Nadine Shufelt v. City New York

In a wrongful death action, plaintiff appeals from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Queens County, entered November 26, 1979, in favor of defendant, upon a jury verdict. Judgment reversed, on the law, and new trial granted, with costs to abide the event. The parties were in agreement that a police officer, in defendants employ, fired the shots which proved fatal to plaintiffs decedent. The question to be decided was whether the homicide was justified. Reversible error was committed when statements of defendants employees which were for the most part self-serving and consistent with their testimony were read to the jury in their entirety when only small portions of these statements had previously been introduced by plaintiff for impeachment purposes. Defendant concedes that the admissions were erroneous since the statements did not tend to explain, qualify or limit the discrepancies (see People v Torre, 42 N.Y.2d 1036), nor were they admitted as the result of a claim that the testimony of the witnesses were recent fabrications [80 A.D.2d 554 Page 555]