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Family of Woman Killed by Alleged DWI Cop Sues City
By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 30, 2010
Modified Mar 30, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 30, 2010
Modified Mar 30, 2010
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On September 27th, off-duty NYPD officer Andrew Kelly fatally ran over pedestrian Vionique Valnord, 32, as she tried to hail a cab after a wedding party in Flatlands. Though first responders said Kelly's breath smelled boozy and he was slurring his speech, his system was devoid of alcohol when his blood was finally tested... seven hours later. Kelly had refused a Breathalyzer test at the scene (allegedly telling officers, "You're going to have to tie me down") and investigators had to get court order to draw his blood at Kings County Hospital. Now Valnord's family is suing the city, and accusing Kelly's fellow NYPD officers of helping in a cover-up.
"It's a cover-up," father Varius Valnord tells the Post. "Because why take so much time to take blood from the police officer? If it was me, they would have taken it right away." The family's lawyer says that now that the lawsuit is filed, he intends to depose every NYPD officer involved in the incident. "Was Kelly given bottles of water and gum at the scene by police, and if so, why?" asks attorney Sanford Rubenstein. "Was there a delay in getting a warrant for a blood test?"
The accident happened at 12:41 a.m., but the Brooklyn DA's office wasn't notified until 1:54 a.m. It took almost four hours for prosecutors to get a warrant to draw Kelly's blood, and another hour for cops to take Kelly from the station to the hospital. He arrived at 5:52 a.m., but still wouldn't consent to give blood, and the doctor, wrongly believing that consent was necessary, refused to do it. (The hospital was later sanctioned by the state Health Department because of this.) After a "flurry of phone calls," Kelly's blood was finally taken about 8 a.m., seven hours and 20 minutes after the accident. At that time, his blood-alcohol level was zero. The officer, who has been reassigned to desk duty, will go to court on the criminal charges in the fall.
Tagged
andrew kelly
civil lawsuit
dwi
nypd
Vionique Valnord
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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