A Yonkers cop pulled a U-turn and hit her car. Should emergency responder immunity apply?

A police SUV pulling a sudden U-turn collided with Sandie Ortiz’ compact car last summer. She believed the cop was clearly at fault, but her claim for the $3,000 repair bill lingers unresolved today.

Suing Yonkers Police Department has become the only option left, Ortiz said, but it seems daunting considering the possibility of paying out legal fees only to lose the case.

Why does she have doubts about suing? The officer said he made the U-turn to write a ticket for another vehicle’s undisclosed driving infraction, records show.

That statement — despite Ortiz saying the cop never turned on his emergency lights or sirens — could help police defeat the lawsuit due to a state law that grants broad legal immunity to emergency responders.

“It was a rude awakening to how things are done, and how we the people who get hit are left holding the bag,” Ortiz recalled recently.

Her story, in many ways, underscored the stark reality that New Yorkers hit by police vehicles face massive barriers to justice, as revealed by an ongoing USA TODAY Network-Syracuse University investigation of police-involved crashes across New York.

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Yonkers woman: I was intimated by five officers after crash

Within minutes of the crash, Ortiz found herself swarmed by five responding Yonkers police officers, she recalled recently.

As a petite woman, she felt intimated under questioning from five physically larger men, whom she believes were trying to cast blame on her driving, she said. Moments before, Ortiz had been driving in the turning lane toward the traffic light. As she prepared to turn left, the U-turning cop cut in front of her path, resulting in the crash.

Ortiz recalled standing firm while several officers downplayed her request that the police report reflect she did nothing wrong and the officer caused the crash.

“They kept saying, ‘Oh, don’t worry; go to your insurance and it will take care of it,’” she recalled. “That’s the way they get away with it.”

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Police crashes, insurance and court battles

Despite Ortiz’ pleas, she later learned the police report description stated that the two vehicles collided without assigning clear blame. The report checked off apparent contributing factors as the officer’s “unsafe lane changing.” It made no reference to the use of emergency lights and siren, or lack thereof.

For Ortiz, who had liability coverage on her vehicle, the report seemingly limited the possibility for any insurance-related claim, which would require her establishing the officer was at fault without the involvement of an emergency response defense.

To win in court, Ortiz could potentially be forced to prove the officer acted with “reckless disregard” to public safety to overcome the emergency responder immunity.

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After self-filing a notice of claim, which included several auto shop estimates for the repairs, Ortiz said the city’s legal department told her during a phone call that she needed to hire an attorney to proceed.

But another case upstate raises questions about that response. In that incident involving a police car slamming into a row of parked cars, Rochester’s legal department declined a self-submitted notice of claim without the citizen hiring an attorney.

What did Yonkers Police have to say?

Yonkers legal department did not immediately respond this week to a request for comment on Ortiz’ claim.

Ortiz, of Ossining, shared her story in response to call for reader submissions about their experiences with police car crashes, which was included in the initial USA TODAY Network investigation.

In describing her frustrations with the police and legal system, Ortiz asked: “Why should I be made to feel like I will have to sue in order to get compensated for even repairs?”

Yonkers police officials declined to be interview for this report. In response to emailed questions about the incident, Detective Sergeant Frank DiDomizio noted he could not find any formal complaints or allegations regarding the conduct of officers at the crash scene. He declined to comment on details of the case, citing open litigation.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Yonkers cop pulled a U-turn, hit her car. Will police cover repairs?