Albany County District Attorney David Soares says his office will not prosecute a city man who was paralyzed when he was shot by an Albany police detective in August. Ellazar Williams, 19, was shot by James Olsen, who was cleared by an Albany police department report before a grand jury declined to charge him in December. Soares said in a statement Tuesday:
“It is my job as District Attorney to conduct a thorough and independent investigation into charged crimes separate from an initial police investigation. This matter was fully and thoroughly investigated by my staff, with the ultimate conclusion that while there may be a credible case to be made, there is nothing to be gained. Punishment of Mr. Williams is not in anyone’s best interest.”
As WAMC reported in August, police spokesman Steve Smith says the shooting came after police were called to the 200 block of Central Avenue for reports of a large fight involving a handgun.
"When the detectives, who were in the vicinity of the area, saw a suspect matching the description, they attempted to stop that suspect and the suspect fled on foot, leading the officer son a foot chase for several blocks to the rear of 395 Elk Street," Smith said. Shots were fired. Smith says Williams carried a large knife.
Williams was charged with Menacing a Police Officer and Criminal Possession of a Weapon.
Advocates for Williams, who filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, contended surveillance video showed Williams was shot in the back, not while running toward Olsen, as police said.
