Samuel Williams NYPD Bridge Crash Report: OSI Says No Charges, But The Tactic Still Needs Receipts

BadPD source-check, June 21, 2026; source date June 8, 2026: The New York Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation released its report on the death of Samuel Williams, who died after a May 28, 2023 collision involving an NYPD vehicle on the University Heights Bridge.

The official finding is not a criminal charge. OSI says a prosecutor could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the involved officer committed a crime. That no-charge conclusion matters. So does the other half of the public record: OSI described the bridge-blocking maneuver as deeply troubling and said it found no evidence NYPD authorized or trained officers to do that maneuver in those circumstances.

BadPD is publishing this as a records brief because the public accountability question is bigger than the charging decision. The report raises unresolved policy, discipline, training, pursuit, and supervisory questions that should be answered with records, not rumor.

What OSI Says Happened

According to the AG release, a group of NYPD officers assigned to the Manhattan North Community Response Team drove over the University Heights Bridge from the Bronx to Manhattan in four unmarked police cars on May 28, 2023. At the same time, Williams was riding a dirt bike in the opposite direction, leading a group of dirt bikes and ATVs.

The release says two unmarked police cars turned into the opposite lanes in an attempt to slow traffic and stop the bikes. Williams drove around the first car before colliding with the second. OSI says he suffered a visibly broken leg, was alert and speaking after the collision, was arrested at the scene, underwent surgery at a nearby hospital, and died the next day from complications.

The OSI report says the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner determined that Williams died from complications from the collision and deemed the death an accident. It also identifies Officer Raymond Perez as the driver of the police car that Williams struck and says NYPD determined Perez’s actions, when he turned into oncoming traffic, were outside department guidelines.

The No-Charge Finding Is Not A Clean Bill Of Health

OSI’s legal analysis turns on proof beyond a reasonable doubt and the law governing police emergency driving. The report says the evidence did not establish the speed of either the police car or Williams’ dirt bike at the moment of impact, and that the available evidence was insufficient to prove criminal recklessness beyond a reasonable doubt.

That is a narrow criminal-law conclusion. The same report says the actions of officers who drove into oncoming traffic were deeply troubling, presented a clear risk to life and limb, and caused Williams’ death. OSI also says it found no evidence NYPD ever permitted such maneuvers in those circumstances or trained officers to perform them.

The report adds a later policy benchmark. NYPD revised its vehicle-pursuit policy effective February 1, 2025. OSI writes that, under the changed policy, the officers would not now be authorized to conduct even an ordinary pursuit of Williams, because Williams had committed, at most, non-violent misdemeanors.

What Records Are Still Missing

A public no-charge report does not answer the whole accountability file. The next records should show whether NYPD disciplined anyone, retrained the Community Response Team, changed bridge-blocking or dirt-bike response tactics, reviewed supervisors, audited prior similar maneuvers, and notified the public about the exact policy repair.

Specific missing receipts include NYPD internal discipline results, CCRB or internal-affairs records if any, vehicle-pursuit policy memos before and after February 2025, Community Response Team directives, training materials, supervisor review, CAD and radio chronology, event-data or vehicle-location records, officer work histories relevant to pursuit tactics, and any civil-court filings.

Confirmed, Pending, Disputed

Confirmed by NY AG OSI: Williams died after a collision with an NYPD vehicle; OSI investigated under Executive Law Section 70-b; OSI will not seek criminal charges; the report says the maneuver was deeply troubling and that no evidence showed NYPD authorized or trained the maneuver in those circumstances.

Pending: NYPD administrative discipline, policy-repair records, civil litigation status, supervisory accountability, and whether the Community Response Team’s current practices fully reflect the later pursuit-policy change.

Disputed or not proven in the source trail: BadPD is not saying the officers committed a crime. OSI says the criminal case could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. BadPD is also not resolving civil liability, departmental discipline, or family claims in this brief because those records were not attached in this run.

The bottom line is simple: the criminal no-charge conclusion is one receipt. The policy repair file is another. Williams’ death should not be treated as closed until NYPD’s tactic, training, and discipline records are public enough for residents to see what changed.

Source Trail

• New York Attorney General OSI release: Samuel Williams report (June 8, 2026) – Primary official release: OSI says Samuel Williams died after a May 28, 2023 motor vehicle incident involving NYPD members and that no criminal charges are warranted.
• New York Attorney General OSI report: investigation into the death of Samuel Williams (June 8, 2026) – Primary official report: 30-page source for facts, legal analysis, NYPD pursuit-policy context, training/tactic concerns, and no-charge conclusion.