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NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced the indictment of ex-NYPD officer Errick Allen, on charges of Murder in the Second Degree, Manslaughter in the First Degree, and Menacing in the Second Degree.
The indictment alleges Allen, an off-duty New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer, shot and killed Christopher Curro, in Farmingdale, Nassau County in May 2020.
Allen was arraigned today before Judge Francis Ricigliano of the Nassau County Court, and was remanded. Allen is due back in court on September 23, 2021. Murder in the Second Degree carries a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
“We trust our police officers to protect the safety of New Yorkers, but instead, this defendant allegedly betrayed that duty and used his service weapon to end another man’s life,” said Attorney General James. “My office is committed to ensuring justice is served and that no individual is above the law.”
Allen who is 28, and Curro, who was 25 at the time of his death, both lived in Nassau County. They were longtime friends, but text messages indicated they were in a dispute.
On May 12, 2020, shortly after 8:00 pm, in a residential neighborhood in Farmingdale, New York, Allen is alleged to have killed Curro by shooting him five times at close range, including twice in the head, with his NYPD service weapon. Curro was unarmed. Allen initially fled the scene but returned later in the evening.
Allen, who had been a police officer for seven months, was suspended by the NYPD immediately after the shooting, and later terminated.
The Attorney General is the prosecutor in this matter pursuant to New York Executive Order 147.
Criminal charges are accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until found guilty at trial or by plea.
