Victim’s attorney responds to no charges for former Troy police officer
Video recently released by the New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office shows the collision between a Troy police car and another car in February 2023.
Officer Justin Byrnes was responding to a call, driving west on Hoosick Street in Troy, when at 15th Street, he crashed into another car that had come into the intersection.
Sabeeh Alalkawi was killed.
Authorities say Officer Byrnes was going more than 70 miles an hour as he went through a red light with lights and sirens on.
Investigators say Byrnes braked and swerved, but hit Alalkawi’s car, killing him.
Police bodycamera video is on as Officer Byrnes tries to help Alalkawi, who was a husband and father of three children, including nine month old twins. His family says he was on his way back to a pizzeria after his last delivery.
Another police bodycamera captured what Byrnes said after the crash at the scene.
“I was backing Tanner up. He got to the intersection a little bit ahead of me. I slowed down, lights and sirens. I did a quick look, punched it through,” he said.
Byrnes was given a breath test, and registered zero for alcohol.
He lost his job with Troy police last year.
The city of Troy paid nearly $5.8 million to settle a lawsuit related to the crash. Attorney Donald Boyajian represents the Alalkawi family.
Monday, the New York Attorney General’s Office said it will not seek criminal charges against Byrnes, finding a prosecutor could not prove reckless manslaughter beyond a reasonable doubt.
“My reaction and the family’s reaction is one of disappointment,” said attorney Boyajian. “They’re certainly appreciative of the investigation that was done. We met with the investigator over time. In looking at the report, it’s clear that a lot of work went into the investigation. And we’re certainly cognizant of the fact that to charge somebody criminally you have to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. And so the family understands it and they accept it, but they’re disappointed. At the same time, while they can never close the book on the loss of this wonderful father and son and brother, this allows them to close a chapter and move forward because this has been extraordinarily difficult. This is a wonderful family and there’s no amount of money and no criminal prosecution that’s going to bring their loved one back. Sabeeh. And so I suppose the silver lining here for them is they can now move towards closure of this chapter. As I said the book never closes when you lose someone like this.”
Boyajian says the Alalkawi family has opened a pizza place in Ballston Spa, fulfilling Sabeeh’s dream.