Attorney General James’ Office of Special Investigation Releases Report on Death of Ali Ali

September 30, 2026

NEW YORK - New York Attorney General Letitia James' Office of Special Investigation (OSI) today released its report on the death of Ali Ali, who died on September 18, 2024 following an encounter with members of the New York State Police (NYSP) in Woodbury, Orange County. After a thorough investigation, which included review of witness statements, footage from security cameras and officers' body-worn cameras (BWC), NYSP radio dispatch logs and incident logs, and comprehensive legal analysis, OSI determined that a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the trooper's actions were justified under New York law.

On September 18, NYSP received information that Mr. Ali was wanted in New York City for an alleged assault on September 16 and a separate knife-point robbery of a vehicle during the early morning hours of September 18. OnStar alerted NYSP that Mr. Ali was traveling northbound on the New York State Thruway in a 2021 Chevy Equinox that had been stolen approximately four hours earlier. At 5:45 a.m. on September 18, an NYSP trooper spotted the stolen vehicle on the New York State Thruway near the town of Ramapo in Rockland County and followed the vehicle. OnStar remotely disabled the car near mile marker 49 in Woodbury. At 5:49 a.m., as the disabled stolen vehicle slowed down, it collided with a tractor-trailer, struck a guardrail, and caught fire. Mr. Ali fled from the car on foot into a heavily wooded area adjacent to the highway.

Shortly after 10 a.m. on September 18, an NYSP Special Operation Response Team (SORT) began a grid search of the woods, looking for Mr. Ali. At 1:47 p.m., SORT members saw Mr. Ali in the woods, holding a knife, and followed from a distance, instructing Mr. Ali to stop moving. At 1:49 p.m., Mr. Ali stopped and turned to face the troopers, who ordered Mr. Ali to drop the knife several times. Mr. Ali did not drop the knife and turned away from troopers, continuing to walk through the wooded area. Troopers continued to follow Mr. Ali and deployed flashbangs. One trooper attempted to speak with Mr. Ali, saying, "We can resolve this peacefully, just stop, we really don't want to hurt you, just stop man. Ali please just stop man we don't have to do this."

At 1:51 p.m., one trooper deployed a Taser, causing Mr. Ali to briefly fall to the ground. Mr. Ali quickly got up and walked toward the trooper holding the knife in his hand and ignored repeated orders to stop. Another trooper discharged his service weapon, striking Mr. Ali. Mr. Ali was declared dead at the scene. Troopers recovered a knife at the scene.

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, NYSP troopers responded to the wooded area after receiving information that Mr. Ali was possibly armed with a knife and that there was probable cause to arrest Mr. Ali for previously reported crimes. When the troopers encountered Mr. Ali holding a knife, they ordered him to drop the knife several times before deploying a Taser. Mr. Ali came toward one of the troopers with the knife in his hand, and another trooper fired his service weapon as Mr. Ali got closer. 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 trooper's use of deadly physical force against Mr. Ali was justified, and therefore OSI determined that criminal charges would not be pursued in this matter.