The New York City police department apologized for mistakenly accusing a teenager of a fatal shooting at a Brooklyn parade, then failing to retract the false allegation for nearly five months, despite knowing it was incorrect. The NYPD said an image it circulated on social media of Camden Lee, a 15-year-old Brooklyn resident, “mistakenly stated that he was wanted for the fatal shooting” at the West Indian American Day Parade in September, the Associated Press reports. “The NYPD should have immediately corrected this misstatement,” added the department’s new chief spokesperson, Delaney Kempner. “We apologize for the error and will continue to seek justice for the victims of this shooting.” The apology followed reporting by The Associated Press on the NYPD’s monthslong refusal to retract the allegation, which prompted death threats against the teenager and questions about the department’s policies for correcting misinformation. Even after police quietly deleted their online accusations and privately conceded that Lee was not a suspect in the killing, the NYPD refused to walk back the allegation, ignoring pleas from Lee’s family.
In its updated statement, the police department said Lee was a “person of interest” in the shooting, which remains unsolved, since he was “on the scene before, during, and after the incident.” They did not elaborate on why Lee was identified among thousands of others at or near the crowded scene or why the mistake was not fixed earlier. “Even in their apology, they’re painting him with a brush of culpability to cover their mistake,” said Wylie Stecklow, an attorney for Lee’s family. “They’re downplaying what they did and not owning up to the fact that they put him in harm’s way.” Lee’s mother, Chee Chee Brock, described the statement as a “superficial apology” and questioned why it was not released earlier. She said the family had not heard directly from anyone in the police department about the mistake. The apology, a rare admission of fault by the NYPD, comes as the new police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, has vowed to restore trust in a department rocked by turmoil and turnover. Last month, the NYPD agreed to reform its social media practices after an independent monitor highlighted unprofessional posts by some executives and other online misrepresentations.
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