06/22/2010 // West Palm Beach, FL, USA // Tara Monks // Tara Monks
New York, NY – A New York City police officer who was shot responding to a domestic dispute in 2009 filed a lawsuit against the city Monday, June 21, 2010; claiming the city failed to provide him with an upgraded bulletproof vest that was promised to him in 2005, as reported by New York Daily News.
Rodney Lewis, 41, filed the lawsuit in Queens Supreme Court. He said the city agreed to give him a vest that would provide better protection after another officer, Dillon Stewart, was fatally shot in Brooklyn in 2005.
Lewis claims that although the city allocated $12 million for upgrading vests in 2007 and 2008, he and other officers were still forced to wear the older vests, thus putting their safety at risk.
Lewis was shot on July 26, 2009 while responding to a domestic disturbance call from a woman who claimed her companion was threatening her. When Lewis attempted to take the gun from the ex-con involved in the dispute, the gun fell and discharged. The bullet went into his left side.
Lewis, a father of three, went back to work two months after the shooting. The shooting elicited response from Mayor Bloomberg, who acknowledged him for his bravery. Lewis’ attorney described him as “a cop’s cop,” explaining, “he loves his job.”
City lawyers declined to speak on the subject, citing pending litigation.
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