Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Queens Widow Files Lawsuit Against City of New York Over Husband's Death

 Dorris & Robert Hudson (Photo/CBS 2)  

By Alicia Cruz
The Black Urban Times

Doris Hudson, the Queens woman whose husband died of a heart attack after he was allegedly forced to walk home by two NYPD officers, has filed suit against the City of New York.

Doris Hudson says on the evening of January 14, she and her husband of 52 years, Robert Hudson drove to Casson Pharmacy on Springfield Blvd in Queens Village to pick up Mrs. Hudson's prescription. As they pulled up in front of the pharmacy, Mrs. Hudson says she removed her seat belt to exit the vehicle and just as she did, two NYPD officers, Julio Orozco and Dominick Lettieri, approached her and accused her of not wearing a seat belt.

The officers told Mrs. Hudson she would be issued a summons and at some point asked her for identification, which she did not have.
 
Mrs. Hudson says the officers refused to allow her husband to drive to their home to get her identification, so he walked approximately half a mile to their home and then back to the pharmacy.

The trek took about 45 minutes, and by the time the 72-year-old retired Daily News delivery man returned, the officers had issued Mrs. Hudson the summons using information from her prescription. Mrs. Hudson says they drove about a block away from the pharmacy when her husband collapsed at the steering wheel and was transported to Franklin Hospital where he later died of a heart attack.

On Tuesday, along with her attorney, Bonita Zelman, Doris Hudson addressed members of the media about her late husband, a man she described as her soul mate and best friend.
"He was the love of my life," said Doris Hudson through tears. "And all I want is some justice for this."

"We don't need police officers who act with total depraved indifference," said Zelman, who added that the officers should be terminated from the police department for their actions.

Kim Royster, an NYPD Deputy Inspector, released this statement in response to Hudson's lawsuit:
"The officers never directed anyone to go home to get ID. To the contrary, they told both parties that they had sufficient ID at the scene. Hudson insisted on returning to his residence to retrieve additional documents."

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