Brooklyn Teen Claims to Have Been Shot in the Back by Police

NEW YORK, NY, January 16, 2011

New York civil rights violation attorneys will likely be scrutinizing the details of a recent shootout between the New York Police Department and a suspect. Was it or was it not a case of excessive use of force by police in New York?

Following the dramatic incident, a Brooklyn teenager is being accused of shooting a Brooklyn police officer, and the NYPD is being accused of shooting the teen in the back. Of no surprise to experienced New York civil rights violation attorneys, both sides describe the incident differently.

New York police say seventeen year old Elijah Foster-Bey fired six shots at Police Officer Richard Ramirez, 29, who was hit twice in the leg and once in the vest. The plainclothes officer had chased the teen into a building in East New York, Brooklyn.

Foster-Bey's attorney claimed that the police officers did not identify themselves when they began pursuit and his client, Foster-Bey, was in fear of his life. As reported by the New York Post, the attorney also also said his client was set up by police.

According to court papers, Foster-Bey told two detectives at the scene that he dropped or threw his gun and it went off accidentally before he was shot by the police. Recorded in the same court papers, Foster-Bey told a New York police detective the he fled from the police because he had a gun.

New York civil rights violation attorney David Perecman noted that, in the past, the officers would be given more credibility due to the nature of their profession. However, while the majority of New York police are decent and law abiding many visible incidents of police brutality in New York and of excessive force by police officers have robbed officers of respect they may deserve.

Police shootings usually spark outrage in the community over perceived and, sometimes real, excessive use of force by police. New York civil rights violation attorneys at The Perecman Firm can't help but notice how little public outrage was generated by this particular incident.

"Public perception is a concern over issues related to police brutality. Effective law enforcement requires community support in New York," civil rights violation attorney Perecman said.

What will need to be determined is whether Foster-Bey purposely shot at the officer, had a gun that accidentally went off or its a case of police brutality in New York.

Article provided by The Perecman Firm
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