SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Seconds before the gunshots began on Darien Drive in Salina on a tragic night in April, Syracuse Police Officer Michael Jensen asked his partner why no one was answering him over the radio. He had tried to get on the same channel as the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Deputies on scene; instead, he was met with silence, part of what the Syracuse Police Chief now describes as “communication issues.”
The apparent miscommunication between Jensen and dispatchers was revealed in the New York State Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation’s (OSI) report on the use of deadly force against Christopher Murphy. The 33-year-old had ambushed officers at his home when they tried following up on a traffic incident which had occurred earlier that evening, shooting and killing Jensen and Onondaga County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Hoosock.
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When officers arrived, they reported hearing someone prepare to fire a rifle from inside the home. From there, they had a series of split second decisions to make as the job went from routine to life threatening.
Citing the recordings of the body cameras on the officers that had responded, the AG’s report shows that no one had eyes on Murphy before he started firing. The deputies had flanked the house, with Lt. Hoosock going alone to the neighbor’s backyard. The Syracuse officers remained towards the front of the house. From there, the two groups lost sight of each other…