Chamberlain Shooting Death Shows More Transparency Needed: DA

WHITE PLAINS, NY — An independent review of the police-involved shooting death of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. found no new evidence that warranted the convening of a new grand jury.

Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah said the review of the circumstances and aftermath of Chamberlain’s death by members of her executive team did, however, identify areas where real analysis and reform are desperately needed.

“We are sharing our findings and recommendations in the hopes that we can improve the process in police-involved shooting cases to be more transparent, fair and compassionate to grieving families,” she said.

“When those of us in the criminal justice system acknowledge where we can do better, the increased transparency leads to more faith and trust in the system,” Rocah said. “More critically, it allows for prosecutors and law enforcement alike to take steps to ensure that tragedies like these are not repeated.”

Chamberlain was a 68-year-old former Marine. He suffered from mental illness and was shot and killed in his White Plains home on Nov. 19, 2011, following a confrontation with White Plains police after they responded to an accidental activation of his medical alert system.

The review said that the most common basis for a finding of good cause to resubmit charges is the discovery of new evidence.

New evidence means “evidence that the prosecution either did not know or could not have known through the exercise of due diligence at the time of the grand jury presentation.”

The independent review found there was no new evidence and, therefore, found no other basis to seek court authorization to resubmit charges to a new grand jury.

Rocah and her executive team raised serious questions about the following:

1. Whether Mr. Chamberlain’s death could have been avoided by better (a) protocols; (b) implementation of existing protocols; and/or (c) training of officers, all with respect to interactions with individuals suffering a mental health crisis;

2. Whether and to what extent WPPD adjusted its approach to the encounter given that officers on the scene knew that Mr. Chamberlain had been characterized as an “Emotionally Disturbed Person” and officers were provided information about his mental health issues;

3. Whether adequate attempts were made to de-escalate the situation by using either (a) members of the WPPD or surrounding departments who were specially trained in de-escalation techniques (particularly related to individuals with mental health issues), or (b) family members—both on scene, nearby, and available by phone;

4. Whether better supervision, training and oversight could have prevented conduct by the WPPD during the long standoff that arguably escalated the encounter; and 5. Whether the WPPD was sufficiently transparent about the inexcusable use of a racial slur by a WPPD officer toward Mr. Chamberlain, who is Black, during the long standoff preceding his death.

Based on her findings, Rocah made the following recommendations:

1. No matter the facts and circumstances, the WCDAO will treat every victim’s family with respect and dignity. In matters related to police-involved shootings, as is the practice in other cases, the DA’s Office should: (a) ensure that prior to empaneling a grand jury, prosecutors explain the potential charges with families of police-involved shooting victims and answer any questions the families may have about those charges; (b) do everything possible to give victims, families and the public confidence that the investigation is being conducted impartially; and (c) offer our robust victim services, such as trauma therapists, to grieving families. DA Rocah prioritizes the respectful and compassionate treatment of all victims’ families.

2. All Westchester County police departments should have consistent, updated and enhanced training and enforcement protocols on how to handle and de-escalate situations involving individuals with significant mental health issues, and make them available to the public. In 2022, Westchester County implemented mobile crisis response units with local police to provide 24-hour mental health and behavioral crisis support in emergencies, and the WPPD has recently increased the scope of its Mental Health Outreach Team. However, further measures are needed to ensure all 42 police departments are actually utilizing this County service and DA Rocah is calling on local lawmakers to propose legislation that requires specific training and procedures across the County (“the Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr. Law”). For example, Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics (“ICAT”) is a training program geared toward dealing with individuals suffering from mental illness who exhibit signs of threatening behavior and may be armed with a weapon that is not a firearm.

3. While recognizing that under current New York state law, the Office of the Attorney General is responsible for investigating any incident where there is a question about whether a death was caused by a police officer, DA Rocah and her team recommend that for all investigations into police-involved shootings, protocols be established to ensure that the police agency investigating the use of force by a police officer is truly independent and not susceptible to undue influence. For example, smaller police departments without dedicated internal affairs bureaus, should refer investigations into the unlawful use of force by one of its officers to another department and then remain entirely uninvolved. The WCDAO’s Public Integrity/Law Enforcement Integrity Bureau will be involved from the beginning of any investigation of a police-involved shooting over which the WCDAO has jurisdiction.

4. In police-involved shootings, once the grand jury process is complete, an assessment should be conducted by an official entity regarding what, if anything, the police, could have done differently to possibly avoid such a use of force. These assessments should be made available to the family and to the public to the extent permissible by law. In 2012, the City of White Plains issued a report entitled “An Analysis of the White Plains Police Department,” which contains a section and recommendations regarding the use of force against Mr. Chamberlain. In our view this was not a comprehensive or sufficient public assessment of this tragedy. For example, it makes no mention of Mr. Chamberlain’s status as an “Emotionally Disturbed Person” or his mental health issues, and the recommendations only focus on additional “tools” the police should have to make it easier to breach doors—there is no mention of the need for better de-escalation techniques.

5. The WCDAO will continue to reinforce a practice that DA Rocah implemented at the start of her administration to consider and submit all viable charges to the grand jury where there are competing, yet equally plausible, interpretations of events.

6. Following the conclusion of grand jury presentations in police-involved shootings over which the WCDAO maintains jurisdiction, the WCDAO should refrain from issuing broad and vague statements, which can be misleading and cause confusion. Instead, the office should strongly consider moving to unseal the charges submitted to the grand jury, as was done by this Office in the investigation of the killing of Kamal Flowers by the New Rochelle Police Department in 2020.

Rocah said it was clear that the Chamberlain family did not have confidence in the investigation and grand jury process. She said her office should have done more to help build that confidence and to help the Chamberlain family feel more supported throughout the process.

As the chief law enforcement officer in Westchester County, Rocah offered an official apology to the family of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr.