Thomas Tracy
New York Daily News
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Staten Island prosecutors have cleared the NYPD of any wrongdoing in a fatal 2018 shooting where a machete-wielding man was killed and a police officer was wounded by friendly fire, officials said Saturday.
In a 44-page report dated Feb. 24, Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon said that the two officers who fatally shot Faustino Dioso on Dec. 9, 2018, “had no choice but to fire in order to stop Mr. Dioso from killing or inflicting serious physical injury on them.”
Dioso, 50, was drunk and combative when police showed up to quell a heated argument between Dioso and a tenant in his Bridge Court building in Wadsworth.
When Police Officers Salvatore Balistreri and Amir Pali arrived, Dioso demanded to know why they were there and if they had a warrant, authorities said.
He then retreated to his cluttered basement apartment and pulled out a machete-type knife that he swung at the officers, police said.
Pali can be heard on body camera footage yelling, “Don’t reach for that knife,” while Dioso repeatedly yells, “Shoot me, shoot me!” police said.
One of the two cops shot Dioso with a Taser, but one of the electric prongs didn’t hit his body. After a violent struggle, both Pali and Balistreri opened fire, blasting 12 rounds. Dioso was hit seven times.
One of Balistreri’s bullets hit Pali near his abdomen, and whipped around his upper torso but did not puncture his chest cavity, authorities said. Dioso’s knife also cut Pali’s left hand, sources said.
Dioso died at the scene. Pali was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was treated and released.
Cops said Dioso did not have a criminal record — but police were called twice in 2014 to a different Staten island address to break up disputes involving him, officials said.
“While I sympathize with the family of Mr. Dioso, our internal investigation concluded that police officers were justified in their use-of-force during this tragic incident,” McMahon said in a statement. “As District Attorney, I have an ethical and moral duty to fully investigate such cases and make a determination that is supported by the available evidence.”
The DA’s report is the first from the borough and will provide “greater transparency to the public regarding these critical incidents,” McMahon said.