The family of a man paralyzed when the dirt bike on which he was riding was run down by an NYPD cruiser more than two years ago is calling for a criminal investigation because lawyers say video of the crash appears to contradict the police account of what happened.
The family of Leonel Cuevas, who was paralyzed and suffered brain damage in the Oct. 27, 2012, crash in the Bronx that killed 20-year-old Ronald Herrea, asked the Bronx district attorney's office to open a criminal investigation into the case after they released the video through lawyers Tuesday.
The 20-second surveillance video shows the police car moving inches from the bike's rear wheel before eventually running over the bike. After the collision, the cop car continues a short distance as several witnesses observe the scene, the video shows.
The video runs counter the NYPD's account of the crash, said the family's attorney, Scott Rynecki. Police tried to "overtake" the cruiser -- which they said had emergency lights on -- and lost control, swerving in front of the vehicle right before being struck from behind. One officer alleged the bike came off the sidewalk before the crash, Rynecki said.
The video, however, shows the police car with its lights off, and it does not look as if the pair's dirt bike swerved before the crash. Rynecki said the police cruiser was right on top of the bike.
"There was no swerving of the dirt bike," the attorney said.
The NYPD declined to comment on the case to NBC 4 New York because of pending litigation. The Cuevas family filed a civil suit in the case in 2013, according to multiple reports.
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It's not clear when the video, from a building on the street, was obtained by Cuevas' family, but the Daily News reports that the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau reviewed it shortly after the crash.
The News reports that IAB investigators said in a deposition that the dirt bike riders were culpable for the crash, along with a double-parked car at the scene.
The officer driving the car and her partner were disciplined for failing to notify a radio dispatcher and for not making proper entries regarding the crash.
