WHITE PLAINS — Public Safety Commissioner David Chong confirmed today that city Police Officer Anthony Carelli fired the shots that killed 68-year-old Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. during a standoff at Chamberlain’s apartment in November.
Chong said that information, along with all evidence gathered by police, has been turned over to the Westchester District Attorney’s Office, which is preparing to present the case to a grand jury.
“The White Plains Department of Public Safety has cooperated fully with the Westchester County District Attorney’s office in their investigation,” Chong said in a statement, which says the DA’s office was notified shortly after the shooting and responded to the scene.
“Within a matter of days the Public Safety Department was advised that this matter would be presented to a grand jury,” the statement says. “The department has turned over all evidence in its possession to the District Attorney’s office. We are confident that the presentation to the grand jury will be thorough. Given the pending nature of the presentation we will have no other comment until the grand jury completes its investigation and the findings are made public.”
Police had not released the name of the officer who shot Chamberlain until today despite repeated calls from his family to do so.
Carelli joined the department in 2004. Chong would not say whether he has been assigned to desk duty since the Nov. 19 shooting. The incident has been receiving widespread media attention in recent weeks following the Feb. 26 Trayvon Martin shooting in Florida.
A former Marine and retired corrections officer, Chamberlain was killed at his 135 S. Lexington Ave. apartment by officers who responded after family members said his medical alert device accidentally went off. The family said Chamberlain told police that he was OK and that there was no emergency and the medical alert company called to cancel the alarm, but officers insisted that Chamberlain let them in to make sure everything was all right.
Police said Chamberlain was emotionally disturbed and screaming and tried to attack them with a hatchet and a knife and was shot with a stun gun and beanbags before an officer shot him with his handgun. The family says that audio and video recordings shown to them by DiFiore's office tell a different story. Chamberlain Jr. said his father was unarmed, with his hands by his sides when police broke down his apartment door and immediately shot him with a stun gun.
The family has repeatedly called for police to name the officer who shot Chamberlain and said they want him charged with murder. The family has also filed a notice of claim announcing their intention to sue the city.
DiFiore met with Chamberlain Jr. and his lawyers last week and assured them that all evidence in the case will be presented to a grand jury.
Chamberlain Jr. and his lawyers were not immediately available for comment this morning.