Federal court reinstates $100 million lawsuit against New York State troopers

By Jim Greene

Published on August 02, 2005

The suit, dismissed last year by a lower court judge in White Plains, is being brought by relatives of Nicholas Terranova, then 19, who was killed June 3, 2003, when he crashed into a group of cars stopped on the highway by State Trooper Raphael Torres for the purpose of creating a roadblock against Terranova and three other motorcyclists.

According to the suit, Troopers Aaron Riley and Kevin Quintero observed a group of motorcyclists traveling at what they reported as a high rate of speed, and radioed Terranova to create the roadblock. According to court papers, witnesses saw Terranova swerving across three lanes of traffic to bring a group of seven to 14 cars to a stop on a poorly lit curve in the road.

Plaintiffs' attorney Michael Grace said Terranova's actions endangered not only the motorcyclists, but also the motorists in the cars that were stopped. He said the action was disproportionate to the alleged infraction of speeding, and a violation of the victim's Fourth Amendment protection against illegal search and seizure.

The defense claims that, at worst, it is a case of negligence in the performance of the officers' duties, a matter, they say, for state courts.

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