New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation announced on September 10, 2026, that it will not pursue criminal charges in the death of Djamshed Nematov following an encounter with New York City Police Department officers in Queens on March 8, 2024. OSI determined that a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the officers’ actions were justified under New York law.
Shortly before 7 p.m. on March 8, officers arrived at a Queens apartment building after 911 calls reported that a man was stabbing his wife with a knife. According to OSI, a caller told the responding officers that Nematov was armed with a knife on the building’s second floor, where officers then encountered him in a hallway holding a knife.
Officers directed Nematov to put down the knife, but OSI said he ran toward them with the knife raised and pointed in their direction. One officer deployed a Taser, while two other officers discharged their service weapons and struck Nematov. He was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead. Officers recovered two knives at the scene.
The investigation included interviews with the officers involved and reviews of footage from officers’ body-worn cameras, 911 calls and ballistic evidence, as well as a legal analysis. Under New York’s justification law, a police officer may use deadly physical force when the officer reasonably believes it is necessary to defend against another person’s use of deadly physical force. Based on the reported stabbing, Nematov’s failure to comply with directions to drop the knife and his movement toward officers while holding it, OSI concluded that the legal standard for pursuing charges could not be met.