Attorney General James’ Office of Special Investigation Releases Report on Death of Miles Dignean

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) today released its report on the death of Miles Dignean, who died on March 21, 2025 following an encounter with members of the Oswego County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) and the New York State Police (NYSP) in Oswego County. After a thorough investigation, which included review of footage from body-worn cameras and crime scene evidence, interviews with involved officers, a ballistics report, and comprehensive legal analysis, OSI concluded that a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the officer’s actions were justified under New York law.

At 12:48 p.m. on March 21, members of the OCSO and the NYSP went to a house in Constantia, Oswego County to serve Mr. Dignean with an order of protection. The order required him to stay away from certain persons, including a child who was present at the house. The OCSO had also received a 911 call requesting a welfare check at the house. Officers spoke to Mr. Dignean, and when they told him they needed to remove the child due to the order of protection, a struggle ensued during which Mr. Dignean swung a metal object at officers, striking a NYSP trooper in the head. As the struggle continued, an OCSO deputy fired his gun, striking Mr. Dignean. Mr. Dignean was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

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, during a struggle with the officers, Mr. Dignean grabbed a large metal object, swung it, and struck a NYSP trooper. Mr. Dignean then continued struggling with officers. 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 officer’s use of deadly physical force against Mr. Dignean was justified, and therefore OSI determined that criminal charges would not be pursued in this matter.

The OSI learned during the investigation that OCSO did not have a written policy in place regarding responding to and handling calls associated with people in crisis. The OSI recommends that OCSO, and all law enforcement agencies, implement written policies and improve training for dealing with people in crisis.

The OSI further recommends that the New York State Legislature pass, and Governor Kathy Hochul sign, Daniel’s Law, which would ensure a public health-based response to anyone in New York experiencing a mental health, alcohol use, or substance use crisis. If passed and enacted, Daniel’s Law would develop a crisis response system consisting of non-police, community-run crisis first responder teams. Crisis response teams would respond when an emergency hotline receives a call reporting an individual experiencing a mental health, alcohol use, or substance use crisis. Teams would consist of non-police emergency medical technicians in addition to peers and family members.

The OSI consistently recommends that all police departments – including OCSO – equip officers with body-worn cameras.