Victims in Pelham Drunk Cop Shooting are Suing NYPD Trainers

PELHAM, NY — The men shot by an off-duty New York City police officer after a day of training and an evening of heavy drinking have added to their civil lawsuits against the city and the NYPD, according to The Journal News.

Robert Borrelli and Joseph Felice were headed home from an evening of recreational ice hockey.

Brendan Cronin, 29, of Yonkers, had spent a day on in-service training at the NYPD’s Firearms and Tactics Section at Rodman’s Neck in the Bronx on April 29, 2014. He then spent several hours at a City Island Bar before proceeding to drive home.

Cronin stopped in Pelham, parking in the vicinity of the intersection of Sixth and Lincoln avenues.

He approached Borelli's car, which prosecutors said had stopped at a traffic light. He fired 14 shots into it, severely wounding Felice. Then he left — or tried to. He was stopped and arrested by Pelham police.

Felice was shot six times and suffered serious physical injuries, including to his back, shoulder, arm and chest. He required multiple surgeries.

The two men have sued Cronin, the NYPD, the city of New York, Cronin's supervisors, and two of the trainers with whom Cronin allegedly spent six hours drinking at a bar on City Island after the training, according to The Journal News.

"The fact that NYPD personnel responsible for training police officers are encouraging and condoning them to get behind the wheel of their car, in possession of their service weapons, while drunk is a chilling indication of how profound the problem of unchecked alcohol abuse within NYPD actually is," lawyer Debra Cohen told The Journal News about adding the trainers, John Walker and Liam Swords.

Read the entire article on lohud.com.

SEE ALSO ON PATCH:

• NYPD Officer Pleads Guilty to Attempted Murder Charges
• NYPD Officer Sentenced to Prison for Attempted Murder, Assault
  

Photo: Brendan Cronin. Photo credit: Westchester County District Attorney’s office