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Municipal Corporations - Municipal Responsibility For The Torts Of Policemen

Michigan Law Review

E, standing near the scene of a holdup in the Bronx, was shot by a stray bullet from the gun of a policeman engaged in pursuing several highwaymen. The Municipal Assembly of New York City enacted in 1927 an ordinance providing that the Board of Estimate is authorized to make an award of damages to such innocent bystanders when injured by policemen. E received an award of $6,740 from the Board for injuries suffered. Upon the Comptroller's refusal to pay it without a judicial declaration of its legality, E sued out a writ of mandamus. It was held that …