Trial for man accused of killing of RPD officer only allowing 10 uniformed officers in court room

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Kelvin Vickers, the man accused of killing Rochester Police Officer Anthony Mazurkiewicz, is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday at 2 p.m. for a pre-trial hearing.

His murder trial is scheduled to start next week. When he does, only 10 uniformed police officers will be allowed in the courtroom.

The decision to only allow 10 uniformed officers in the courtroom was not made solely for this case. The precedent was set years ago. Officers in plain clothes are still allowed to attend the trial.

RPD says Kelvin Vickers came to Rochester to kill rival marijuana dealers. He and the two other men are believed to be part of a nationwide gang.

Police say Vickers ambushed and shot Officer Mazurkiewicz and his partner, Officer Sino Seng, on Bauman street in July 2022. The officers were doing an undercover investigation into the marijuana trade.

Seng was wounded but survived. A 15-year-old girl was also shot during the ambush. Vickers had been released from a Massachusetts maximum security prison less than a month before Officer Mazurkiewicz was killed.

Vickers was charged with the second-degree murder Officer Mazurkiewicz. He’s also charged with attempted murder, assault, and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

District Attorney Sandra Doorley had wanted to try Vickers and his accused co-conspirators together with three separate juries. The judge denied Doorley’s request. The trial is expected to take a month according to the district attorney’s office.

Remembering Officer Mazurkiewicz:

• Watch the ‘Today’ show’s piece on fallen RPD Officer Mazurkiewicz (July)
• Widow of slain RPD Officer Mazurkiewicz speaks out amid one-year mark of his death (July
• Former RPD officer finishes multi-state marathon in honor of slain colleague (June)
• Softball benefit held in memory of slain RPD Officer Mazurkiewicz (Apirl)
• Family and friends honor fallen RPD officer at funeral (Aug. 2022)
• RPD Chief, officers remember fallen Officer Mazurkiewicz (Aug. 2022)
• Local barber honors fallen RPD officer Tony Mazurkiewicz (July 2022)

More about the trial:

• Vickers to be tried separately in RPD officer’s murder case (Aug.)
• U.S. Attorney: Bloods in Rochester last summer, gang war led to murder of Officer Mazurkiewicz (June 2023)
• Gang-affiliated drug war exposed by RPD included shootings, murders and arson over marijuana (Oct. 2022)
• RPD: Alleged cop killer hired to kill rival gang members in an ongoing marijuana drug war (Oct. 2022)
• RPD says Kelvin Vickers came to Rochester alongside others to kill rival marijuana dealers (Oct. 2022)
• Kelvin Vickers pleads not guilty to murder of RPD officer (Aug. 2022)
• Accused cop killer has a long rap sheet that starts when he was 12 (Aug. 2022)