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 Tagged with New York Police Brutality Lawyer

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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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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.

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altonsterlingPhilando CastilleAlton Sterling and Philando Castille are the two most recent victims of an epidemic of police brutality and discrimination against African Americans all over this country. These two men died this week in two separate incidents during which both of them were literally executed by the police.

On Tuesday a gruesome video circulated among social media and news channels showing two policemen from Baton Rouge, Louisiana murdering Alton Sterling while they were  holding him down on the ground. The video shows that he was not resisting.

A day later, Philando Castille was in his car with his wife and daughter in Falcon Heighth, Minesota, when he got stopped by the police for a a defective tail light. As he was reaching to his back pocket get his I.D in his wallet the cop  shot him for no reason. His wife streamed a video live on Facebook as he was dying in front of her.

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New York Personal Injury lawyer Anthony GairOur partner Anthony Gair who represented the mother of Amadou Diallo, who was shot at 41 times by NYPD officers was quoted in an article from the New York Times related to the $ 5.9 million settlement received by the family of Eric Garner from the City of New York.

The case of Mr. Garner’s death differed from other killings by the police because of video capturing his final pleas for breath and because of the number of children who could claim damages. Five are named in the release forms. “I was dealing with someone who left no dependents and there was no conscious pain and suffering because he died instantly,” said Anthony H. Gair, the lawyer for the family of Amadou Diallo, killed in hail of police bullets in 1999. The city made no significant offer “until the very, very end,” he said, ultimately settling the case for $3 million. This amount is the largest amount that has ever been paid by the city of New York in a wrongful-death action for the death of a single individual with no dependents.