand and the knife raised in the other until he was within arm’s length of the officer. The officer then fired his service weapon at Kachinoski in response.
When EMS arrived, Kachinoski was pronounced dead at the scene, as officers recovered the knife.