In a crisp surveillance image, the 15-year-old stands alone in a hoodie and shorts, eyes cast down on a Brooklyn street. “The pictured individual,” police declared in an accompanying caption, had “discharged a firearm” at the West Indian American Day parade, killing one person and wounding four others.

“I see the NYPD logo. I see me. I see ‘suspect wanted for murder,’” Lee recalled. “I couldn’t believe what was happening. Then everything went blurry.”

In private, police backpedaled almost immediately. After meeting with Lee and his lawyer, they declined to bring charges, then quietly removed his photograph from their X and Instagram accounts. But they have not publicly acknowledged the retraction, ignoring the repeated pleas of Lee and his mother, who say their lives remain threatened by the falsehood.

The family’s search for answers has raised questions about the NYPD’s policies for correcting misinformation at a time when the department is already facing scrutiny for other social media misrepresentations.