Mark Tyson
Member
Daily News (New York) November 18, 2003, Tuesday Copyright 2003 Daily News, L.P.
Daily News (New York)
November 18, 2003, Tuesday
SPORTS FINAL EDITION
NEWS; Pg. 6 444 words
CLEAR COPS IN HAMMER SHOOTING
Jury takes just 6 hours
By JOHN MARZULLI
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
With Tamer El-Ghobashy
A federal jury deliberated just six hours yesterday before clearing five NYPD cops of civil wrongdoing in the controversial fatal shooting of a hammer-wielding mentally ill Brooklyn man.
"An absolute disgrace!" Dr. Howard Boskey, the late Gidone Busch's stepfather, shouted at the 10 jurors as they filed out of the courtroom. "I'll say it again: It's a disgrace!"
One of the cops on trial, Martin Sanabria, wiped tears from his eyes, and city lawyer Ingrid Box wept openly as the verdict was delivered.
Busch's mother, Doris Boskey, closed her eyes and slowly shook her head as the jury of six men and four women found the cops were justified in using pepper spray against her son and then fatally shooting him in 1999.
Outside the courthouse, another city lawyer, Leticia Santiago, praised the jury for "putting aside feelings of sympathy" for Busch.
"It shows they understood the officers faced danger and had to make a very difficult split-second decision," Santiago said with the five cops standing behind her.
A Brooklyn grand jury already had cleared the two sergeants and three cops of criminal charges, and federal prosecutors also declined to bring a civil rights criminal case against them.
The lawsuit hinged on whether the cops had failed to follow NYPD procedures for handling an emotionally disturbed person and then overreacted with deadly force.
But the jurors apparently had no difficulty believing the cops' testimony that they fired because the 31-year-old Busch was charging at them with the hammer and they feared for their lives.
"The officers had to protect themselves," said juror Lahcen Abbes, 58.
"I think the verdict says the officers were justified in what they were doing," added jury foreman Anthony Leoncavallo, 26.
Leoncavallo, who is a court officer, added that the key witness in the case was the lone civilian who backed the cops' account that Busch was lunging at them before he was shot. Seven other civilian witnesses, including one called by the city, disputed the police version.
Doris Boskey vowed to continue fighting to prove there was a police coverup. The only remaining investigation of the incident is by the Civilian Complaint Review Board. If the CCRB rules the cops used excessive force, they could face disciplinary charges from the NYPD.
The harshest condemnation of the verdict came from Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn), a supporter of the Busch family.
"If six police officers [a sixth cop who did not fire was dismissed from the suit] cannot disarm an emotionally disturbed man, short of shooting that person 12 times, how can the City of New York be proud of that?" Hikind said.
November 18, 2003
Daily News (New York)
November 18, 2003, Tuesday
SPORTS FINAL EDITION
NEWS; Pg. 6 444 words
CLEAR COPS IN HAMMER SHOOTING
Jury takes just 6 hours
By JOHN MARZULLI
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
With Tamer El-Ghobashy
A federal jury deliberated just six hours yesterday before clearing five NYPD cops of civil wrongdoing in the controversial fatal shooting of a hammer-wielding mentally ill Brooklyn man.
"An absolute disgrace!" Dr. Howard Boskey, the late Gidone Busch's stepfather, shouted at the 10 jurors as they filed out of the courtroom. "I'll say it again: It's a disgrace!"
One of the cops on trial, Martin Sanabria, wiped tears from his eyes, and city lawyer Ingrid Box wept openly as the verdict was delivered.
Busch's mother, Doris Boskey, closed her eyes and slowly shook her head as the jury of six men and four women found the cops were justified in using pepper spray against her son and then fatally shooting him in 1999.
Outside the courthouse, another city lawyer, Leticia Santiago, praised the jury for "putting aside feelings of sympathy" for Busch.
"It shows they understood the officers faced danger and had to make a very difficult split-second decision," Santiago said with the five cops standing behind her.
A Brooklyn grand jury already had cleared the two sergeants and three cops of criminal charges, and federal prosecutors also declined to bring a civil rights criminal case against them.
The lawsuit hinged on whether the cops had failed to follow NYPD procedures for handling an emotionally disturbed person and then overreacted with deadly force.
But the jurors apparently had no difficulty believing the cops' testimony that they fired because the 31-year-old Busch was charging at them with the hammer and they feared for their lives.
"The officers had to protect themselves," said juror Lahcen Abbes, 58.
"I think the verdict says the officers were justified in what they were doing," added jury foreman Anthony Leoncavallo, 26.
Leoncavallo, who is a court officer, added that the key witness in the case was the lone civilian who backed the cops' account that Busch was lunging at them before he was shot. Seven other civilian witnesses, including one called by the city, disputed the police version.
Doris Boskey vowed to continue fighting to prove there was a police coverup. The only remaining investigation of the incident is by the Civilian Complaint Review Board. If the CCRB rules the cops used excessive force, they could face disciplinary charges from the NYPD.
The harshest condemnation of the verdict came from Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn), a supporter of the Busch family.
"If six police officers [a sixth cop who did not fire was dismissed from the suit] cannot disarm an emotionally disturbed man, short of shooting that person 12 times, how can the City of New York be proud of that?" Hikind said.
November 18, 2003
