New York’s attorney general will not pursue criminal charges against an officer who fatally shot a man during a 2025 encounter involving a sword at a Poughkeepsie home.
The attorney general’s announcement of the Office of Special Investigation report says prosecutors could not disprove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer’s use of deadly force was justified under state law. The conclusion is about whether the state could prove a criminal case at trial.
Brian Czornyj died June 5, 2025, after members of the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department responded to a 911 call. The caller reported that Czornyj was armed with a sword and had struck his father and a member of a mobile crisis team from Mental Health America of Dutchess County, according to the report.
The crisis team had gone to the home earlier that day after a request for assistance. When officers entered, they saw Czornyj holding a sword by its grip while his father held the same sword by its blade, the attorney general’s office said.
At least one officer repeatedly ordered Czornyj to drop the sword and warned that he would shoot. Czornyj did not comply, according to the report, and the officer fired his service weapon. Czornyj was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Investigators recovered a samurai sword at the scene.
The office said its investigation included interviews with the officers and civilian witnesses, body-worn camera footage, 911 calls, police records and a legal analysis. The release did not identify the officer who fired or specify the number of shots.
New York law permits deadly force when a person reasonably believes it is necessary to defend against another person’s use of deadly force. Given the reported injuries, the sword in Czornyj’s hand and the commands to drop it, the office said a prosecutor could not meet the burden of disproving justification at trial.
The report closes the attorney general’s criminal review without charges in this case.
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