No charges will be filed against a New York state trooper who fatally shot a man following a pursuit in Sullivan County, closing the criminal review of a deadly encounter that took place two years ago. The decision brings a resolution, at least on the question of prosecution, to a case that ended with a man dead after a police chase.
State police say the trooper, identified as Russell Peters, shot 32-year-old Albert Melendez of Middletown. The shooting happened in the town of Thompson, in Sullivan County, at the end of a pursuit that authorities say turned dangerous in its final moments before the trooper opened fire on the man behind the wheel.
According to investigators, the encounter escalated when Melendez failed to stop for police. They say his car then struck the trooper before the shots were fired, a detail that placed the officer's use of force in the context of a moving vehicle bearing down on him during the confrontation on the road.
That sequence proved central to the outcome of the review. The Attorney General's office, which examines cases in which police use deadly force, said prosecutors could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the trooper's use of deadly force was unjustified. Under that standard, the office determined that no charges would be brought.
Alongside the decision, body camera video of the encounter has been released, offering a look at how the deadly moment unfolded. The footage captures the tense final seconds of the stop, including the sound of the shots ringing out, as the trooper responded to the car that authorities say had just struck him.
Two years after the shooting in Thompson, the release of the video and the announcement that no charges will be filed mark the conclusion of the state's criminal review. The case leaves behind the questions that follow any fatal police encounter, even as prosecutors said the evidence did not support charging the trooper who fired.