HARLEM, NY — A New York City Police Department officer will not face criminal charges in the death of a 54-year-old man he tackled in Riverside Park last year during an arrest, according to the New York Attorney General's Office.
Shelton Ennis died on June 26, 2025, after Officer Karl Yelenic chased him and took him to the ground near Riverside Drive and West 136th Street, Attorney General Letitia James said.
The city medical examiner found that the impact tore a wall of Ennis' heart and ruled his death a homicide.
The attorney general's Office of Special Investigation concluded that a prosecutor could not "prove beyond a reasonable doubt" that Yelenic committed a crime.
The encounter began shortly before 10 p.m., when Yelenic and another officer said they saw Ennis toss an open can of beer over a wall. They approached him to issue a summons for an open-container violation, according to the report.
Ennis told the officers he did not have identification with him and offered to get it from his nearby apartment. He gave them a name and date of birth that the report says were false. After the officers said they would take him to the precinct to establish his identity, Ennis ran, James said.
Yelenic chased Ennis and wrapped his arms around Ennis' upper body from behind. Both men fell forward. Ennis became unresponsive when he hit the ground, the report says.
Officers called for an ambulance. Ennis was breathing but unresponsive when emergency medical workers arrived at 10:13 p.m. He was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital at 10:49 p.m.
The medical examiner found that the impact to Ennis' chest tore part of his heart, causing blood to collect around it and preventing it from pumping properly.
The examiner said the injury was fatal within minutes without immediate surgery.
For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.
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