Unarmed man is charged with wounding bystanders shot by police

[Sgt. Hartman]

Unarmed Man Is Charged With Wounding Bystanders Shot by Police Near Times Square

HIROKO MASUIKE / THE NEW YORK TIMES
By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.

An unarmed, emotionally disturbed man shot at by the police as he was lurching around traffic near Times Square in September has been charged with assault, on the theory that he was responsible for bullet wounds suffered by two bystanders, according to an indictment unsealed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan on Wednesday.

The man, Glenn Broadnax, 35, of Brooklyn, created a disturbance on Sept. 14, wading into traffic at 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue and throwing himself into the path of oncoming cars.

A curious crowd grew. Police officers arrived and tried to corral Mr. Broadnax, a 250-pound man. When he reached into his pants pocket, two officers, who, the police said, thought he was pulling a gun, opened fire, missing Mr. Broadnax, but hitting two nearby women. Finally, a police sergeant knocked Mr. Broadnax down with a Taser.

The shootings once again raised questions about the police use of firearms in crowded areas and drew comparisons to a shooting a year ago, when officers struck nine bystanders in front of the Empire State Building when they killed an armed murder suspect.

Initially Mr. Broadnax was arrested on misdemeanor charges of menacing, drug possession and resisting arrest. But the Manhattan district attorney’s office persuaded a grand jury to charge Mr. Broadnax with assault, a felony carrying a maximum sentence of 25 years. Specifically, the nine-count indictment unsealed on Wednesday said Mr. Broadnax “recklessly engaged in conduct which created a grave risk of death.”

“The defendant is the one that created the situation that injured innocent bystanders,” said an assistant district attorney, Shannon Lucey.

The two police officers, who have not been identified, have been placed on administrative duty and their actions are still under investigation by the district attorney’s office, law enforcement officials said. They also face an internal Police Department inquiry.

Mr. Broadnax’s lawyer, Rigodis Appling, said Mr. Broadnax suffered from anxiety and depression and had been disoriented and scared when the police shot at him. He was reaching for his wallet, not a gun, she said. “Mr. Broadnax never imagined his behavior would ever cause the police to shoot at him,” she said.

After his arrest, Mr. Broadnax was taken to Bellevue Hospital Center, where he told a detective that “he was talking to dead relatives in his head and that he tried throwing himself in front of cars to kill himself,” according to a court document released on Wednesday.

A judge ordered a mental evaluation, and a psychiatrist later found Mr. Broadnax competent to stand trial, Ms. Appling said.

On Wednesday, Justice Gregory Carro set bail at $100,000 bond or $50,000 cash.

Mariann Wang, a lawyer representing Sahar Khoshakhlagh, one of the women who was wounded, said the district attorney should be pursuing charges against the two officers who fired their weapons in a crowd, not against Mr. Broadnax. “It’s an incredibly unfortunate use of prosecutorial discretion to be prosecuting a man who didn’t even injure my client,” she said. “It’s the police who injured my client.”

[Lunk1]

Police Officers are statistically some of the worst shots. I really hate these stories but agree that the police should be held responsible...at least financially for sure.

[Euroholic]

6 of one half dozen of the other

[DB1982]

How is the unarmed man Responsible for the ACTIONS of the Officers.

Just because the officers used poor judgement and were terrible shots.
Doesn't mean they can point the finger at someone else.
I mean after all it says the unarmed man was taken down by a taser. So it sounds like there were other options other then deadly force.

The Police are solely responsible for shooting and injuring bystanders.

[Sgt. Hartman]

I wonder if he's found guilty of the assault charges if the victims would still have a chance for a civil suit against the police department.

[Hazard]

I wonder if he's found guilty of the assault charges if the victims would still have a chance for a civil suit against the police department.

Probably not..... That's a good question.

[Lunk1]

I wonder if he's found guilty of the assault charges if the victims would still have a chance for a civil suit against the police department.

Found guilty or not, I promise there will be a civil suit. The "victim" always goes after those with the deepest pockets. There need not be a criminal conviction to sue someone in civil court. The burden of proof is also much lower.

[austinite]

They should wound those cops before putting them in jail for being cock sucking irresponsible pieces of shit.

[Euroholic]

They should wound those cops before putting them in jail for being cock sucking irresponsible pieces of shit.

How would you have handled the situation differently? Granted they should have tasered him first.

[austinite]

How would you have handled the situation differently? Granted they should have tasered him first.

I wouldn't be a cop, because I know I am not a law abiding citizen. But cops can take down any unarmed man without lethal force.

[Lunk1]

[austinite]

Disagree. I like one cop

[austinite]

[Lunk1]

Disagree. I like one cop

You know that stripper in the police uniform is not REALLY a cop don't you LMAO!?

[austinite]

You know that stripper in the police uniform is not REALLY a cop don't you LMAO!?

Dangit!

[--->>405<<---]

the.

[Euroholic]

[austinite]

[Sgt. Hartman]

How would you have handled the situation differently? Granted they should have tasered him first.

What do you mean how should they have handled it differently? The man was tasered and arrested so that's what should have been done but without the shooting 2 innocent bystanders part.

[austinite]

What do you mean how should they have handled it differently? The man was tasered and arrested so that's what should have been done but without the shooting 2 innocent bystanders part.

lmao. That makes way too much sense. I don't think he'll understand.

[Euroholic]

What do you mean how should they have handled it differently? The man was tasered and arrested so that's what should have been done but without the shooting 2 innocent bystanders part.

I was asking austinite how he would have done it differently not how "they" the cops should have.

[Bert]

How could that possible hold up.