Driver who saw shooting to file suit

[INIT915 1,119]

WHITE PLAINS - A van driver who claims he is suffering post-traumatic stress after he was forced to stay near the uncovered body of slain Mount Vernon Police Officer Christopher Ridley is planning to sue White Plains and Westchester County.

Antonio Howard saw four Westchester County officers shoot Ridley on Jan. 25 outside county office buildings on Court Street in White Plains. He says that he then was kept in his van by White Plains police for about an hour as they investigated the shooting and that he since has suffered panic attacks, insomnia and other mood changes that have damaged his personal life and left him unable to work.

Can anyone say 'frivilous lawsuit'?

http://lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008805040369

[helicopper 1,050]

Can anyone say 'frivilous lawsuit'?

http://lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008805040369

Or "get rich quick scheme"...

[INIT915 1,119]

Or "get rich quick scheme"...

An interesting, yet probably not coincidental note, he is represented by the same lawyer as Ridley's family. Hmmmmmm....

[ny10570 745]

Gotta give him credit for coming up with something new. This is exactly why there needs to be a consequence for filling frivolous lawsuits.

[DOC22 1]

Gotta give him credit for coming up with something new. This is exactly why there needs to be a consequence for filling frivolous lawsuits.

Like he said--Agreed 100%

[OnTheWheel 43]

An interesting, yet probably not coincidental note, he is represented by the same lawyer as Ridley's family. Hmmmmmm....

By Shawn Cohen and Jonathan Bandler

The Journal News • May 4, 2008

Howard's lawyer, Calvin Scholar, filed notices of claim with White Plains and Westchester County asserting that the allegedly negligent shooting and Howard's subsequent treatment by White Plains police caused him emotional distress. The notices are required before municipalities can be sued. Scholar, who is married to Ridley's cousin, also is preparing a wrongful-death lawsuit on behalf of Ridley's family.

The lawyer IS Ridley's family!!! He's married to Ridley's cousin. The whole situation is unfortunate, then for all this to take place tarnishes his honor! RIP, no matter how hard it is!

Edited May 4, 2008 by OnTheWheel

[E58RET 24]

I guess this gives any of us who are FD,PD or EMS who have been around a D.O.A. be it from trauma or natural causes has the oppotunity to find a s---

sucking lawyer to file a lawsuit that we were traumatized.Would that ever choke the court system!!!

[MoFire390 118]

wow.

[DOC22 1]

Maybe he ought to get involvd more with Emergency Services and see what it's like to dig a little kid's remais out of the rubble of a structure fire and carry it out. Been there, done that, so I speak from experience.

[Guest]

Maybe he ought to get involvd more with Emergency Services and see what it's like to dig a little kid's remais out of the rubble of a structure fire and carry it out. Been there, done that, so I speak from experience.

Sorry not from White Plains but from what I read above you said that 4 cops shot Ridley who is a cop? What happened?

[Guest]

I guess this gives any of us who are FD,PD or EMS who have been around a D.O.A. be it from trauma or natural causes has the oppotunity to find a s---

sucking lawyer to file a lawsuit that we were traumatized.Would that ever choke the court system!!!

i wouldn't come to conclusions just yet, if the mentioned symptoms are true this could relate to PTSD. not saying it is, but it does have the possibility to be legit. for someone to see a man get shot to death and forced to stay with in sight of the body, it can't be easy of the mind, especially for a "civilian". who knows what this man's state of mind was prior to the shooting. do i feel the people who are defending him are the right people, no, there vision is obviously biased. this could be an intersting case.

as far as EMS, FD and PD seeing dead bodies...it's something you don't wish to see, but it's something you always keep in the back of your mind, so you are already predisposed...meaning it's not an entire shock if it does happen...at least it shouldn't be (unfortunately)

[Guest]

Sorry not from White Plains but from what I read above you said that 4 cops shot Ridley who is a cop? What happened?

Here's a summary:

http://www.odmp.org/officer/19149-detectiv...ley?printview=1

[DaRock98 76]

i wouldn't come to conclusions just yet, if the mentioned symptoms are true this could relate to PTSD. not saying it is, but it does have the possibility to be legit. for someone to see a man get shot to death and forced to stay with in sight of the body, it can't be easy of the mind, especially for a "civilian". who knows what this man's state of mind was prior to the shooting. do i feel the people who are defending him are the right people, no, there vision is obviously biased. this could be an intersting case.

as far as EMS, FD and PD seeing dead bodies...it's something you don't wish to see, but it's something you always keep in the back of your mind, so you are already predisposed...meaning it's not an entire shock if it does happen...at least it shouldn't be (unfortunately)

I have to agree with you here. I've heard many people on this site say there are always 2 sides to every story. I'm not saying that this isn't complete bull b/c who knows maybe it is someone just trying to get rich quick and if thats the case this person should rot in hell. Coming from a family of funeral directors and I myself deal with death and families who have just lost a love one on a daily biases do to my job I have to say I deal with death a lot unfortunately. Some people can handle it better then others and I can easily see how someone can get really screwed up in the head after seeing something that traumatic. I've seen it many times with poeple who come into my job months and even years after the death poeple are still not the same. In the buisness I am in(selling memorials) my clients tell me all sorts of stories that you wouldn't even begin to think of. People deal with things in many different ways and most of the time it will stay with you for the rest of your life. Emergency service workers are trained and like vacguy said always have that in the back of there minds that they could very well be involved in a traumatic situation so I think they protect themselves a little better. Just my opinion.

[ny10570 745]

Every day average people are forced to deal with horrendous garbage. Some nut with an ax breaks into your home so you call PD. They show up, nut goes after cops, and now you have a dead nut IN YOUR LIVING ROOM. This whole time the family was stuck in a bedroom, had escorted out one by one around the body and then hours later had to return home. I'm not aware of a crime scene cleaning unit in the NYPD, so I'm willing to bet the family was left with that burden to. If anyone has a right to sue for PTSD its them, but who are you going to hold responsible for it? Maybe the White Plains cops were inconsiderate and didn't do more to remove the witness from the area but I am willing to bet they didn't park him right next to body and make him watch. It sucks being him but that doesn't mean someone should pay for it.

[Oswegowind 17]

I work in 911, what do I get?

Otherwise, this sounds like some scam to have the late officer's family involved in a lawsuit regarding his death. Conflict of interest???