Within the 18 months since Samuel Williams died in the midst of a police pursuit after his motorcycle collided with an unmarked NYPD car that swerved in entrance of him, his household has acquired just one communication from town authorities: a invoice for $3,429.23.
It arrived in a letter addressed to Williams searching for cost for the damages to the police automobile, 60 days after he was tossed from his motorcycle on the College Heights Bridge that connects Manhattan to The Bronx. The 36-year-old dad of a 6-year-old daughter died the day after the collision.
“Our records indicate that your vehicle damaged city property on the above date,” reads the July 2023 letter, which got here from the workplace of town comptroller, Brad Lander. “City of New York is seeking reimbursement for these damages.”
Williams was an avid avenue biker who doted on his daughter with weekly procuring journeys and visits to the nail salon, in keeping with his mother and sister. His sister, Sha-Sha Prince, mentioned getting the invoice from town so quickly after his dying was “horrible.”
“You kill someone in May, and two months later you send a bill for damages you caused?” Prince, 48, instructed THE CITY. “It felt like getting punched in the stomach not once but twice.”
Prince mentioned the household didn’t reply to the request for cost.
A spokesperson for the comptroller’s workplace mentioned the workplace handles claims for damages to NYPD automobiles frequently, however that on this case they weren’t notified about Williams’ dying. The spokesperson, Chloe Chik, mentioned they’re withdrawing the reimbursement request.
“The Comptroller’s office sends its sincerest apologies to Mr. Williams’ family,” she mentioned.
Williams is amongst no less than a dozen individuals who have been killed following police car pursuits up to now two years, which have additionally injured tons of, underneath an invigorated NYPD chase coverage that Mayor Eric Adams mentioned this week is meant to discourage folks from fleeing after they’re pulled over.
Lots of the pursuits are sparked by comparatively minor infractions or alleged crimes, comparable to visitors violations, or suspicion {that a} car is stolen or unlawful to journey on the streets of New York Metropolis.
The incident is underneath investigation by the workplace of State Legal professional Normal Letitia James, which on Thursday launched two quick clips from police body-worn cameras following a request for the footage by THE CITY.
The footage reveals that two cops who have been driving unmarked automobiles in the other way as Williams each turned their automobiles into his oncoming path.
Williams might be seen using his motorcycle previous the primary car however seemingly colliding into the second car — which had simply veered sharply into his path — and flying into the air.
An lawyer for Williams, whose household is suing the NYPD in state courtroom over Williams’ dying, mentioned the video confirms testimony from a witness who claimed the unmarked NYPD automobile veered throughout two double traces earlier than putting Williams head-on.
“You see the officer take his car, cut Samuel off, causing a collision. Samuel goes — he’s ejected from the bike — and you literally see him like a Superman scene fly right over the hood of the car, having no way to brace himself for an impact,” mentioned the lawyer, Jaime Santana. “There’s no question that officer’s actions, they were the proximate cause of Samuel’s death. Unequivocally.”
Santana additionally famous that regardless of Williams’ intense affected by his accidents, he was saved propped up on the hood of a car together with his fingers cuffed collectively, in keeping with an extended video he and the household have been proven by the workplace of the State Legal professional Normal.
“He’s on video asking officers ‘Why? Why would you do something like that? You know, you tried to kill me. I’m a father. I have a daughter.’”
Williams’ household mentioned they hope the state lawyer basic information prison fees in opposition to Perez, and that he loses his job on the NYPD.
“I want him off the force, he can never work again, can never be a cop again,” mentioned Williams’ mom, Joyce Fogg. “They left a child fatherless.”
Perez couldn’t be reached for remark, and the Police Benevolent Affiliation, the union for NYPD officers, didn’t reply to a request for remark.
The deadly encounter can also be being investigated by the Civilian Grievance Evaluate Board, an NYPD watchdog that may suggest penalties for NYPD officers who commit misconduct.
Earlier this week, THE CITY revealed an evaluation that confirmed crashes following police car pursuits have skyrocketed up to now two years, underneath the management of Chief of Patrol John Chell and Chief of Division Jeffrey Maddrey.
The info reveals no less than seven folks have died and 315 have been injured this 12 months amid the large leap in pursuits and crashes.
Requested concerning the division’s continued dedication to the aggressive coverage, Adams mentioned Monday it got here in response to perceptions that fleeing from the police introduced no penalties.
“We created a culture in this city where law enforcement was a mockery, and any and everything goes, and I just refuse to allow that to continue,” Adams mentioned at his weekly press convention. “And we don’t want one life lost. But it’s not being lost because the police are saying, well, we want to go chase someone — it’s being lost because a bad person decides they’re going to flee the police and have a total disregard of the safety of the people that’s here.”
However on this case, Santana, the lawyer, mentioned the entire thing amounted to an overreaction to a visitors infraction.
“This wasn’t a situation where the cops were in hot pursuit of a felon who was fleeing. At most, he would have been stopped, detained, presumably given a summons of some sort, they would have taken the bike and it would have been over. That was it,” mentioned Santana. “Was it worth killing someone? Of course not.”
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