Suspected Thieves Face Trial For Injuring A Cop
Two suspected thieves stand trial for injuring a police officer while fleeing the scene of a crime over two years ago. The thieves stole a car full of sex toys and when a police officer gave chase, he was badly injured after a motorcycle collision on 20th Avenue.
In May 2010, an officer flagged the plates of a nearby Toyota as stolen. He approached two men near the car and they denied any connection to the car. Later, they were seated in the vehicle. The officer was in pursuit of the suspects when a motorcycle hit him. The officer fell into a month-long coma with brain trauma.
“They made a run for it,” said assistant district attorney Robert Walsh to the New York Daily News. “It was 100 percent foreseeable that one of the officers can get hit by a moving vehicle.”
The policeman suffered a fractured skull, brain damage and a broken leg and shoulder. The officer will not testify at the trial.
The stolen car belonged to the owner of an adult toys business. She had a sex swing and five vibrators in the car at the time of the theft. None of the sex toys were recovered.
The suspects were charged with assault of a police officer. If convicted, they will spend up to 15 years in prison.
“We all feel very sorry for the officer,” said defense lawyer Stephen Zeitlin to the jury. “But we also feel sorry for the defendants who…never intended to injure anybody.”
