NYC DETECTIVE WHO WON $4.5 MILLION LAWSUIT FOR SHOOTING SELF NOW DEPUTY IN HAMPTON COUNTY

The state of South Carolina has had its difficulties with police officers lately, including Trooper Steven Garren who was acquitted in October on charges that he violated the civil rights of a fleeing suspect.

And now The Palmetto Scoop has discovered — and by “discovered” I mean I read an article in the New York Daily News — that a former New York City cop who won a $4.5 million lawsuit last week after he shot himself in the leg while sitting at his desk is now an officer in South Carolina.

His name is Anderson Alexander and he has landed a gig as a Sheriff’s Deputy in, of all place, Hampton County. Here’s the story of that fateful day:

Alexander was sitting in it in Brooklyn’s 73rd Precinct on Jan. 1, 2002, when his partner handed him his gun so the partner could interview a suspect.

Alexander leaned back to put the gun in his waistband, but the back of the chair gave way, his finger slipped and the 9-mm. Smith & Wesson fired a bullet into his left knee.

Now, despite the best efforts of city lawyers to portray the 11-year veteran as a klutz, a Brooklyn jury has awarded Alexander $4,548,000 in damages.

“This case is not about him shooting himself,” Alexander’s lawyer Matthew Maiorana told the Daily News. “This case is about a broken chair and an unsafe workplace.

“Anderson would give the money right back if he could have his job back and his knee back.” [NY Daily News]

First of all, the guy got a three-quarters-pay disability pension on top of this astronomical settlement. Don’t tell me it wasn’t worth it.

Second of all, if you’re clumsy enough to shoot yourself in the leg while sitting around your office, you have no one to blame but yourself. But good for he and his lawyers — “unsafe workplace”… nice one — for exploiting a loophole in New York law.

And lastly, stay the hell out of Hampton County. Unless, of course, you feel like Barney Fife here accidentally blowing your head off for running a stop sign.

(h/t Overlawyered)

This entry was posted on Monday, December 1st, 2008 at 3:29 pm and is filed under Around the state. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.