A cop involved in a police pursuit veered into oncoming traffic on a Manhattan bridge and struck and killed a dirt bike rider, recently released body camera footage of the 2023 crash reveals.
Samuel Williams, 36, was recklessly riding an unregistered dirt bike in Manhattan when he entered the University Heights Bridge heading toward the Bronx on May 28, 2023, according to police.
That’s when an officer heading in the other direction — who was pursuing raging dirt bikers in the area — suddenly veers over the double yellow line into Williams’ path, causing him to slam into the police cruiser and fly into the air, according to body cam video released by New York Attorney General Letitia James‘ office on Friday.
An NYPD spokesperson would not provide any details on the incident, citing pending litigation.
Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said Williams was driving recklessly when police attempted to stop him.
“These police officers were doing the job they were sent out to do, trying to stop unregistered mopeds from being driven recklessly on the city’s streets,” Hendry said. “This is a tragic case, but the investigation needs to look at all of the facts and circumstances.”
Attorney Jamie Santana said that police targeted Williams for riding an illegal vehicle on city streets, a violation that merely merited a traffic summons and the seizure of his illicit ride.
Instead, the officer risked a deadly maneuver that left Williams with an agonizing and ultimately fatal leg injury that claimed his life at St. Barnabas Hospital the following day, the attorney said.
Williams’ family is suing the NYPD in state court, plus demanding Attorney General James bring criminal charges against the officer, who is only identified in body camera footage by his last name, Perez.
“This was not a situation where there was a question of whether the officer’s life was in danger,” Santana said. “[Williams] wasn’t doing 100 mph … He wasn’t suspected of any felony.
“Officer Perez intentionally used his vehicle to cross the double yellow line … thereby causing Mr. Williams to be ejected from his bike and sustain a horrible, horrible injury to his leg.”
The footage released by James’ office shows another NYPD vehicle ahead of Perez attempting a similar blocking maneuver that Williams narrowly avoided.
Perez’s partner’s body camera footage was also revealed, and shows the officer trying to take a swipe at a passing motorcyclist with an asp as he gets out of the cruiser and goes over to Williams.
Williams’ bike is seen on one wheel, thrown against the bridge wall.
Other footage not released publicly, but presented to Santana and the victim’s family, shows police detaining an injured and handcuffed Williams on the hood of a police vehicle as he begs officers to let him rest on the roadway, the attorney said.
“He was there suffering for some time before the ambulance showed up,” the lawyer said. “He was begging for officers to remove him from the hood of the vehicle so he could be placed on the [ground] to hopefully alleviate some of the pain to the horrible injury he sustained to his leg.”
The only communication Williams’ family says they received from the city after his death was a $3,429.23 bill sent by city Comptroller Brad Lander’s office to his mother two months after the deadly crash — a claim for payment for damages that Perez’s vehicle sustained in the crash, Santana said.
Lander on Saturday blamed a lack of communication with the NYPD for the claim being sent to the late Williams’ family.
“I’m outraged by this. It appears that the NYPD sent us a report that failed to tell us that Mr. Williams had died, or even that it was a police chase, and that we relied on their report in sending a claim form,” Lander said in a statement to the Daily News. “I am deeply sorry for the family’s loss, and I am initiating an internal review of our processes to make sure nothing like this happens again.”
Williams, the father of a 7-year-old girl, lived in the Soundview section of the Bronx and worked at a convenience store, his sister Sha-Sha Prince said.
He had a close relationship with his only daughter, who has struggled in the wake of her father’s death, Prince said.
“They were really close,” Prince said. “It’s really, really hard for her to know her dad is not here … they killed him and left us with no answer as to why or what was the reason,” she said.
So far this year, seven New Yorkers have been killed and at least 315 have been injured during police chases, the bicycle advocacy group Transportation Alternatives said.
NYPD car chases have surged during the Adams administration as police tried to curtail the use of illegal dirt bikes and ghost cars — vehicles with fake license plates — NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell explained last year.
“People thinking they can take off on us — those days are over,” he said at a July 6, 2023, press conference.
While the policy shift has drawn criticism from police watchdogs who say the risks outweigh the potential upsides, the NYPD insists high-speed chases are sometimes necessary.
“Pursuing any car is inherently dangerous,” Chell said last year. “You’ve got to strike that balance [of] when you’re going to do it, how you’re going to do it … I tell bosses if you don’t think it’s a go, you call it off.”
After receiving staunch criticism about police pursuits, the NYPD switched gears, implementing new policies in which supervisors must approve police pursuits based on a number of factors, including if the decision to pursue could harm the public.