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| Justin Johnsen |
A man was shocked when he received a bill for the repairs to a police car that hit him, causing him to be hospitalized.
Justin Johnsen, 31, was riding his bicycle when he was hit by a New York Police cruiser, leaving him with a gash. He was taken to a hospital where he was treated. Johnsen’s gash required stitches.
However, Justin Johnsen, from Brooklyn, New York was horrified when he received a bill of $1263.01 for the cost to repair the police cruiser which hit him.
Johnsen said he was following the rules of the road before the accident, traveling in the bike lane and signaling to make a left turn when the unmarked police car suddenly hit him. "I think it's ridiculous. I was upset. I was in disbelief that this letter would be sent asking me to pay for damages of their car when they hit me," Johnsen said.
When the news reporters asked city officials about the incident, the city abruptly canceled the bill.
“It is very upsetting that the New York Police Department thinks they can get away with outrageous behaviour like this. It is only when they get exposed by the media that they back off,” Jamaul Brown, 42, from Brooklyn, New York told YourJewishnews.com.
This is not the first time that the city of New York was accused of sending invoices to car accident victims when officers are to blame.
In October, New York city officials were forced to apologize after the city sent a collection letter to the mother of Tamon Robinson, after Tamon was fatally struck by a police car in Brooklyn, New York. In early 2012, a pedestrian, 25-year-old Jesse Zorski, was billed $1028.08 after being hit by a police car.
The department finally acknowledged the bill should not have been sent, but the family of Jesse Zorski has already filed a lawsuit to cover the costs of his hospitalization.