The family of a man who died during a scuffle over an open can of beer at the New York Police Department claims officers used excessive and deadly force, according to a new lawsuit.
Shelton Ennis, 54, a well-known ex-parolee, died on June 26, 2025, after NYPD trainee officer Karl Yelenic chased and subdued him during a routine incident in upper Manhattan, court documents said.
“[Ennis] Live in the area. Michael Pecorella, the family’s attorney, told the Washington Post: “He had a great night. There was no reason for it to end this way.”
Body-worn camera footage shows Yelenik and Officer Mark Leander getting out of their vehicle near Riverside Boulevard and West 136th Street and approaching Ennis, who was holding a black plastic bag and leaning against the stone wall surrounding Riverside Park.
Ennis, who was charged with attempted murder and ultimately spent nearly 26 years in prison for a vicious drug offense, appears to be on the verge of turning his life around — apparently by throwing a beer can, according to the New York Daily News.
“Why throw it away?” Leandre said.
Ennis responded that it was empty, but Leandre went on to ask four more times why he threw it away, the video shows.
Leander then asked Ennis for identification, which the man said he kept at a nearby apartment, the video shows.
“I’m not bothering anyone,” Ennis told police.
“I just came out of the house to relax before going to work tomorrow,” said the man, who worked as a “resident assistant” at the Skyline Hotel in Hell’s Kitchen, colleagues told The Courant.
When police asked for his name, Ennis falsely said it was Cedric Ennis, according to the attorney general’s report on the man’s death.
The video shows Ennis repeatedly telling police he would show them his identification if they took him to his apartment.
“We don’t do that. … What we do is bring people back to the precinct and you can call someone. … It’s a violation to drink alcohol in public,” LeAndre said on body camera footage.
Ennis responded, “Call your sergeant.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Minutes later, footage shows Ennis starting to run between the two officers.
The video shows Jelenich chasing Ennis and throwing him to the ground from behind.
After Jelenik stood up, his body camera footage showed Ennis lying face down on the ground and unconscious.
“Rather than immediately render emergency assistance, Defendant Officer Leander immediately placed Shelton behind his back,” the lawsuit states.
After police handcuffed the unconscious Ennis, they called an ambulance and took him to the hospital.
Medical records show Ennis lost a pulse in the ambulance. He was pronounced dead upon arrival at Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital.
The medical examiner determined that the cause of death was hemopericardium caused by blunt force impact on the chest.
The Supreme Court ruled the death a homicide, but that did not mean a crime had been committed. Acts of self-defense and lawful use of force by police are two examples of homicide or involving the death of another person that do not necessarily result in criminal liability.
The state Attorney General’s Office, which is required to investigate every death involving police action, interviewed Yelenik, who said his intent was to arrest Ennis and handcuff him, not to tackle him and cause him to fall.
At the time of the incident, Jelenik was a probationary officer, less than a year after joining the NYPD. The NYPD Forces Investigations Division, which investigates police-involved incidents, remains investigating the case, officials said.
The police department would not say whether the officers are still on the job.
The attorney general’s investigative arm has decided not to charge anyone, concluding there was no significant evidence that Yelennik’s force was unlawful.
“There was no evidence that the officer intended to cause harm, and there was no evidence that the officer acted with criminal recklessness or criminal negligence,” the report said.
But in a lawsuit filed by the Ennis family on September 22, the deceased’s brother, Aaron Ennis, represented by the law firm Fredson Statmore Bitterman, accused the city and the two police officers involved of multiple civil rights violations, including use of force, alleged negligence and unlawful stops.
“We want you to know that the city did the right thing for this family,” Pecorella said.