Judge Throws Out 5.6 Million Verdict

Judge throws out 5.6M verdict against Transit Authority - says clerk didn't have to help cops
The New York Daily News by Jose Martinez - January 7, 2011

The Transit Authority won't have to fork over $5.6 million to two cops who were manhandled in the Times Square subway station while a token booth clerk didn't lift a finger. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Lottie Wilkins junked the jury's verdict, saying clerk Sean Corbin was under no obligation to call for help - even after Officers Jannett Velez and Camille San Filippo pleaded with him to phone for backup. "This guy did nothing but sit in his booth from 25 feet away," said Brian O'Connor, a lawyer for the two cops. "It's an outrage." Velez and San Filippo were on the lookout for drug-dealing in June 2002 when they caught a couple in a sex act on the street. They chased a man dressed as a woman into the station, while his companion - believed to be a woman - escaped. The frisky fellow then brawled with the cops for 10 minutes, with Velez getting heaved down a stairwell and San Filippo suffering a strained ankle and shoulder. "All he had to do was press a button," O'Connor said. Corbin testified that he saw no need to use his booth's emergency call system since cops were already on the scene. Velez, 34, retired from the NYPD in 2004 with shoulder injuries suffered in the fight. San Filippo, 46, retired with chronic pain in her right ankle, O'Connor said.