The NYPD must pay $6.3 million to the family of George Homer Tillman III, who police shot and killed after he fled on foot in 2016, a jury decided this week. His family has maintained he was unarmed at the time — despite the then-Queens DA declaring the cops only fired in self-defense.
In a wrongful death lawsuit, Tillman’s family says the Maryland man was out on a Saturday night at a family party in South Ozone Park neighborhood of Queens with his friends and wife when he was approached by officers for possessing an open liquor bottle. The lawsuit, citing eyewitness accounts, says he acquiesced to police and relinquished his alcohol container, but that the officers escalated the situation and pursued Tillman when he attempted to return to his car.
Tillman fled the five police officers on the scene, and four of them discharged 64 rounds, 13 of which hit Tillman in the head and back, according to the family’s attorney, Nick Liakas. Tillman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Six months after the April 17, 2016 incident, the Queens district attorney at the time, Richard Brown, said the officers acted in self defense. He wrote in a report that the evidence pointed to an “inescapable conclusion” that Tillman was armed and pointed a loaded .40-caliber pistol at the police after they gave chase, and said Tillman’s DNA was found on a weapon at the scene.
But eyewitnesses testified that Tillman didn’t have a weapon, according to court documents. Liakas said a video played in court also didn’t show any clear evidence of a weapon.
The day before Thanksgiving, the jury decided that the NYPD acted negligently and violated Tillman’s constitutional rights. It deemed the police response in the case was misconduct and in violation of NYPD protocols. The court awarded Tillman’s widow $5.3 million in compensatory damages and another $1 million in punitive damages.
“Despite the officers receiving commendations following this incident, a jury determined that the officers’ actions violated NYPD protocols and reflected a reckless disregard for Mr. Tillman’s life,” Liakas said.
The NYPD referred comments to the city’s Law Department Saturday.
“We respectfully disagree with the jury’s verdict and are evaluating legal options,” law department spokesman Nicholas Paolucci wrote in a statement sent to Gothamist. “In the city’s view, officers were confronted with a deadly threat and their response was justified. That also was the finding of an investigation by the Queens County District Attorney’s Office, which found all four officers were justified in discharging their firearms.”
Liakas said normally, the consequence of having an open container of alcohol is a warning or a ticket.
“An open container is like jumping a turnstile,” the attorney said.
Tillman’s widow filed the lawsuit in April 2018, seeking damages for police misconduct, loss of financial support, emotional and psychological damages. Tillman, a union electrician, had been the primary provider for his family — including his wife and their five children, ages of 4-14 — the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit alleged the officers violated NYPD protocols and failed to use alternative non-lethal means to restrain Tillman, such as the use of batons or Tasers. It said the police violated federal and state laws and disregarded Tillman’s constitutional rights by depriving him of due process and by using excessive force, resulting in his death.
The NYPD argued that any injuries were due to Tillman’s own negligence and not from the officers’ conduct, according to court filings. Police also argued Tillman provoked the incident, and that any use of force was reasonable, necessary and justified under the circumstances, Politico reported at the time.
Last year, the City of New York paid out nearly $115 million for lawsuits alleging police misconduct, according to the Legal Aid Society.
Leave a Reply