The city will pay $2 million to the family of a Brooklyn man who was fatally struck by a police cruiser chasing him for allegedly stealing some paving stones.
Police went after 27-year-old Tamon Robinson in April 2012 after they suspected him of pilfering bricks from the grounds of the Bayview Houses in Canarsie where he lived. Friends and family have disputed the claim, saying that Robinson had permission to take the stones from the ground. Still, when police approached Robinson, he began running for his nearby apartment, but was instead struck by the cruiser. He suffered severe shoulder and head injuries, and slipped briefly into a coma before dying a few days later.
An accident report stated that cops stopped the vehicle when Robinson ran into it, though witnesses said otherwise.
The city's law department called the settlement "fair and reasonable," but lawyers for the family want more than just money.
"Mr. Robinson’s family does not want this to end here,” lawyer Scott Rynecki told the Daily News. “More important to this family than the settlement is to see these police officers held criminally accountable.”
