Court Papers: Andrea Rebello's Family To Sue Nassau County Police For Wrongful Death
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) - The family of the Hofstra University student fatally shot by a Nassau County police officer responding to a home invasion plans to sue the police force, according to court papers.
Andrea Rebello, 21, was shot and killed by a single bullet last month. The Tarrytown native was being held at gunpoint as a human shield at her off-campus house when the officer opened fire.
Rebello's mother Nella Freitas Rebello was appointed administrator of her daughter's estate last week in Westchester County Surrogate's Court, Newsday reported.
According to court papers filed by the family's lawyer, the pending suit alleges "wrongful death, civil rights and negligence actions against the County of Nassau and its police officers and possibly other defendants to be named after discovery," reported Newsday.
The Nassau County Police Department has refused to comment on the pending litigation.
Rebello, her twin sister Jessica, a man and another woman were inside a house Rebello shared with her sorority sisters at 213 California Ave. in Uniondale when the parolee gunman wearing a ski mask forced his way in, Nassau County Deputy Inspector Kenneth Lack said at the time.
The officer who fired the shots was identified as Nikolas Budimlic, a 19-year police veteran.
Rebello and the intruder, Dalton Smith, died when the officer fired eight shots, hitting him seven times, with one bullet striking Rebello in the head, according to county homicide squad Lt. John Azzata.
With a gun pointed at her, Smith "kept saying, 'I'm going to kill her,' and then he pointed the gun at the police officer," according to Azzata. The officer acted quickly, saying later that he believed his and Rebello's life were in danger, according to authorities.
Budimlic was said to be torn up over the accidental shooting of Rebello.
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