NEW YORK (AP) — The family of a man who was left permanently disabled after he was shot in the head during a road rage encounter in New Jersey, allegedly by an off-duty New York City police officer, has filed a lawsuit against the city and police department arguing that the officer was an alcoholic and a “ticking time bomb” who should not have been carrying a department-issued gun.
Officer Hieu Tran has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and other charges stemming from the May 17 shooting of 30-year-old Kishan Patel while authorities say they were stopped at a traffic light in Voorhees, New Jersey.
The shooting and the crash that followed left Patel a quadriplegic who will require round-the-clock care at a skilled nursing facility for the rest of his life, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court by Patel’s mother, Manjina Patel.
Prosecutors in Camden County, New Jersey, allege that Tran shot Patel while they both were stopped at a red light. Surveillance footage showed that Patel’s car sped into the intersection and crashed into other cars, injuring a woman in one of them.
Police responded and found Patel with a head wound.
Tran drove to his home in Yonkers, New York, and later reported to his job at the NYPD’s communications office, prosecutors contend.
Detectives used surveillance video, cellphone records and ballistics evidence to identify Tran as the shooter, according to prosecutors. He was arrested on June 6 and is awaiting trial on charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault and weapons possession.
During a pretrial detention hearing in June, defense lawyer Ross Gigliotti said a psychiatric examination found that the 27-year-old Tran suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and an alcohol-abuse issue, and he called the shooting “an aberration.”
Assistant Prosecutor Peter Gallagher called Tran “a ticking time bomb waiting to go off” and said there was “no guarantee that this was a one-time event.”
The judge denied Tran bail.
According to the lawsuit, Tran’s alcoholism and mental health problems were known to his police superiors and should have disqualified him from serving as an armed officer, but he was nonetheless carrying a department-issued 9mm pistol that he used to shoot Patel.
The suit seeks unspecified damages and names the city, the police department, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, former Police Commissioner Edward Caban and several unnamed police officials as defendants.
Tran was suspended from the police department without pay following his arrest. A spokesperson said the department would not comment on pending litigation.
Messages seeking comment were left with the New York City law department and Gigliotti, Tran’s attorney.
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