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Kimani Gray Cops Were Targets Of 5 Federal Lawsuits Prior To Shooting
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Mar 16, 2013
Modified Mar 16, 2013
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Mar 16, 2013
Modified Mar 16, 2013
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The two NYPD officers involved in the fatal shooting of 16-year-old Kimani Gray last week have reportedly been the targets of five federal lawsuits, with plaintiffs alleging civil rights violations.
Sgt. Mourad Mourad and Officer Jovaniel Cordova, who are accused of fatally shooting Gray seven times on March 9th, have reportedly cost the city about $215,000 in court settlements. Mourad was sued once in 2009 and two times in 2010, and allegations include a stop-and-frisk in which Mourad and fellow cops pulled down a suspect's underwear, in addition to a claim of an illegal arrest in which the plaintiff says he was slammed into a car. Cordova was sued in 2011 and 2012, with one plaintiff claiming the cop punched him in the eye. The city's issued no admission of wrongdoing, but a lawyer who's filed four out of the five suits against the cops says otherwise. “Our clients’ interactions with Sgt. Mourad and Officer Cordova expose a disturbing pattern of unconstitutional and aggressive stop-and-frisk practices,” lawyer Brett Klein told the Daily News. "In each case, Mourad and Cordova attempted to cover up their misconduct by falsifying and fabricating evidence.”
Today the Manhattan high school Kimani attended sent a letter to parents and staff that mourned the tenth grader's death, calling him a "We believed in his potential from the day he entered our school," Matt Willoughby, the principal of the Urban Assembly School of Design and Construction on West 50th Street, wrote in the letter. "Kimani should be remembered for all of who he was—an energetic, kind, playful, independent young man who was trying to learn and grow one day at a time." A teacher at the school told the Post that staff members hoped to write an editorial in support of Gray, who had a criminal record and alleged gang affiliations. Meanwhile, Gray's death has sparked outrage in his East Flatbush community, with rioting and protests all week.
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jovaniel cordova
kimani gray
Mourad Mourad
Rebecca Fishbein
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