Exclusive: Bicyclist Awarded $250,000 After Being Injured By MTA Officer Speaks To CBS2
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A bicyclist who was injured by a Metropolitan Transportation Authority officer is sharing his story after being awarded a quarter of a million dollars because of the incident.
"My whole body was covered in abrasions and bumps and bleeding all over," Daniel Fox told CBS2's Marc Liverman exclusively on Tuesday.
Fox, a Brooklyn resident, said moments before he got roughed up he was cycling instead of walking across the Marine Parkway Bridge. Surveillance video shows a Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority officer standing in his way. So Fox said he tried to cycle to the side.
"The next thing I know I'm being hit," Fox said.
Fox was hit so hard he was sent flying into the bridge's barrier and onto the pavement in front of him.
"I went straight to the ER," he said.
On top of all his cuts and bruises, Fox had multiple fractures to his foot, forcing him to walk around on crutches. The incident happened in June of 2017, but Fox said he's still suffering, adding his injuries were so bad that he's been using those crutches for two and a half years.
"Right now, just like even sitting down there's like burning sensations, all kinds of prickly pain and bubbling sometimes like nerves and twitching," Fox said.
So Fox and his attorney, Guy Regev, filed a lawsuit against the TBTA, and on Friday he was awarded $250,000 for his injuries.
"There's case law now around it that maybe can be used to help somebody else who gets hurt by the city of by one of these officers in the future," Fox said.
Cyclists are required to dismount before crossing the bridge, but Regev said his failure to do so doesn't justify the officer's actions. He said the officer in the video was never even trained on how to properly stop a cyclist. He hopes this case changes that.
"To make sure that they do attempt to better train these officers, this is part of their job and they should know how to stop bicyclists," Regev said.
Regev said the TBTA has denied any liability. It refused to comment on the outcome, pending any future motions or appeals.
Fox's attorney also said the officer never faced any disciplinary action after the incident. The TBTA police had no comment.