D.A.: Clarkstown cop cleared in fatal shooting of armed man

A Rockland grand jury found a Clarkstown police officer acted properly when fatally shooting Vincent Cordaro, who tried to kill police officers surrounding his house after he threatened family members in February, the Rockland District Attorney's Office said in a report released Thursday.

The officer was one of three marksman outside 58-year-old Cordaro's home, the 14-page report said. The fatal shot came after Cordaro fired rifle shots at officers trying to enter the locked house after dumping tear gas inside.

District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said Thursday that his office's report stated the grand jury found "the officer had an honest and reasonable belief that Mr. Cordaro was about to use or was threatening to use deadly physical force against him when he shot Mr. Cordaro.

"The grand jury found the officer's actions in using deadly physical force against Vincent Cordaro to be justified," Zugibe said.

The grand jury returned a "no bill," meaning there was no crime committed.

"Our concerns are and remain for the well being and future of both the Cordaro family and the officers involved in this incident," Clarkstown Police Chief Michael Sullivan said Thursday.

"My department was forthright and transparent in aiding with the investigation conducted by the Rockland County D.A. to ensure that a just and final determination could be made in this case."

The report concluded that Cordaro's judgment likely was impaired by alcohol. Laboratory findings found that Cordaro was drunk with a blood alcohol level of 0.265 percent, well above the legal driving limit, for example, of 0.08 percent.

Police also found 11 guns inside Cordaro's home at 67 N. Little Tor Road.

The tense situation began about 7:15 p.m. that Sunday night, Feb. 8, when a Cordaro relative told police he had threatened her at the house. She told officers that he brandished a shotgun, and threatened to kill her and other family members, police said.

She told officers she tried to wrest the gun from him but couldn't. She then quickly left the house, along with other family members and a tenant.

Police said negotiations with Cordaro asking him to surrender failed. He agreed to let a second tenant leave the house, police said.

While Cordaro had a criminal record for drunken driving and burglary, his neighbors said he was a good person who helped people with snow plowing and car problems.

A grand jury's deliberations are secret, but Zugibe said the law allows his office to release a report on the findings.

Twitter: @lohudlegal

Previous Rockland grand jury decisions

Rockland grand juries found previous shootings involving a police officer justified:

December 2011: Spring Valley police officer shot Herve Gilles to death in confrontation with Spring Valley police officer.

December 2008: Ramapo officer shot Thomas Jackson, 41, inside 96 Hempstead Road, New Hempstead after he advanced on the officer with a foot-long-plus knife.

July 2002: Police officers shoot to death Michael Aldridge, 16, of West Haverstraw after they say he fired upon officers following a robbery.

September 1999: Clarkstown police officers shot and killed Stephen Stafford, 23, after he stabbed a police lieutenant during a siege. Stafford had stabbed his mother and beat his father to death.

1995: South Nyack-Grand View police officer shot Todd D. Scott, 29, of Port Jervis after a robbery and a car chase across the Tappan Zee Bridge.

1995: A Rockland jail correction officer wounded inmate Alex Sostre, who tried to escape.

1985: Stony Point police officer shot Richard Losico, who had fatally shot his step-grandfather.

1981: Ramapo patrolman shot and killed Neil Bernstein, 23, while investigating a house burglary in Monsey.

Guidelines for use of force

• State and federal laws allow officers to use reasonable force to protect themselves and other people from certain crimes, such as attempted murder and robbery.

• Police officers are trained to defuse a tense situation with non-lethal methods, such as using a nightstick or pepper spray or fighting the suspect.

• An officer's actions in taking a life are reviewed by the police department, prosecutors and, sometimes, a grand jury.