NEW YORK — The mother of the National Guardsman killed by an NYPD detective during a traffic stop on the Grand Central Parkway in October plans to file a federal lawsuit against the city, the family's lawyer said.
The mother of Noel Polanco, Cecilia Reyes, was expected to file the suit Tuesday in Brooklyn Federal Court, seeking unspecified monetary damages, as first reported by the Daily News.
Reyes’ lawyer, Sanford Rubenstein, told the News that Polanco’s family believes the criminal justice system failed them.
“The filing of this lawsuit is the first step in this family’s efforts to get civil justice,” Rubenstein told the paper.
Polanco was pulled over on the morning of Oct. 4 by the NYPD's Emergency Services Unit after allegedly driving erratically on the Grand Central Parkway, near 94th Street in Jackson Heights.
Det. Hassan Hamdy of the ESU fired one shot after he claimed he saw Polanco reach down to grab an object.
No weapon was found in the car, but police did find a yellow power drill.
