An NYPD officer is suing the city for failing to keep a field in Central Park entirely level after he crashed his motorized scooter in the greensward last year. The New York Post reports that Officer Carmelo Fargas was patrolling the park at around 2 a.m. one morning in September when he spotted a group of kids in the park and rode towards them through the wet grass to see what they were up to.
An NYPD account of the accident says, "He hit a ditch in the path, causing him to unexpectedly loose [sic] control of the scooter," according to the tabloid.
Fargas stuck his leg out to keep from falling, and ruptured his left knee, and a related infection has left him out of commission on medical leave. The suit accuses the Parks Department of negligence for allowing the rut to develop in the field.
The police department requires officers to get special training before operating its Vespa-like scooters. The NYPD patrol guide directs cops not to drive the scooters when "Rain, snow, sleet, heavy fog, or any precipitation causes ground to become slippery."
A city Law Department spokesman said the agency has not been served with the suit, and it was not immediately clear who Fargas's lawyer is.
Fargas made $106,000 in fiscal year 2016, which ended before the crash, according to payroll records. His base salary that year was $78,000.
