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Family Will Sue City Over Cop Who Shot Toddler
By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 15, 2008
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 15, 2008
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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A total no-brainer: The family of 17-month-old boy who was shot in the arm by an off-duty police officer has filed a notice of claim against the city. The Porcellini family will also pursue action against the NYPD and 24-year-old police officer Patrick Venetek.
Last week, Venetek's service pistol fired through his Brooklyn apartment floor - right above the Porcellini's. The bullet passed through the Porcellini's ceiling and through the left forearm of little Jonathan, who was in his playpen. Venetek claimed that he left his gun on his table for cleaning, but got hungry and made a sandwich first. Upon returning with his sandwich, he hit the table and the gun fell off and discharged. Ray Gordon, the Porcellini's lawyer, said, "There should never have been a bullet in his gun while he was cleaning it."
Newsday reports Jonathan was in high spirits, in spite of the bandage on his arm. The child's father Justin Porcellini doesn't want Venetek, an Iraq war veteran, to lose his job, but "What I hope to see is that the city is liable for this police officer, who is not even experienced on the job...We need to know more about his background and what he went through psychologically."
The electricity had been shut off in the apartment Venetek shares with his brother, who told reporters, "On a cop's salary, we're f---ing poor. I clean sewers and he's a cop. Rent was more important [than electricity]."
Photograph of Venetek via the Daily News
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What I
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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