Wrongful death claims after LI shooting
Nassau County Police Officer Geoffrey J. Breitkopf, 40, of the elite Bureau of Special Operations, was shot and killed March 12, 2011 after responding to a report of a masked man running through a Massapequa Park neighborhood with knives, authorities said. Credit: NCPD
The widow of Nassau County police Officer Geoffrey J. Breitkopf has filed a notice that she plans to sue the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and three MTA police officers for the wrongful death of her husband.
The notice of claim was filed by Paula Breitkopf, of Selden, whose husband was shot to death by MTA Officer Glenn Gentile at a chaotic crime scene in Massapequa Park last March 12.
The notice, filed June 7, names as defendants the MTA, Gentile, MTA Officer John Ramos and an MTA officer identified only as John Doe. It seeks "money damages" but no specific amount.
A separate wrongful death claim notice was filed June 9 with the MTA, the City of New York and Nassau County by the father of a knife-wielding masked man, Anthony DiGeronimo, 21. He had been shot to death minutes earlier by Nassau County police officers.
MTA police had been in the area of the DiGeronimo home and went to scene after hearing radio reports.
Police officials at the time said Gentile may have fired after hearing a retired New York City police officer who was on the scene shout that he saw a gun.
The claim by the father, David DiGeronimo, seeks $20 million in damages for wrongful death and another $20 million for violation of his constitutional rights.
Nassau County and the New York City Law Department declined to comment Friday. The MTA did not return telephone calls for comment.
Attorneys for the families said lawsuits have not yet been filed.
Neither claim goes into detail on what might have been done improperly. Both said in general terms that proper procedures were not followed and steps were not taken that could have prevented the deaths.
On Tuesday, a report by Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice found that Gentile "reasonably" believed that Breitkopf -- in plainclothes, carrying an assault rifle and not displaying his police shield -- posed a threat.
The Rice investigation concluded that no criminal charges should be brought against Gentile. It also said no charges were justified against Nassau police Officers Paul Lewis and Richard McDonald in the shooting of DiGeronimo, who they said rushed at them with a knife and refused orders to "get on the ground."
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