Attorney General James’ office releases report on investigation into the death of Steven Zalewski in Dewitt

New York – The Office of Special Investigation (OSI) under New York Attorney General Letitia James has released its final report regarding the October 2023 death of Steven Zalewski, a man who died following a motor vehicle incident involving a Dewitt Police Department (DPD) officer. After an in-depth investigation, OSI concluded that there is insufficient evidence to support criminal charges against the officer involved in the tragic event.

Steven Zalewski was declared dead on the night of October 9, 2023, after a DPD officer, while responding to a call, drove over him on Bridge Street in Dewitt, a busy multi-lane road in Onondaga County. The incident occurred while the officer was driving a marked patrol car southbound at a speed well below the posted 40 MPH limit—traveling only 28 MPH in the lane nearest to the concrete median. Mr. Zalewski, for reasons still unclear, was lying in the roadway at the time of the incident.

According to the OSI report, the officer was not found to be speeding, distracted, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Body-worn camera footage reviewed during the investigation confirmed that the officer was not using his phone or any in-vehicle equipment at the moment of the incident. While a toxicology report later revealed that the officer was taking a prescribed medication, investigators determined there was no evidence the drug impaired his driving.

“OSI concluded that a prosecutor would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the involved DPD officer caused Mr. Zalewski’s death or committed a crime,” the report states. “Therefore, criminal charges are not warranted in this case.”

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Investigators also noted that the circumstances surrounding Mr. Zalewski’s presence in the roadway remain uncertain. It could not be determined whether he had already been struck by another vehicle or was already deceased before the officer’s vehicle ran over him. This uncertainty created a significant obstacle in establishing the legal causation required for criminal charges.

Under New York law, a charge of criminally negligent homicide demands proof beyond a reasonable doubt that a person’s conduct represented a gross deviation from the behavior of a reasonable person, and that this deviation caused another person’s death. In this case, investigators found that the officer’s actions did not rise to that legal threshold.

“The evidence does not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer’s conduct was a gross deviation of the standard that would have been observed by a reasonable person in the same circumstances, or that the officer consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death,” the OSI report concluded.

However, the report did not close the case without offering recommendations for improvement. A notable concern was the delay in toxicology testing of the officer after the incident. A Portable Breath Test (PBT) was not administered at the scene, and it took approximately two and a half hours before the officer provided a blood sample for analysis.

Although OSI ultimately found no evidence of impairment, it emphasized the need for improved protocols to ensure timely and accurate testing in future incidents. To that end, OSI recommended that all patrol officers and supervisors receive training in conducting PBTs and field sobriety tests. This would allow law enforcement to carry out prompt assessments when officers—or civilians—are involved in serious motor vehicle accidents, particularly those resulting in injury or death.

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“Determining the possibility of alcohol impairment is an essential component of investigating vehicular crashes,” the OSI report stated. “To ensure the most accurate results, testing must be performed as close to the time of the incident as possible.”

In addition, the report recommended that, in cases involving severe injury or death, officers should be asked to voluntarily consent to toxicology testing. This approach, OSI suggests, would help maintain public trust and the integrity of investigations into police-involved incidents.

The death of Steven Zalewski remains a sorrowful chapter in the Dewitt community, where questions still linger about how and why he came to be lying on a busy street in the dark of night.

Despite the lack of criminal charges, the incident has raised important concerns about current procedures, both in terms of how such tragedies are investigated and how evidence is collected in their aftermath.

While the Attorney General’s Office did not find grounds for prosecution, the report shines a light on areas within police departments that can and should be strengthened. With its recommendations, OSI hopes to reduce ambiguity and improve accountability in future cases that involve law enforcement and motor vehicle incidents.

The report stands as a stark reminder of the complex nature of investigations into deaths involving police officers. It also underscores the balance between legal standards of proof and the need for public transparency. As communities across New York continue to grapple with questions of justice, oversight, and police conduct, this case adds yet another layer to the ongoing conversation about how law enforcement interacts with the public—and how those interactions are scrutinized when tragedy strikes.

No further comment has been issued by the Dewitt Police Department or the family of Mr. Zalewski at the time of publication.