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$200 million suit filed in party cop killings

NEW YORK (Court TV) -- Relatives of the four victims mowed down by binge-drinking police officer Joseph Gray filed a $200 million suit Wednesday, charging the police department with being soft on alcoholic cops.

"Such an atmosphere fostered the belief in alcohol-abusing police officers that they were insulated from discipline, investigation, prosecution and conviction for even the most egregious, reckless and criminal acts related to alcohol abuse," the suit states.

The wrongful death suit follows the conviction and sentencing of Gray, a 17-year veteran of the New York Police Department, on four charges of second-degree manslaughter.

After spending Aug. 4, 2001, drinking with friends from the 72nd precinct, Gray plowed his family's minivan into Maria Herrera, 23, her sister Dilcia Pena, 16, and her son Andy Herrera, 4. Ricardo Herrera, who was delivered to Herrera by emergency Caesarian section, died later at the hospital.

Gray, who admitted to downing at least 12 beers the day of the collision, received the toughest sentence from Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Anne Feldman, five to 15 years in state prison.

The suit, which was filed by the firm of high-profile attorney Johnnie Cochran, spreads the blame for Gray's fatal collision across a number of parties.

Unexpected testimony about a possible cover-up surfaced during Gray's two-week trial, and helped expand the scope of the suit. In addition to the city, it now names a number of fellow officers at Gray's precinct -- including a sergeant who drank with him the day of the collision -- the strip club they drank at, and the Patrolman's Benevolant Association (PBA), the police officer's advocacy organization.

Allegations of a cover-up surfaced during the trial when a retired police officer admitted on the stand that he had sought to help Gray beat the alcohol examination he was charged with administering.

"Thinking back to the time, my intention was to give the subject a benefit," said now-retired NYPD Officer Martin Finkelstein, whose job it was to offer Gray a Breathalyzer and coordination tests, both of which he refused.

Finkelstein said he discussed ways Gray could beat the test with members of the PBA, including Michael Immett and three others whose full names are listed as unknown in the suit.

The PBA did not return calls for comment.

The civil suit filed Wednesday isn't the only pressure facing the police department in the wake of Gray's trial. Citing Finkelstein's admission, the Kings County district attorney launched an investigation into police misconduct after the trial.

The fatal crash drew nationwide attention to the problem of police officers and alcohol abuse. Seventeen officers in all, including the commanding officer of Gray's precinct, were disciplined for participating in, or condoning, the party atmosphere.

"It was just an atmosphere that anything went. They just didn't care about the rules, thought that they were above the rules and they didn't apply to them," said Derek Sills, a lawyer for the family. "But the main thing is just the loss of life. It's really hard to calculate what the loss of life is worth."

The suit, filed in Brooklyn federal court, seeks damages on behalf of Maria Pena, the mother of Maria Herrera and Dilcia Pena and the grandmother of Herrera's two children. Oscar Herasme, the lawyer for Herrera's husband, Victor Herrera, has said he also plans to file a civil suit.