Ex-Cop Gets $8.4M After Training Fall Disabled Her

A former Police Officer was awarded an $8.4-million judgment from the department after a training takedown on a concrete floor left her with permanent knee injuries that required her to retire and use a cane.

Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Lawrence Knipel presided over the jury, which awarded $2.4 million for past pain and $6 million for future suffering Jan. 26 after a verdict was returned in favor of Demetria Singleton, 42.

Makes City Liable for Equipment

Her lawyer, Howard Greenwald, said the case set an important precedent of allowing cops to sue for injuries incurred on the job because of bad equipment or lack of equipment. "This substantially increases the exposure of the City of New York to these cases," he said. Before this case, an injury to a police officer on the job was considered to be a risk of taking the job and not subject to lawsuit.

Ms. Singleton was asked to participate in a "Stop and Frisk" training exercise conducted by Lieut. Rafael Mascol in the basement of the 70th Precinct stationhouse. She played the role of a perpetrator for Probationary Police Officers. The exercise, which was conducted on a bare concrete floor, was supposed to be a walkthrough, her lawyers contended, but turned into a full-contact drill.

Probationary Police Officer Jose Barbosa was encouraged by the Lieutenant to be aggressive because he thought he was too timid. In the drill on Feb. 3, 2005, Ms. Singleton was positioned facing a wall when Mr. Barbosa grabbed her arm and she resisted. He then swept her legs out from under her, which caused her to strike her knee on the concrete floor.

Injuries Disabled Her

The force of the impact ruptured Ms. Singleton's left anterior cruciate ligament, tore her lateral meniscus and herniated a disc in her lower back. As a result, she became fully disabled, needed two surgeries, and currently receives a pension equivalent to three quarters of her salary. Ms. Singleton now supports three kids in Brooklyn on a $42,000-a-year pension while contending with the injuries that forced her to retire after 16 years on the job.

Mr. Greenwald charged that the training could easily have been done in the Police Academy or some other area with proper padding to soften her fall. The jury decided in favor of Ms. Singleton because, according to Labor Law, an employee is entitled to a workplace that is safe and free from hazards that may cause physical harm.

"I'm a little uncomfortable being boastful, but under these circumstances I made the law and I'm trying to bring it home," Mr. Greenwald said, alluding to the likely appellate court challenge from the city. "Whoever wants to take it to the next level is going to be standing on my shoulders."

In an unrelated case, Police Officer Irma Mendez-Leguillos Jan. 23 was awarded $2.6 million for the pain and suffering she endured after a 350- pound file cabinet toppled, crushing her hand in 2005.

"While she was in the process of get- ting a file from the cabinet it tipped on her and crushed her finger," said her lawyer, Dominic DiPrisco. He added that the Police Department knew the file cabinet at the 84th Precinct was a problem, but instead of getting rid of it, the precinct moved it to another office.

"What I think it shows is that cops have tough-enough jobs as it is without having to worry about faulty equipment," Mr. DiPrisco said. "It seems ridiculous."