ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — The Rochester Police Department released the name of the officer who shot and killed 29-year-old Tyshon Jones outside the Open Door Mission on March 10. He was identified Tuesday as Officer Matthew Drake.

Police say Jones stole knives from the kitchen of the Open Door Mission then left the building. Police footage shows responding officers making repeated demands for Jones to drop the knife. RPD Chief Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan said Jones threatened to kill the officers, and said officers would have to kill him.

The chief said the officers retreated more than 400 feet before Jones charged at them with a knife. The RPD identified Officer Matthew Drake Tuesday as the responding officer who fatally shot Jones at that point.

Drake has been a member of the RPD for just over 13 years. He has been assigned administrative duties pending an investigation into the fatal shooting, which is standard policy.

Drake’s RPD disciplinary records can be viewed through the City of Rochester’s police department discipline database. They reveal three incidents for which Drake was reprimanded in the past, none of which involved officer-involved shooting incidents.

• Drake was reprimanded twice for “failing to care for Departmental equipment,” once for hitting a stump with his car and a second time for hitting a person.
• Drake was suspended without pay and lost vacation time for driving a man and two women to their homes without first notifying dispatch, a violation of RPD policy.

July 4, 2011 incident

According to police records, Drake drove through a vacant lot on Samuel McCree Way and hit a tree stump with his RPD vehicle “on or about” July 4, 2011, causing damage to the vehicle. Paperwork states Drake “failed to exercise reasonable care” in this instance.

On September 19, 2011, Drake was officially reprimanded for “failing to care for Departmental equipment.”

“The Rochester Police Department is committed to providing quality service to the community, while maintaining the proper care and usage of the property and equipment assigned to or used by its members,” reads the letter signed by then-Chief James Sheppard. “I trust that your conduct in the future will be consistent with this commitment. This matter may be taken into account if it becomes necessary to impose discipline upon you in the future.”

May 7, 2013 incident

Police records show Drake was called to the scene of a fight involving 75 people along Jefferson Avenue at Frost Avenue on May 7, 2013. He used a horn to try to break up the group when he got there.

The report, written by police, goes on to say a woman walked in front of Drake’s patrol car. When Drake swerved to avoid hitting her, he hit someone else. That person was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital with complaints of leg and back pain.

“This accident was avoidable,” the investigating officer writes. “Officer Drake’s initial approach into the crowd caused this accident.”

The report also states that this incident was Drake’s “third avoidable accident within 36 months.”

Drake was once again reprimanded for “failing to care for Departmental equipment,” even though the records state the car was not damaged in this incident.

“You are advised that this conduct or further similar conduct on your part may result in disciplinary action,” the intra-departmental correspondence states.

January 27, 2019 incident

Early in the morning of January 27, 2019, police records show Drake violated RPD policy when he offered to drive a woman home from Murphy’s Law in his patrol car, then instead drove her to RPD Central Section, where he switched to his personal vehicle.

Rachel Coons, who was 22 at the time, testified that she and a friend were waiting for an Uber when Drake offered to give them and the bar owner a ride home. She said the bar owner, a man, was dropped off first in the Park Avenue area. Coons said her friend was dropped off on East Avenue next.

Coons said Drake offered her the front seat once they were alone in the car, then told her he couldn’t take her home because he had to return his patrol car. She said he pulled into a garage and asked her to get into his personal vehicle.

“That’s when I knew what was happening was not okay,” she said. “I didn’t leave because I realized that it was all fenced in, the garage.”

Coons called a roommate, who called an Uber for her, but she says she was unable to get out of the garage to find it. While searching for a way out, she said she ran into Drake and another officer.

“He looked to the female officer and said that he was trying to be nice by offering me a ride home and now he’s regretting it,” she said. “And then I proceeded to get very upset because I knew that if he would have just taken me home when my friend was dropped off home, it would have only taken five more minutes.”

In his written testimony, Drake said “I explained several times to the complaintant that I was not familiar with the east side of the city and needed her address to put it into my GPS. The complaintant stated that she would just tell me how to get there. After driving all the way north to the Irondequoit border without direction from the complaintant I pulled over and she provided a numerical address.”

Coons said she got into Drake’s personal vehicle, but stayed on the phone with her roommate until she was home. She said Drake did not make any inappropriate comments or requests during the ride.

RPD policy requires officers to notify a dispatcher whenever they are about to transport anyone of the opposite gender or who is transgender. Drake pleaded guilty to violating that policy. He was suspended without pay from July 22, 2020 through July 25, 2020 and had 24.75 hours taken from his vacation time.