It’s open season on cops — at least in New York courtrooms. And that’s not a good sign for New Yorkers.
On Wednesday, a Queens jury awarded an admitted thief $510,000 for a broken leg he suffered during his arrest for shoplifting. The award came even though Kevin Jarman pleaded guilty. He also sued the NYPD in 2005 and 2013 after separate drug-sale charges against him were dropped.
Though the city settled those cases for $15,000 and $20,000 respectively, it will contest this week’s verdict — as it should.
Here’s what’s so worrisome: Wednesday’s mind-boggling award comes only a day after the city agreed to a $250,000 settlement with a Queens couple.
The couple sued because their knife-wielding, emotionally disturbed son was shot dead, even though he menaced his mother and lunged at cops.
That followed the filing this month of a lawsuit against the city by yet another Queens resident.
This one was outraged that the police, after recovering his stolen car, mistakenly stopped him several weeks later in the same vehicle because it was still listed as stolen.
Meanwhile, the City Council passed a law last year that makes it easier to sue cops in stop-and-frisk situations. And this year, there are signs the council will push a newly installed inspector general to track lawsuits merely filed against cops.
Bottom line? All of this will serve to smear the reputations of the police, make their jobs harder and endanger New Yorkers, as cops worry about litigation over every on-the-spot decision they make.