NEW YORK (PIX11) – At 30 years old, Kishan Patel had plenty of life ahead of him – he was preparing for his summer wedding and taking over his family’s New Jersey businesses.
Everything turned “upside down” one evening in May when he was shot by an off-duty NYPD officer accused of targeting Patel in a fit of road rage, according to the Camden County prosecutor. Months later, Patel is largely unresponsive, quadriplegic, and has severe brain injuries.
His family on Tuesday filed a federal lawsuit against New York City, claiming the officer who shot their son was a “ticking timebomb” who never should have been issued a gun.
“This case is a product of the way the police department has conducted itself over the years and this is the tragedy that ultimately was going to happen,” the family’s lawyer, Joseph Marrone, said during a news conference Wednesday.
Hieu Tran, a three-year veteran of the NYPD, is accused of shooting Patel in the head on May 17 near Route 73 and Cooper Road in Voorhees Township, according to prosecutors.