DUI Crash - Man Pleads Guilty to Crash that Killed Cop

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A Queens man pled guilty in the fatal crash that killed an off-duty NYPD Officer. -File Photo

By Dan Gesslein 

Queens Voice 

November 20, 2023 


QUEENS - A Queens man pled guilty in the fatal crash of an off-duty police officer. The driver, whose blood alcohol level tested over the legal limit, sped through a stop sign and slammed into the officer’s car, prosecutors said. 


Kassun Brown pled guilty to manslaughter in the fatal accident that killed Police Officer Michael Ellis who was off-duty and driving his own vehicle at the time. Brown admitted to running through a stop sign and crashing into Ellis in 2020. 


“The defendant’s recklessness prematurely took the life of a young NYPD officer,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. “We welcome the guilty plea and hope it will provide some solace to Officer Ellis’ loved ones.”  


Prosecutors said surveillance video showed Brown was driving a 2006 Nissan Maxima and it blew past a stop sign at the intersection of Nashville Boulevard and Lucas Street in St. Albans. 


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Brown’s car slammed into Ellis’ Nissan Altima causing the off-duty officer’s car to spin and slam into two parked cars. Brown’s car struck a telephone pole.  


Prosecutors said Ellis suffered traumatic brain injury. He held on for a month before dying on his 25th birthday on February 27. 


Brown’s blood alcohol content was .09 which was above the legal limit, prosecutors said.  


Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise indicated that he would sentence the defendant to an indeterminate term of six to 12 years in prison at sentencing on January 11, 2024. 



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