Award Dismissed For Criminal Shot by Officer

A state appellate panel yesterday threw out a jury's decision to grant $51 million to a Bronx man who was shot by a police officer. A five-judge panel of the First Appellate Department of New York unanimously overturned a Bronx jury's 2003 decision in a shooting that took place almost 20 years ago and had resulted in two trials and several appeals prior to yesterday's ruling.

The panel dismissed the verdict on the grounds that the plaintiff, Darryl Barnes, had wrongly escaped cross-examination by claiming he was mentally incompetent to testify, even though he had been cleared to do so by psychiatrists.

Barnes, then 23, was shot in the back by a police officer on the night of August 22, 1988, leaving him paralyzed. The officer, Franz Jerome, off-duty at the time of the shooting, testified that he had seen Barnes with a gun and gave chase, during which Barnes fired at him, forcing him to return fire. Barnes pleaded guilty to attempted assault and was sentenced to five years' probation in the case, but sued the city for his injuries. A 1998 Bronx civil trial resulted in Barnes winning a $76.4 million award from the city; the trial court later reduced the award to $8.9 million. An appeal of the verdict resulted in the case going back to the lower court for a second trial in 2003, at which time the $51 million judgment was made. That award was reduced to $10.75 million before being dismissed yesterday.

"It should go without saying that a criminal who shoots at a police officer and endangers the community should not be rewarded with huge verdicts," the head of the city's law department, Michael Cardozo, said in a statement yesterday.

Barnes's attorney, Brian Isaac, did not return requests for comment.