One of the victims injured in the early Sunday morning shooting at a Harlem block party where 46 of the 50 bullets fired were from police officers will be suing the city and NYPD for $20 million. But the guy who is suing isn't the man who was shot at least 21 times—it's a man who was shot in the leg. Larry Garlick blames the police's "contagious shooting" for his injury.
A fight between Luis Soto and Angel Alvarez apparently prompted the gunfire: At one point during their altercation, a gun emerged and Alvarez allegedly fired it. Five police officers, both uniformed and undercover, then came to the scene, with three of the cops firing (Alvarez allegedly fired at them first). Soto was apparently killed by a police bullet, while Alvarez was hit at least 21 times. Garlick's lawyer Bruce Baron said, "Clearly, this case will show that improper police procedure... caused my client to sustain very serious and permanent injuries." Even though four of the bullets were not fired by the police, that doesn't matter to Garlick's lawsuit: "Whoever discharged the bullet from the firearm is irrelevant. But not for the improper police procedure used that day, my client would not have a bullet lodged in his body."
One former police deputy inspector who worked at the NYPD firing range told the NY Times this didn't sound like contagious shooting to him, “I see it more — based on what I’m reading — that each of those officers felt the threat themselves. This shooting took place within seconds of a shot going off, and they pretty much fired at the same time."
