Bodycam footage showing the moments before Suffolk County Police shot and killed Bruce Boyd in Brentwood on Friday, April 4.

By Michael Mashburn From Daily Voice

Long Island police officers were legally justified in using deadly force against an ex-Rikers Island jail guard during a welfare check, New York Attorney General Letitia James said.

Bruce Boyd, 54, was shot to death by Suffolk County Police after he charged at them with a knife raised at his Brentwood home on Wurz Street Friday, April 4, according to police.

A report released Thursday, Nov. 13, by the AG’s Office of Special Investigation concluded that prosecutors would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt that officers acted lawfully.

New York Attorney General’s Office

Police were called to the residence around 12:10 p.m. for a welfare check but their knocks on the door went unanswered, as Daily Voice reported. A neighbor contacted Boyd’s wife, who was at work, and she returned home to let officers inside.

Moments after stepping through the doorway, Boyd’s wife ran back out of the house. Officers then retreated across the front lawn as Boyd emerged from a hallway “covered in blood” and holding a knife in each hand, the attorney general’s office said. Police repeatedly called his name and ordered him to drop the weapon.

Boyd exited the house with one knife raised over his head and charged toward an officer, officials said. When he closed to within a few feet, officers fired their service weapons, striking him. Two knives were recovered at the scene, police said. Body-worn camera footage captured the encounter.

Bruce Boyd.

Bruce Boyd.

Facebook/NYC Corrections DESI Society

Boyd suffered two self-inflicted stab wounds before officers arrived, according to Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina. Officers administered CPR, but Boyd was pronounced dead at South Shore University Hospital. No officers were hurt.

Boyd was a retired New York City Department of Correction officer who had served at Rikers Island. He retired in 2020 and was honored at a ceremony that summer.

Under New York’s Executive Law, the attorney general’s office investigates all incidents in which a police officer may have caused a death by action or omission. When the investigation is complete, OSI issues a formal Notification of Investigative Findings before publishing a full report.