COPS CLEARED
Juries in 2 shootings say Finest justified
Two Brooklyn juries refused to force NYPD cops to shell out money for damages in two shootings – including one fatal showdown, the Daily News has learned.
Panelists “found the officers involved were justified in their use of force,” in both cases.
On Thursday, a federal jury ruled in the city’s favor in a lawsuit leveled by a man whose son was shot and killed by cops on Hart St. in Bushwick on Nov. 18, 2013.
In his suit, Arnel Dasrath claimed officers should have realized his son Rexford Dasrath was emotionally disturbed and isolated him while calling for supervisors and Emergency Service officers.
Rexford Dasrath, 22, was shot five times after he banged on an NYPD patrol car with a 7-inch steak knife and lunged at officers who shouted at him to “Drop the knife!”
A source said the drama unfolded in a matter of seconds, with no time to wait for the elite Emergency Service Unit.
The source also said the city took a “no pay” position on the suit, indicating it did not want to settle before triwounding al. In the last few years, the city has made a point of fighting more suits in court, following years of criticism that it was too quick to pay out in actions against the police department.
Civil rights lawyers have said the settlements are often an indication that the city didn’t want a trial, fearing that bad police practices would be revealed.
In the other verdict, in state Supreme Court, a jury found officers were not liable for shooting and Daren Bledsoe in December 2013.
Bledsoe, 27, was shot after he bashed an NYPD officer in the face with a cane, police said.
The transit officers were on patrol when they encountered Bledsoe about pounding on the hood of their car, cops said.
A video obtained by The News shows the attack – and the shooting.
Bledsoe was arrested for assaulting a police officer, then pleaded guilty to weapons possession and got a conditional discharge.
The source said the city considered a settlement but that the NYPD “objected several times” and convinced municipal lawyers to fight the case.
Al Baker, a NYPD spokesman, said the two cases “highlight the fast-moving, often dangerous nature of police work.”
“After deliberate consideration of the facts, however, the correct verdict was reached in each case and the NYPD is encouraged by that,” Baker added.