Man Sues City for Father’s Death in Standoff
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
The son of a mentally ill bike messenger shot to death by police detectives as he waved a Derringer pistol on a busy Chelsea street is suing the city for his father’s killing.
The incident occurred in 2004 when Boanerges Mota, 36, brandished an antique-style gun and refused detectives’ demands to drop the weapon, according to press reports. Mota had served at least six years in prison for felony assault, according to state correctional services records.
The allegations contained in the lawsuit include negligence, emotional distress, false imprisonment, and civil rights violations. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Mota’s son, Bo Junior Mota, in State Supreme Court in Manhattan.
Bo Junior Mota’s attorney, Suzan Paras, said her client is now 20 and was a teenager when the killing happened.
A city Law Department spokeswoman, Connie Pankratz, declined to comment.
