Woman Wounded In Police-Involved Shooting To Sue NYPD, City For $10 Million
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A woman accidentally wounded during a police-involved shootout with a suspect in the Bronx plans to sue.
On Monday, she filed a $10 million notice of claim against the NYPD and city as she continues to recover in the hospital. Her family is also speaking out about her injuries, CBS2's Alice Gainer reported.
The family of Irene Urena Perez provided pictures of the 46-year-old woman still hospitalized after the Dec. 5 shootout. Perez was shot once in the stomach.
"Requiring three surgeries to attempt to repair her stomach, her liver, her pancreas and her lungs," family attorney Sanford Rubenstein said.
The family said Perez, who recently arrived in the United States from Santo Domingo, had just started working in childcare. Perez and her mother were bringing a neighbor's son home on Loring Place in University Heights when the shooting began.
MORE: NYPD Officer Wounded, Suspect Dead Following Police-Involved Shooting On Staten Island
Surveillance video shows NYPD Officer Juan Gomez running after 37-year-old Edwin Concepcion and shooting at him. Investigators said Concepcion robbed two men of drugs at gunpoint, firing off a shot in an apartment building lobby nearby. He then ran past Officer Gomez and his partner, who were undercover.
Gomez ran after Concepcion, identifying himself. Police said Concepcion then fired his gun at the officers, so Gomez fired back -- a total of 27 shots, police sources said -- eventually hitting Concepcion but also car windows and Perez, and bullet fragments from one of the guns struck a 12-year-old girl in the leg.
Sources said the bullet that hit Perez matches the 9 mm fired by Gomez.
Concepcion was hit in the neck and hospitalized. He's now behind bars and was arraigned on charges that include attempted murder, weapons possession, robbery, drug possession and assault.
The 30-year-old officer has been with the NYPD for five years. He remains on desk duty without a gun as the NYPD's Force Investigation Unit looks into the shooting.
Perez's family said she'll never be the same, prompting the filing of the $10 million notice of claim against the NYPD, city and the officers involved.
The family said they believe police officers visited Perez in the hospital in the days that followed the incident.
Experts say NYPD officers must re-qualify yearly at a firearm range to be considered fit for duty, adding the academy training includes target accuracy and when and when not to use a weapon.
