Subway rider shot in the head by police files claim accusing officers of recklessly opening fire

[October 04, 2024]  By CEDAR ATTANASIO

NEW YORK (AP) — A lawyer for a New York City subway rider who was inadvertently shot in the head by police at a station has filed a legal claim against the city, accusing the officers of showing “carelessness and reckless” disregard for the lives of others when they opened fire on a man holding a knife in front of a train. 

In this image from video provided by the New York Police Department, officers point their weapons towards Derell Mickles at the Sutter Avenue subway station in the Brownsville neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough of New York, on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (NYPD via AP)

Gregory Delpeche, 49, suffered a brain injury when he was hit by a bullet while riding the L train to his job at a Brooklyn hospital last month, according to the notice of claim, which is the first step in filing a lawsuit against the city.

The two officers opened fire on the man with the knife, Derell Mickles, after he entered the station without paying and refused to drop the weapon. They pursued Mickles onto an elevated platform, and briefly onto the train itself, demanding he relinquish the knife and deploying Tasers that failed to stop him.

Bodycam video later showed Mickles ran in the direction of one of the officers on the platform, though stopped when they pulled out their firearms. When they opened fire, he was standing still with his back to the train near an open door, where several passengers could be seen.

In addition to Delpeche and Mickles, the bullets also wounded one of the officers and another bystander, a 26-year-old woman.

The legal notice, filed Thursday by lawyer Nick Liakas, alleges Delpeche was hit due to the officers' “carelessness and reckless disregard of the lives, privileges, and rights of others" and says he is seeking $80 million in compensation.

It notes he “is currently suffering with multiple cognitive deficits including deficits in his ability to speak and to form words” and "remains confined to a hospital bed in a level-one trauma center.”

Liakas said that since the Sept. 15 shooting, Delpeche has been able to communicate “in few words, but with difficulty and delay.”

The city's law department declined to comment.

Police officials have defended the officers' actions. NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell previously described the shooting as a “tragic situation” and said “we did the best we could to protect our lives and the lives of people on that train.”

Mickles pleaded not guilty from a hospital bed to charges including attempted aggravated assault on a police officer, menacing an officer, weapons possession and evading his subway fare.

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