Meet Bullethead, NYC's MOST-SUED cop: How Sgt David Grieco forced the city to pay out over $1M
After being sued 46 times, with 24 cases settled so far for unlawful arrests, raids without warrants, and unconstitutional street stops, an NYPD sergeant, who is known as 'Bullethead' has cost the city more than $1 million. According to The New York Daily News, Sgt. David Grieco can be considered a contender for the most sued officer in New York, as he has forced the city to pay out $1,066,750 in settlements from 24 cases, with 22 still ongoing.
According to statistics acquired by The Legal Aid Society's Cop Accountability Project, the greatest payment was allegedly for $103,000, however, most of the documented claims were resolved for tens of thousands of dollars. The lawsuits against Grieco, a 16-year veteran of the department, date from his time as an anti-crime officer in Brooklyn in 2011 through his present position as a field intelligence officer in Flatbush. Grieco epitomizes the lack of accountability and widespread impunity throughout the NYPD, according to Molly Griffard, a Legal Aid lawyer, who urged on New York Mayor Eric Adams to take action. Griffard remarked, "New Yorkers need the mayor and police commissioner to take action to root out misconduct and stop giving serial abusers as Grieco mere slaps on the wrist for abusing our neighbors."
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Grieco has previously been penalized for failing to document police activities on many occasions and was forfeited vacation days last year for an unreasonable vehicle stop. Moreover, there has been no confession of wrongdoing from him in any of the agreements. The complaints, according to the NYPD, do not establish that Grieco breached any laws and that he has made and supervised hundreds of arrests that did not lead to any civil litigation.
Grieco has not yet been dismissed, according to Joshua Moskovitz, a lawyer who was engaged in two claims against him that were settled. Moskovitz told the New York Daily News, “to me, it's incredible that the city hasn't already taken steps to terminate him. What would any reasonable [private sector] employer do if an employee cost them a million dollars in liability over 40 different lawsuits? At some point, any reasonable employer would say, 'I can't keep you on.’”