2 NYPD officers who shot teen had faced lawsuits

NEW YORK (AP) — Two police officers who killed a 16-year-old boy on a New York City street have been sued for alleged civil rights violations related to other encounters with the public, the Daily News reported Saturday.

The city has paid $215,000 to settle three lawsuits against Sgt. Mourad Mourad and two against officer Jovaniel Cordova, the newspaper reported (http://nydn.us/XHjdZx ).

The officers were in Brooklyn's East Flatbush section March 9 when they tried to stop and question 16-year-old Kimani Gray on the street. Police say the officers, who were not wearing uniforms, shot the teen after he pulled a gun.

Gray's killing prompted a week of protest marches in Brooklyn, including some incidents that turned violent, with people ransacking a market and throwing items at police officers and police vehicles.

The civil rights lawsuits against Mourad and Cordova were filed by people who claimed they were illegally stopped and roughed up under the police department's stop-and-frisk program, where officers confront people they suspect might be carrying weapons.

A lawyer for the city's law department said the settlements did not indicate the officers were out of line. The two officers generally police dangerous high crime areas.

"None of these civil claims were tried, and the officers were not found to have engaged in any wrongdoing," said city lawyer Muriel Goode-Trufant. "The decision to settle should not be held against them."

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Information from: Daily News, http://www.nydailynews.com