Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf is a New York Plaintiff's personal injury law firm specializing in automobile accidents, construction accidents, medical malpractice, products liability, police misconduct and all types of New York personal injury litigation.

Articles Posted in Police Brutality

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NYPD misconduct cost a lot of money to New York tax payersNew York City has expended over $500 million in police misconduct settlements over the past six years, with nearly $115 million disbursed in 2023 alone. An analysis, provided by the Legal Aid Society, not only quantifies the financial ramifications of these settlements but also underscores a systemic issue that demands urgent and comprehensive reform.

As a legal professional specializing in police misconduct, the figures presented are not just a testament to the financial burden on the city’s coffers but a reflection of deeper, more insidious problems within our law enforcement institutions. The rising median payout in these lawsuits, from $10,500 in 2018 to $25,000 in 2023, signifies an alarming trend in the nature and severity of misconduct allegations. It is indicative of a troubling escalation in the consequences of policing practices, particularly on marginalized communities disproportionately affected by these actions.

The backdrop to these settlements is a history of aggressive policing tactics from the 1990s, aimed at curbing the soaring crime rates but at a significant cost. The wrongful convictions from this era, predominantly impacting Black and Hispanic individuals, have left a lasting scar on the fabric of our community. The case of detective Louis N. Scarcella, whose dubious investigative methods led to the wrongful conviction of 14 individuals, is a stark reminder of the catastrophic impact one individual can have within a flawed system.

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Amadou_DialloAs we mark the 25th anniversary of the tragic death of Amadou Diallo, our hearts are once again with his family and all those who have been affected by similar injustices. Amadou, an unarmed 23-year-old immigrant from Guinea, was killed on February 4, 1999, by plainclothes officers of the New York City Police Department’s Street Crime Unit. The loss of Amadou under a hail of 41 bullets, based on a grievous misjudgment, is a moment that remains etched in the memory of our city and our nation.

Our firm had the solemn privilege of representing Amadou’s family in their quest for justice and accountability. Although no legal outcome could ever compensate for the loss of a loved one, the $3 million settlement reached with the City of New York in March 2004 was a recognition of the profound wrongness of the actions that led to Amadou’s death. It was one of the largest settlements of its kind under New York State’s “wrongful death law”, highlighting the gravity of the negligence, wrongful death, racial profiling, and violations of civil rights that occurred.

The acquittal of the officers involved did not deter us from our pursuit of justice, nor did it silence the voices demanding change. Instead, it galvanized a movement towards police reform and accountability that continues to this day. The disbandment of the Street Crime Unit in 2002 and the ongoing calls for transparency and fairness in policing are testaments to the enduring impact of Amadou’s story.

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Daniel Pollack and Jamie TesterToo often people shot or brutalized  by police are suffering mental issues or drug addiction and have trouble finding stable housing. In a recent article published in Policy & Practice, the flagship publication of the American Public Human Services Association, Daniel Pollack, a professor at Yeshiva University’s School of Social Work in New York City and Jamie Tester Morfoot, an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire’s Social Work Department describe how the city of Eau Claire in the Midwest created a Criminal Justice Collaborating Council (CJCC) that studied the life of a victim during the entire year previous to being shot by the police and as a result proposed changes in Eau Claire County services systems to prevent such shootings.

Responding police teams now have a mental health professional with them and may have access to information related to the personal mental health history of the person they are going after. The county jail also added mental health services. The County Treatment Courts has redefined its terms to be more accessible to drug dealers fighting addiction. Eau Claire also created a Free Mental Health Clinic that will be expanded and also studies options to expand affordable housing.

“By embracing the uncomfortable conversations around how service systems may have failed an individual, Eau Claire County has implemented changes resulting in improved outcomes for its citizens in need of additional supports. By reframing gaps in service as a community issue, instead of just individual government system issues, the human services provider leadership is striving to create better outcomes for all Eau Claire community members.”

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NYPD1Disciplinary records of NYPD officers who committed police brutality, abuse or misconduct have been kept secret from the public until last month. Last June, Governor Cuomo signed a bill to repeal section 50-A of the New York Civil Rights Law that was protecting police officers and firefighters who committed misconduct by keeping their record hidden from the public (see previous blog).

After that law was repealed, Pro Publica obtained all the records from every active-duty officer who had at least one substantiated allegation against them between September 1985 and January 2020. With these records, Pro Publica created a fully searchable database. The database can be searched by officer name, badge number or by precinct. The database can be searched here.

A total of 3,996 officers who logged a total of 12,056 complaints are listed in the database

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protest against police brutalityUntil last week New York police officers who committed misconduct or abuse had their disciplinary reports kept secret from the public. It is not the case anymore. Governor Cuomo signed a bill on Friday to immediately repeal provision 50-a of the New York Civil Rights Law  that was shielding  police officers, correction officers or firefighters with a history of misconduct from public accountability.  Some elements such as the address of the police officer as well as his phone number and medical history will not be made public for understandable reasons.

I Can’t Breath

The repeal of 50-a is following major protests not only in NY but across the nation against police brutality toward black people and systematic racism and injustice.  On May 25th, the murder of Georges Floyd caught on video and showing former Minneapolis police officer  Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than 8 minutes while he was begging him to stop and telling him he couldn’t breath, started nationwide protests that are still going one as today.

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covid-19-236% of patients who are hospitalized for Covid-19 have heart injury and have a higher risk of death according to a recent study by Anu Lala, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Anu Lala’s team studied the records of 3000 patients who checked in at the emergency room of five New York City hospitals during the first two weeks of April. Among these 3000 patients. 60% of them were male. The average age was 66 year old. 25% were self-identified as African American and 26% were self identified as Hispanic or Latino. A quarter of them had a history of heart disease and another quarter had cardiovascular risk factors.

High level of Troponin is an indicator of  myocardial injury or hearth damage

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even Hills School Hillsdale campus from aboveA teenager died after being crushed by a defective car seat after making two agonizing phone calls to 911. Sixteen year old Kyle Plush was in his van, a Honda Odissey, on the parking lot of the Seven Hills School – Illsdale Campus in Madisonville, OH when the second-row seat accidentally tipped forward slowly crushing the young man to death. 46 people previously reported minor injuries for a similar issue and Honda issued a recall of this model last year to fix the problem.

“I probably don’t have much time left, so tell my mom that I love her if I die,”

As the seat was crushing him, Kyle picked up his cell phone and called 911 begging for help. He told the operator he was at “Seven Hills” but she couldn’t understand where it was. He made a second call and told the operator “I probably don’t have much time left, so tell my mom that I love her if I die,” he said. “I’m trapped inside my gold Honda Odyssey van. In the (inaudible) parking lot of Seven Hills Hillsdale. Send officers immediately. I’m almost dead.”

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pedestrianIn Jacksonville, Florida, the police has been issuing hundreds of tickets to pedestrians.  Tickets are not only issued for jaywalking or crossing at the red light but also for crossing at the yellow light or “failing to cross the street at a right angle”.  The police also ticketed pedestrians because they were walking on the right side of the road instead of the left side when there were no sidewalks on both sides of the road. In other cases pedestrians were ticketed for walking on the road when a sidewalk was available.

A pedestrian ticket in itself is not such a big deal however if it is left unpaid it can damage a credit history or lead to a driver license suspension.

In a recent investigation ProPublica asked the sheriff why so many pedestrians were ticketed in Jacksonville. The sheriff replied that his city had one of the highest pedestrian fatality rates in the country and that tickets were the best way  to save lives.

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NYPD logoNYPD killed an emotionally disturbed man who was holding a knife and a fake gun yesterday night in the Bronx. The killing was recorded on official NYPD cameras.

A landlord worrying that he hadn’t seen his tenant for a long time called 911 to ask the police to check on him. Two officers showed up at  a building located on Pratt Ave. When they entered the tenant’s apartment around 4:00 pm  they found a disturbed 31 year old man holding a knife in his hands. His other hand was hidden behind his back. The officers noticed it was a small gun and asked the man if it was real. For an hour the two officers tried to negotiate with the man, asking him to drop his knife and come out. They finally asked for back up. According to the police, when more officers showed up, the man aimed the silver pistol at the cops. At this point one officer fired his taser and two others their service weapons, striking the man several times. The video hasn’t been released yet. Police recovered the knife and a toy gun. The video footage hasn’t been released by the NYPD yet. Read more in the NY Daily News

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New York Civil Right Attorney DonadioOur NY civil rights attorney Christopher J. Donadio recently lectured at the American Association for Justice Winter Convention in Austin, Texas. He was asked to speak at the convention to educate plaintiff’s lawyers from around the country on how to litigate cases where police officers have unlawfully used Tasers to injure innocent people.

As of 2016, over 97.5% of police departments in the United States employ officers that carry Tasers, devices that can incapacitate a person with electricity. Although Tasers can be useful in reducing the need for deadly force, unfortunately, many officers have used them inappropriately and severely harmed and/or killed innocent people. As a result, there has been a rise in lawsuits involving the excessive use of Tasers. Despite the seemingly straight forward nature of cases involving excessive force by the use of a Taser, there are complicated legal issues, including the Qualified Immunity Defense, that can prevent those injured from obtaining justice.

Unfortunately many innocent victims have been denied justice because their attorneys did not have the knowledge to negotiate the various complex legal issues. As a result of Mr. Donadio’s success in litigating Taser cases, he was asked to educate lawyers from all over the country as to what must be done to insure that their clients are not denied justice.