Long Island Cab Driver Speaks Out After Police Shooting
NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A Long Island taxi driver who was arrested after being shot and wounded during a dispute with two off-duty police officers is speaking out for the first time since the incident occurred last weekend.
Thomas Moroughan, 26, addressed reporters Friday following a court appearance in Central Islip.
Attorney William Petrillo tells 1010 WINS' Mona Rivera that his client was arrested to cover up an "unjustifiable shooting"
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Moroughan was arrested last Sunday in Huntington Station after the two Nassau County police officers said the cab driver confronted them and tried to run one of them over.
According to a police statement, "the officer fired his off-duty weapon into the taxi, identified himself as a police officer and told Moroughan to exit the vehicle." Court records identify the shooter as Nassau Police Officer Anthony DiLeonardo. Police said Moroughan refused to exit the taxi and then struck both officers with his vehicle and fled.
Attorney William Petrillo had said that his client pulled over to confront the officers because one of them had been driving recklessly.
"I was just doing my job as a cab driver," Moroughan said." I didn't do anything to deserve to be shot, pistol whipped, beaten up and then arrested."
Petrillo charged that there is evidence that the officers were intoxicated and fueled by road rage.
Petrillo insists that detectives are withholding crucial evidence, including medical records, in the case. He told the judge that authorities "are in possession of records that show the shooter in this case was, in fact, intoxicated."
Petrillo told reporters outside the courthouse that "multiple sources" indicate that both police officers were intoxicated and that Moroughan was arrested to cover up what he called "an unjustifiable shooting."
Moroughan was treated for two gunshot wounds at Huntington Hospital. Earlier this week, he pleaded not guilty to assault and reckless endangerment and was released on $2,500 bail following his arraignment.
The Suffolk County District Attorney's office said the case is under investigation.
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