On the night of March 16, 2000, 26-year-old Haitian-American security guard and father of two Patrick Moses Dorismond was standing with a friend outside a New York City cocktail lounge when an undercover narcotics officer approached and asked where to buy marijuana. Dorismond vocally denied being a dealer and a confrontation quickly turned physical. Accounts diverge sharply: police said Dorismond struck an officer and wrestled for a service weapon, while friend Kevin Kaiser said the officers were aggressive, did not identify themselves, and that one officer hit Dorismond first. Detective Anthony Vasquez said he drew his gun, was grabbed, and the weapon discharged once, fatally striking Dorismond in the chest; Dorismond bled to death from a wound to his aorta and lung.

A grand jury later concluded the shooting was accidental and declined to indict Vasquez; no criminal charges were filed. The city settled a wrongful-death suit with Dorismond’s family for $2.25 million in March 2003. Was anyone in the area that night able to see what started the physical altercation or the moments leading to the shot?