ALBANY – The State Attorney General’s Office is investigating the fatal shooting of a man by a state trooper while the man was walking on Interstate 84 in the Town of Montgomery.
State Police, meanwhile, have released the identity of the dead man as Luke Patterson, 41, of Tannersville.
Governor Cuomo signed an executive order on July 8, 2015 requiring the attorney general to investigate all deaths of unarmed civilians by law enforcement and that investigation has already begun in Orange County.
Patterson abandoned his van on the highway around 2 a.m. on Thursday and was walking on the road when two state troopers passed him while on patrol.
One officer got out of the police car and questioned the man while the other trooper drove slowly alongside them.
Police said Patterson was uncooperative and then dove into the patrol vehicle at which point the officer outside shot him.
The State Police are conducting an administrative investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
