BUSHWICK — The family of a high school senior shot 14 times by police on the same night he was recorded sticking up a bodega with a fake gun is planning to sue the city for $10 million, according to a notification filed with the Comptroller's office.
Police have said the shooting was justified because Sergio Reyes, 18, was shot when he raised the authentic-looking handgun at officers responding to a 911 call of a robbery.
The family of Reyes, however, claim the teen was shot without cause. In addition, they say once he was injured, he received negligent care from first responders and was treated "recklessly" at the hospital.
The notification names the city, the NYPD, the Fire Department's Emergency Medical Services, and Woodhull Medical Center where he was treated.
Further details on the family's explanation of what led up to the shooting were not provided in the filing.
The pending litigation stems from the night of Feb. 19, when police said Reyes robbed a bodega across from Maria Hernandez Park of several six-packs of beer. He was caught on video aiming what police later determined was a fake gun at the clerk.
Less than half a block away, police said they confronted Reyes, who they stated raised the fake gun, prompting the three responding officers to open fire.
Nineteen shots were fired, 14 of which hit Reyes in the torso, limbs, heart, lungs, aorta, spinal cord, liver, stomach and bones, according to police sources and the Medical Examiner's Office.
Reyes' father Antonio Tlapanco, a flower seller, and his mother Patricia Reyes, a cleaner in South Williamsburg, have called for an independent investigation of the shooting, saying their son shouldn't have been shot in the street.
Reyes was a senior at Leadership and Public Service High School in the Financial District and wanted to go to college to study social work.
Tlapanco declined to comment for this story. His attorney Roger Asmar didn't return a request for comment.
The city Law Department will review the claim, spokesman Jason LaSala said.
