Man plans to sue Mount Vernon and its police after allegedly being shot by off-duty officer at house party
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. -- An off-duty Mount Vernon police officer has been accused of shooting two brothers at a house party.
CBS New York got reaction Monday from one of the victims, who is now planning to sue the department.
Mark Nembhard limped into his attorney's office with a message.
"My name is Mark Nembhard and I was shot," he said.
The father of seven said he plans to sue the city of Mount Vernon and its police department for $25 million in damages over a house party that turned violent.
It happened on Aug. 20 at a house on South 4th Avenue.
Nembhard said he and his brother got there at around 1:30 a.m. and within minutes a fight broke out between two people they didn't know. He said someone fired shots seconds later into the crowd.
"We all were trying to get out of the situation, and he just started firing," Nembhard said. "I knew I was shot, but I kept running. I actually ran past my brother. He was on the floor not moving at all."
Nembhard was shot in the foot. His brother was shot in the back and shoulder and admitted to the ICU.
State police said the shooter was off-duty Mount Vernon Police Officer Raiton Betty.
Nembhard's attorney, Sanford Rubenstein, said they're fighting for justice.
"The message is when you hire officers properly, train them and don't put guns in the hands of officers who are going to shoot wildly into a crowd at a party, whether they're on duty or off duty," Rubenstein said.
State police are handling the investigation into Officer Betty, who has been placed on desk duty.
Betty's attorney, Joe Murray, told CBS New York, "We are cooperating with law enforcement and are confident that the investigation will lead to a criminal prosecution for the attempted murder of a police officer, my client."