Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Mom Of Man Fatally Struck By Cop Car Given Bill For $710 Dent!
By
Ben Yakas
Published Oct 5, 2012
Modified Oct 5, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Ben Yakas
Published Oct 5, 2012
Modified Oct 5, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Last spring, a 27-year-old Bronx man was fatally struck by a police car after being chased for allegedly stealing bricks. There is still an open investigation into whether Tamon Robinson was stealing bricks, or whether he actually had permission to take paving stones on the grounds of the Bayview Houses in Canarsie where he lived. But his mother has been sent a $710 bill to repair the police car that killed him: “We’re still grieving, and this is like a slap in the face,” Laverne Dobbinson told The News. “They want my son to pay for damage to the vehicle that killed him. It’s crazy.”
The letter with the bill, which is owed for “property damage to a vehicle owned by the New York Police Department,” also threatened legal action against the family if they didn't pay. “Isn’t there respect for the dead?” asked John Torrence, the victim’s uncle. Dobbinson’s lawyer, Sanford Rubenstein, has filed a notice of intent to sue the city, calling the bill a “disgrace.” “In my 40 years of practicing law in this city I have never seen anything as heartless as this,” he said.
Robinson was loading the stones into his truck around 5:30 a.m. on April 12 when police responded to a call that he was stealing them—Robinson began running to his nearby apartment when the car struck him. Dobbinson said her son ran a side business collecting stones, bricks and other building materials from construction sites and selling them to scrap dealers for small sums—and he had permission from his building management to take those stones that morning.
She added that police have mistreated her family from the moment her son was hit by the car: cops kept him shackled to his bed under police guard in the hospital, even though he was brain dead (and she was only allowed to see him for 20 minutes, even with permission from NYPD). Then, on the day of Robinson’s funeral, cops broke down the door of the family’s apartment...and later acknowledged they had executed a search warrant at the wrong location.
Tagged
bill
bricks
cops
death
dent
nypd
run over
tamon robinson
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NYCHA says it's removed asbestos found at Brooklyn’s Marcy Houses
A steam leak left asbestos-laden residue on some of the exterior walls at the public housing complex in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 30, 2026 at 4:29 p.m. ET
'It is a crime!': Upper West Side owl lovers outraged after rooftop work wrecks nest
The owls are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
By
Carol Chen
News
'It is a crime!': Upper West Side owl lovers outraged after rooftop work wrecks nest
The owls are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
By
Carol Chen
Police search several blocks in Canarsie after dead man’s body found
By
Charles Lane
NY unemployment recipients brace for delays during system upgrade
By
Jon Campbell
and
Carol Chen
Influential Brooklyn developer illegally raised rents despite tax break, lawsuit claims
By
David Brand
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .