Family of woman wrongfully shot by police in Bronx files lawsuit against NYPD
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Bronx (WABC) -- The family of a woman critically injured by a police officer's stray bullet in the Bronx is filing a $10 million lawsuit against the NYPD.
The family of 45-year-old Irene Perez filed a notice of claim against the department Monday in connection to the Dec. 5 incident.
The family's attorney, Sanford Rubenstein, says Perez was hit when an officer fired 27 shots while chasing a drug suspect in University Heights.
She was walking with her daughter and a friend's 3-year-old boy at the time.
The family's attorney said the officer was excessive and negligent and created an unreasonable risk of danger to innocent bystanders.
"Twenty-seven shots with a pause to reload fired by a police officer while sprinting, even in a situation in which police had been fired at, is excessive and negligent and created an unreasonable risk of danger to innocent bystanders of which Irene was one," Rubenstein said.
Perez's family said she had to undergo three surgeries to repair several vital organs. She has been in the hospital since the shooting and her family says she will never be the same.
A 12-year-old girl also suffered minor injuries when she was hit by metal fragments.
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