Tuesday, 14 May 2024

Wife of knife-wielding Staten Island man killed in 2018 police shooting sues city

The wife of a Staten Island man who was killed in 2018 in a hail of police gunshots that resulted in an NYPD cop taking friendly fire has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city.

Faustino Dioso, 50, was allegedly drunk and wielding a 21-inch machete when he charged toward police who answered a 911 call on Dec. 9, 2018, at Dioso’s residence at 30 Bridge Court on Staten Island.

NYPD officers Salvatore Balistreri and Amir Pali, who responded to the call, opened fire on Dioso in an alleyway by Dioso’s basement apartment.

The officers responded to reports that Dioso was intoxicated and shouting outside the residence.

According to a lawsuit filed on Friday in Brooklyn federal court, Lourdes Dioso, Faustino Dioso’s husband, was awakened by the presence of NYPD officers and came out of her room to see her husband arguing with the cops.

Lourdes Dioso alleges that she tried to wedge herself between Faustino Dioso and the two officers and “diffuse the situation.”

At some point during the struggle, the widow alleges, one of the officers fired a Taser, which “exacerbated this situation.”

Lourdes Dioso said the Taser missed and an officer ran from the apartment. She says she saw her husband follow the officer — with nothing in his hands — and that she heard six shots.

One bullet struck Pali in the torso and wounded the officer, despite the fact that the officer was wearing a bulletproof vest.

The hit was believed to have come from a direct shot from Balistreri or a ricocheting round. Pali survived the gunshot.

Balistreri, Pali and the city are named as defendants in the lawsuit.

The suit was filed one week after Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon cleared the officers of wrongdoing, the Staten Island Advance reports.

“We will not comment before we’ve had a chance to review the lawsuit and investigate the facts,” a Law Department spokesman said on Friday. “Anytime there is a loss of life in an incident such as this it’s tragic. We’ll review the suit and investigate the facts.”

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