Pedestrian Killed by Police Car
A few minutes after midnight this past Sunday morning, Khalid Hussain, age 63, of Brooklyn, was struck by a police car while crossing the street. He died from his injuries. The accident occurred at Coney Island Avenue between Avenue C and Cortelyou Road, in Brooklyn.
Police say that Hussain "lurched" into the marked police car. Other reports say that he stepped out in the middle of the street, while looking away from the direction from which the police car was coming.
The police officers were not on an emergency call, and did not have on their emergency lights and siren. The officers passed mandatory Breathalyzer tests.
Hussain was pronounced dead at Lutheran Hospital.
Commentary: In an emergency situation, the police can not be held liable for simple negligence, under New York’s Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 1104. The City of New York may be required to respond in damages for personal injury only if the officer's conduct demonstrates a reckless disregard for the safety of others, which is defined as "the conscience or intentional doing of an act of an unreasonable character in disregard of a known or obvious risk so great as to make it highly probable that harm would follow and done with conscience indifference to the outcome." In plain English, it’s near impossible to sue police fire or ambulance for a motor vehicle accident. Such cases are routinely thrown out of court. Note thast this case presents a non-emergency, an entirely different circumstance.
