The family of a Brooklyn teen shot dead by cops after they said he pointed a gun at them filed a federal lawsuit Friday against the city and officers involved, claiming the victim was profiled because he was black.
The civil rights suit was filed in Brooklyn federal court on behalf of Kimani Gray, who was 16-years-old when he was gunned down on March 9, 2013.
Police at the time said Gray — a reputed gangbanger — whipped out a .38 caliber revolver from his pants and pointed it a pair of undercover officers, Sgt. Mourad Mourad and Officer Jovaniel Cordova.
The 19-page wrongful death action stops short of using the words “stop and frisk,” but repeatedly refers to what it calls a city “policy” requiring the NYPD to profile minority men based solely on their race.
”The decedent was walking with his friends when defendants Sgt. Mourad and PO Cordova approached the group without cause, pursuant to a City of New York policy, practice and/or custom of unlawfully profiling and confronting minority men on the street,” the suit stated.
Cops at the time said the pair approached Gray and a group of pals hanging out at about 11 p.m. at East 52nd Street near Snyder Street in East Flatbush because they were acting suspiciously.
Mourad opened fire and shot Gray in the leg and stomach after the youth pulled the gun, cops said.
The teen was rushed to Kings County Hospital, which is only a few blocks away, but did not survive.
The suit, filed by Gray’s mother, Carol Gray, and sister, Mahnefah Gray, claimed the teen was unarmed, shot without reason and denied proper medical care by city EMTs.
The lawsuit, which also lists 10 other unnamed officers and five EMTs as defendants, seeks unspecified monetary damages.
Gray’s death prompted riots and looting, as mourners attending a series of vigils in the neighborhood ran amok in the days after his death.