Long Island cops fatally shot a man who charged at them with a BB gun rifle after he kissed his mother and promised her he would die at the hands of police, authorities said Wednesday.
James Rosano, 33, stormed out of his family’s house in Carle Place and pointed the BB gun at cops who were responding to a domestic disturbance call at the home placed by his mother, Nassau police said.
“Kiss me, I’m going to go outside and die at the hands of police,” Rosano had told her, according to police.
Rosano’s mother had told a 911 dispatcher just after midnight that her son was drunk, “out of control,” and refusing to leave, cops said.
Officers arrived and spoke with Rosano’s mom in the doorway before Rosano and raised what they thought was a shotgun in the “dark and dimly lit” home, officials said.
Officers shoved the mother out of the way and demanded Rosano drop the weapon several times they fired a round into his chest, according to police.
Rosano was rushed to NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island, where he was pronounced dead.
The gun Rosano had was later revealed to be a Crosman Legacy 1000 BB gun — nearly indistinguishable from a real shotgun.
“This is what was pointed at our officers, this is the threat, and that is what the police officers stopped,” Ryder said, holding up a photo of the BB gun.
Rosano battled alcoholism and drug use for years and had a lengthy rap sheet and a troubled history, police said.
His prior convictions included burglary, arson, DWIs and multiple assaults. Just days before the shooting, he was arrested twice — once in New York City and again on Long Island — for allegedly attacking his girlfriend.
Police records also show earlier calls about Rosano dating back to 2010 and 2022, involving depression, overdoses and intoxication.
The officers were not injured and their body cameras were turned over to the state’s attorney general’s office for an investigation into whether the shooting is justified — required for all police involved shootings.
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