UTICA, N.Y. (AP) - Authorities say an off-duty Albany police officer won’t face charges for fatally shooting a man who was robbing him at knifepoint in Utica.
Utica police say 34-year-old Christofer Kitto of Albany used his personal handgun to shoot 35-year-old Shatelle Hooks of Syracuse around 5 a.m. Monday at a residence. The shooting was found to be “justifiable homicide.”
Police say Kitto had been at the nearby Turning Stone Casino and was carrying more than $3,000 in cash. While he wasn’t charged with the shooting, he was charged with patronizing a prostitute.
Police Sgt. Michael Curley tells the Utica Observer-Dispatch that Hooks was an acquaintance of the woman who lived at the residence where the shooting occurred.
Albany police said Kitto has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.
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