Died of asthma in cop custody; ma gets $2.6M

The mother of an asthmatic man who died in police custody has received a $2.55 million settlement after fighting the city in court for five years.

Barrington “BJ” Williams, 25, died of an asthma attack with his hands cuffed on the floor of the Yankee Stadium subway station on Sept. 17, 2013, while cops stood over him. He was suspected of selling illegal MetroCard swipes.

The tragedy drew comparisons with the death of Eric Garner, the Staten Island man who was also asthmatic and died in a police chokehold. Williams’ mother, Karen Brown, sued in 2015.

“Ms. Brown’s determination to achieve justice for her son and make our community safer by holding the NYPD accountable has sent a strong message to all officers — that using CPR and an [automated external defibrillator] is not optional. Officers trained to save lives must follow their training,” Brown’s attorneys Jason Leventhal and Joshua Moskovitz said in a statement.

“Saving BJ’s life was not an option. Nothing can fill the loss of BJ to his family, friend and this world. He was an amazing young man, a dedicated and loving son and brother, a doting uncle and a great friend,” the lawyers added. “This case now shines a bright light on BJ’s life, which would have been saved if the officers had used their training.”

A judge who presided over the longrunning suit said the case raised serious concerns about the NYPD’s handling of evidence. The NYPD initially claimed radio calls capturing Williams’ final minutes as he died had been destroyed. Manhattan Federal Judge Kevin Castel then ordered an NYPD official to declare under oath the department was telling the truth. Suddenly, the radio calls materialized.

“It is only when someone from the legal affairs bureau or some person within the NYPD is going to have to put their name on a declaration and under penalty of perjury — and if they are lying, they can go to jail and lose their job — that we get accurate information,” Castel said last year.

The settlement likely ends an ongoing fight about whether the city misled the court about evidence in the case.

“The lawsuit revealed that all the officers responsible for BJ had been extensively trained and knew how to use CPR and an [automated external defibrillator] but they all shockingly testified that this training was optional,” Levanthal and Moskovitz said.

Williams’ arrest was captured on surveillance video in the station. A cop tackled him and put him in handcuffs at 1:57 p.m. Cops rolled Williams on his side but did not give him CPR or retrieve an automated external defibrillator stored in the station, only a 25-second walk away, according to court documents.

At 2:14 p.m. a Fire Department medic administered chest compressions but could not revive Williams, who had gone into cardiac arrest.

The NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau investigated and found no wrongdoing by any officer. An NYPD spokesman deferred comment to the city Law Department.

“Settling this longstanding and tragic case was in the best interests of all parties. We hope this agreement brings some measure of closure to the family,” the Law Department said in a statement.

The city had argued that the cops did not have a constitutional obligation to provide CPR.

“There was no clearly established right to have a police officer perform CPR, or use an [automated external defibrillator], on an individual who has an asthma attack during the course of an apprehension,” city attorney Angharad Wilson wrote.