It’s no secret that the NYPD and the New York Corrections system has failed many victims in the past but a new report shows that in 2017 the city was forced to pay out a record-breaking amount to settle lawsuits and claims against law enforcement agencies in order to compensate victims unjustly detained, imprisoned, injured and convicted of crimes they didn’t commit. Indeed, according to an annual report released by the NYC comptroller, the city paid out a staggering $308.2 million last year to victims and family members of those unfairly hurt by the justice system.
Some of these shocking individual settlements for false arrest in New York City and injuries due to excessive force reach into the millions of dollars.
The largest portion of that figure went to victims who were wrongly convicted of crimes they didn’t commit. In one case just resolved earlier this year, a man spent 19 years in prison, wrongfully convicted of murder. He served his full sentence, was released from prison, then spent the next ten years trying to clear his name and set the record straight.
There have also been several high-profile cases this past year involving police brutality, excessive violence, and false arrest in New York City as well. In one such lawsuit, an NBA player successfully won a settlement in the amount of $4 million after officers broke his wrist while arresting him on charges that were later dropped. In another, a man was paid $1 million after an officer drove his cruiser through a stop sign, smashed into the back of the victim’s car, and arrested the man for driving while intoxicated even after extensive testing showed no alcohol in his system at all. The charges against him were later dropped.
If you’ve been wrongfully detained or injured without provocation by officers of the NYPD, contact an experienced wrongful arrest attorney in New York City today. Call the Law Offices of Nussin S. Fogel at 800-/34-9338 or 212-385-1122 to schedule your free consultation right now.