$4.3-Million Award to Mugger Wounded by N.Y. Police Upheld
A state appeals court has upheld a $4.3-million award to a man who was shot by police and paralyzed while mugging an elderly man in a subway station.
The state Supreme Court’s Appellate Division on Thursday upheld a jury’s finding that Bernard McCummings was the victim of excessive police force. The damages must be paid by the city and the New York City Transit Authority.
McCummings served 2 1/2 years in prison for the 1984 mugging. His lawyer, David Breitbart, said that even though McCummings was shot while mugging somebody, “he shouldn’t have been sentenced to life in a wheelchair.”
Wallace Gossett, a Transit Authority attorney, said his office would seek permission to appeal.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
