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

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) today released its report on the death of Brandon Zurkan, who died on March 1, 2023 following an encounter with members of the Ontario County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) and City of Canandaigua Police Department (CPD) in Ontario County on February 28, 2023. After a thorough investigation, which included review of body-worn camera footage and witness cell phone footage, interviews with involved officers and civilian witnesses, and comprehensive legal analysis, OSI concluded that a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the officers’ actions were justified under New York law. 

Late in the evening on February 28, OCSO and CPD officers responded to a 911 call reporting a car driving erratically on Route 5 & 20, heading toward Canandaigua. The 911 caller reported hearing gunshots or fireworks coming from the car. An OCSO officer pursued the car into a parking lot next to 493 South Main Street in Canandaigua, where the car crashed into a fence. The driver of the vehicle, Mr. Zurkan, got out of the car with a gun in his hand. For several minutes, the OCSO and CPD officers repeatedly instructed Mr. Zurkan to drop the gun, but Mr. Zurkan failed to comply. Mr. Zurkan then appeared to raise the gun in the direction of the officers, and the officers discharged their service weapons in response, striking Mr. Zurkan. Mr. Zurkan was taken to a local hospital, where he died of his injuries shortly after midnight on March 1, 2023. Officers recovered a gun 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, officers were responding to a report of a car driving erratically with possible gunshots coming from the car, and when officers encountered Mr. Zurkan, he had a gun in his hand. Mr. Zurkan failed to comply with officers’ repeated instructions to drop the weapon, and instead raised the gun in the officers’ direction. 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 officers’ use of deadly physical force against Mr. Zurkan was justified, and therefore OSI determined that criminal charges would not be pursued in this matter.