A civilian who was shot multiple times when a Newport News,VA, police SUV was ambushed in August 2019 has filed a claim with the city — asserting that police should not have put her in such a dangerous situation.
Attorneys for Macy Raquel Hooper say the police department was careless in allowing her to “ride along” with an officer as police attempted to surround and capture a man who had killed his wife only two hours earlier.
Unlike the police officers on the scene, the notice contends, Hooper was not provided a bullet-resistant vest, and she suffers lifelong injuries as a result, Yahoo News reports.
“As a result of the shooting and negligence of the City of Newport News and the City of Newport News Police Department, Ms. Hooper sustained significant permanent injuries from multiple gunshot wounds,” said the notice of claim that Fairfax attorney Robert Somer sent to City Attorney Collins L. Owens Jr. in February 2020.
A lawsuit has not been filed, and no settlement has been reached.
One factor that’s likely to work against Hooper’s claim is that she signed what appears to be a comprehensive liability waiver before getting into the police SUV as part of the police department’s civilian ride along program.
