Mentally ill Bronx man killed by police Taser ignites wrongful death lawsuit against cop and NYPD
Bronx NY Sept 20 2017 The family of a mentally ill Bronx man who died after a cop subdued him with a stun gun will file a wrongful death suit against the NYPD and the officer who used the device.
The state attorney general’s office has already indicated that it would not prosecute Sgt. William Melrose for his role in the Nov. 2 incident that led to Ariel Galarza’s death.
But the victim’s sister Mildred Galarza said the ruling doesn’t make the cop any less responsible for her brother’s death.
“It’s been very terrible,” Galarza said. “Too many families are going through this. Every time another mentally ill person is killed by the police it is a constant reminder of what happened to my brother.”
Ariel Galarza, who suffered from a learning disability, died after Melrose zapped him with a Taser three times in less than a minute.
Police were called to the Mayflower Ave. building, where Galarza lived with his family, by a neighbor who mistakenly thought he was holding a knife while acting erratically.
The suspected knife was actually a 12-ounce glass bottle of hot sauce. The neighbor apologized to the Galarza family for the deadly error.
When Melrose let off the first shock, Ariel Galarza dropped the bottle. The unarmed man was then handcuffed and struck two more times by Melrose.
The electric shocks put the 49-year-old man into cardiac arrest and he died, according to the lawsuit being filed Monday in Bronx Supreme Court.
“Sgt. William Melrose was in violation of police guidelines and protocol relating to the use or discharge of a Taser and/or another conductive energy device,” the lawsuit says.
Last month, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office notified the Galarza family that it will not prosecute Melrose.
Under a 2015 executive order by Gov. Cuomo, the attorney general’s office investigates cases where an unarmed citizen is killed by a police officer.
“The fact that the attorney general’s office did not pursue a criminal prosecution regarding the killing of Ariel Galarza does not mean that civil liability for his wrongful death does not exist,” said Sanford Rubenstein, the family’s attorney.
Rubenstein is also calling on the department to train all of their officers on the proper use of Tasers, not just supervisors.
“We will review the papers when they are filed and served,” said a spokeswoman with the city’s Law Department.
Mildred Galarza said she hopes the lawsuit will prevent similar tragedies.
Activists set to protest police violence toward mentally ill
“People are scared to call 911 for help,” she said. “There needs to be better training and a better system in place.”
NY Daily News
