The temporary guardian of a New York City subway rider who was inadvertently shot in the head by police officers at a Brooklyn station last month has filed an $80 million legal claim against the city, accusing the officers of “carelessness and reckless disregard” for the lives of others when they opened fire on a man holding a knife in front of a train.
Gregory Delpeche, 49, a city hospital worker, was shot Sept. 15 while he was riding the L train. He suffered a traumatic and significant brain injury, according to the notice of claim, which is the first step in filing a lawsuit against the city.
Delpeche “remains confined to a hospital bed in a level-one trauma center,” the filing says.
Two officers opened fire on the man with the knife after he entered the station without paying his fare and refused to drop the weapon. In addition to the man, identified by police as Derell Mickles, and Delpeche, one of the officers was wounded in the shooting and a 26-year-old woman suffered a graze wound.
The police department’s 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.”
In response for a request for comment Friday, a spokesperson for the NYPD said the department “will review the lawsuit if and when we are served.”
A few days after the shooting and amid mounting criticism, the police department released video from cameras worn by the officers and other cameras in the station and on a subway car.
The video shows the officers follow Mickles up the stairs to a platform. They repeatedly tell him to drop the knife and he ignores their commands. At one point, Mickles standing with his hands behind his back says, “I’m not dropping it, you’ll have to shoot me.” They tell him to show them his hands and he tells them to leave him alone. When an L train pulls into the station, he gets onto one of its cars. The officers follow him and again order him to drop the knife as passengers look on. After he doesn’t comply, they fire their Tasers, which fail to subdue him. He removes the Taser prongs from his shirt and walks off the train.
Once on the platform, Mickles holds the knife with the blade open. The officers follow him out and he runs in the direction of one officer, who runs backwards. When the officers pull their guns, Mickles appears to be standing still. His hands are at his sides and he’s in front of the train still holding the knife. As Mickles turns his head slightly to the left, they fire multiple shots. Mickles falls into the train while the passengers inside flee. The officers fire almost a dozen shots between them, the video shows.
Mickles has pleaded not guilty to charges including attempted aggravated assault on a police officer, attempted assault, menacing a police officer, criminal possession of a weapon and evading his subway fare. A judge set his bail at $200,000. His attorney did not immediately reply to a request for comment Friday.
“There is no amount of money that can make up for the harm that Gregory has suffered — we can only hope to make his life more manageable by providing him with enough resources to take care of all of his medical needs,” Nick Liakas, an attorney representing Delpeche’s family, said in a statement Friday. “The NYPD caused irreparable damage to this innocent bystander and to avoid further tragedy, major policy changes must be considered, including eliminating the use of highly ineffective tasers on civilians.”
The city’s law department said it had no comment.
