NYPD Officer Turned Away Murder Suspect Who Tried to Surrender in Washington Heights

Murder suspect Tiliek Shamel Thompson was sent away from a Washington Heights precinct when he tried to turn himself in, the NY Post Metro reports.

NYPD Desk Officer Sent Away Murder Suspect Who Tried to Surrender

A man accused of fatally beating 27-year-old Lovay Williams in front of her 7-year-old daughter tried to turn himself in at a Washington Heights police station — and was turned away, the NY Post Metro reports.

Tiliek Shamel Thompson and two cousins arrived at the 33rd Precinct around 5 a.m. on Sept. 11, five days after Williams was found dead in her apartment on 156th Street with trauma to her face and neck. The NYPD acknowledged that officers "dropped the ball" during the encounter.

Thompson's attorney, Neville Onielle Dexter Mitchell, said the cousins told the desk officer why they were there. "His two cousins said, 'You're looking for him,'" Mitchell recounted, explaining they referenced Williams' death directly.

The desk officer replied, "I just came back from vacation. Nobody's here," according to Mitchell.

An NYPD spokeswoman, after reviewing audio and video of the encounter, offered a different account. She said the family never told the officer that police were specifically looking for Thompson. The officer instead believed the three were relatives of the murder victim, she said, and passed that understanding on to his sergeant. The vacation remark, the spokeswoman added, was meant to explain that the officer had been away when the killing occurred. He then gave one of the cousins a phone number for squad detectives and sent the group on its way.

Thompson, whom police sources described as a "person of interest" at that point, successfully surrendered to police on Saturday night. Williams, who relatives told the Post had been dating Thompson, was found dead on Sept. 6. Her daughter was discovered unharmed in the apartment.

Current and former officers expressed frustration at the outcome. A senior police officer, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the group should never have been allowed to leave. "If he went there and said he was there to turn himself in, they should have investigated," the officer said. "Even if detectives aren't there, you can call them. I'm sure they'd love to take a homicide collar."

Former NYPD Detective Michael Alcazar was equally direct. "Even if detectives weren't there, they should have notified nightwatch," he said, referring to the detectives squad that covers the midnight-to-8 a.m. shift. "You got a homicide suspect turning himself in so you detain him until the squad gets there."

Alcazar also offered a broader assessment of the department's current state. "I'm not surprised if they turned him away," he said. "We're scraping the bottom of the barrel." The NYPD hired 4,056 new officers in 2025 — the largest single-year intake in department history — after previously lowering its required college credits from 60 to 24 to boost recruitment numbers.

Alcazar predicted consequences for those involved. "The supervisor is gonna get jammed up," he said. "In fact, the commanding officer is gonna get jammed up, because it's his command."

Source: NY Post Metro