The brother of a rookie NYPD cop fatally shot in the eye in his family’s Harlem home was a community activist who spoke out against gun violence and brushed shoulders with former Vice President Kamala Harris and Rev. Al Sharpton, colleagues said Tuesday as the state Attorney General’s office tried to determine if the new officer played a role in his sibling’s death.
Ousmane Diallo, 24, was shot in the right eye inside a third-floor apartment on Frederick Douglass Blvd. near Macombs Place around 1:30 a.m. Saturday, cops said. An official with the Attorney General’s office said Diallo’s brother, an off-duty NYPD officer, was with the victim when police arrived at the apartment.
It was not immediately clear what sparked the shooting. So far, no one has been charged in Diallo’s death.
“The National Action Network is heartbroken by the passing of our beloved member, longtime youth leader, and dedicated organizer, Ousmane Diallo,” the Harlem-based activist group led by Sharpton wrote in a Facebook post Monday, which features images of a smiling Diallo posing with Sharpton and Harris.
Diallo joined the National Action Network’s Youth Move Huddle, a youth engagement program founded by Sharpton’s daughter, Ashley Sharpton, as a teenager and had dedicated himself to community work ever since, NAN wrote.
“Over the years, he became far more than a participant,” the organization wrote. “He became a leader, a mentor, an organizer, and one of the young men who helped shape and strengthen our National Youth & College Division.”
Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News
Police investigate after a man was found with a gunshot wound to the eye inside an apartment on Frederick Douglass Boulevard and Macombs Place in Manhattan early Saturday. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
As Diallo outgrew the group’s youth program, he went to work as an organizer for NAN, gathering support for the 2023 March on Washington, a movement spearheaded by Sharpton to defend voting rights in response to a Supreme Court ruling weakening the Voting Rights Act. He also advocated on behalf of NAN in Washington D.C. and served families during holiday givebacks and pandemic food distribution efforts spearheaded by the group.
“To watch Ousmane grow from a teenager in our Huddle into one of Harlem’s brightest young public servants was a privilege and a blessing our organization will forever cherish,” NAN wrote.
Diallo participated in a Youth Huddle, this time as a leader, on the Monday before he was killed, leading a discussion on reducing gun violence.
“None of us knew it would be the last time we would hear his voice, share his smile, or witness his unwavering commitment to service,” the NAN post read.
Diallo’s LinkedIn lists him as a Legislative and Budget Director at NY State Assembly.
Members of the NYPD’s Force Investigations Division was looking into the possibility that the fatal shooting was accidental, according to police sources.
An email to the NYPD regarding the duty status of Diallo’s brother was not returned. Neither was an inquiry with the city’s Medical Examiner regarding the results of an autopsy.
A spokesman for the AG’s office said their office is tasked with investigating “every incident reported to it where a police officer or a peace officer, may have caused the death of a person by an act or omission.”
On Saturday, crime scene detectives were seen removing paper bags full of items from the apartment throughout the morning.
Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News
Police investigate after a man was found with a gunshot wound to the eye inside an apartment on Frederick Douglass Boulevard and Macombs Place in Manhattan early Saturday. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
Neighbors said the officer’s family had lived in the building for at least two decades.
“The family is a great family. They are lovely,” said a neighbor, 79, who only identified herself as Lynn. “Everybody in the family was very intelligent and I watched them grow up.”
“I just think they’re a fantastic family,” she added. “They stay together. Never bother nobody. They mind their business.”
Lynn said she couldn’t believe the NYPD rookie fired on his brother in anger.
“It had to be an accident because the two brothers, they loved one another,” she said, adding no one ever heard yelling coming from the apartment. “They were very close. That’s why we don’t know what’s going on.”
Neighbors didn’t recall hearing anything out of the ordinary before the shooting. The first indication they knew something was wrong was when they saw police cruisers outside.
“I didn’t hear anything,” Jason, 42, an upstairs neighbor, said. “Those people are very quiet.”