N.Y.P.D. Understated Woman’s Wound in Subway Shooting, Lawyer Says

Kerry Gahalal, who was struck when officers shot a knife-wielding man at a Brooklyn station, was not simply “grazed” as officials said, according to a lawyer for the woman’s family.

A 26-year-old woman who was wounded when New York City police officers shot a knife-wielding man at a Brooklyn subway station was not “grazed” by gunfire as officials have said, according to a lawyer for her family. Instead, the lawyer said on Saturday, she has a bullet lodged in her leg and is unable to walk.

The woman, Kerry Gahalal, was one of two bystanders to be struck when the officers shot the man, Derrell Mickles, during a confrontation last Sunday at the Sutter Avenue L train station in the Brownsville neighborhood. The other bystander, Gregory Delpeche, was in critical condition on Friday.

The contention that police officials had minimized the severity of Ms. Gahalal’s injury came a day after the Police Department released video footage of the episode that appeared unlikely to end questions about whether the officers had acted appropriately under the circumstances.

The shooting is being examined by the department’s Force Investigation Division and the Brooklyn district attorney’s office. Police leaders and Mayor Eric Adams have said that the use of force was justified because Mr. Mickles had threatened officers with a weapon. Critics say it was a dangerous escalation of what had begun as an effort to enforce the minor offense of fare evasion.

Ms. Gahalal turned 26 the day before the shooting and was taking the subway to Manhattan with her husband for a celebratory dinner when the L train they were on stopped at the Sutter Avenue station, the lawyer for her family, Joel Levine, said.

Discussing the shooting, in which Mr. Mickles and an officer were also wounded, Jeffrey Maddrey, the chief of department, said at a police news conference last Sunday that a male bystander (Mr. Delpeche) had been struck in the head and that a female bystander (Ms. Gahalal) had been “grazed.”

Mr. Levine disputed that description of Ms. Gahalal’s injury. He said she was unable to walk and was at a rehabilitation facility on Saturday as she worked to regain her health.

“They say she left the hospital, but she’s still in rehab,” he said. “She has a long road ahead of her both physically and mentally. She will have a bullet in her leg the rest of her life.”

The Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his assertion.

Mr. Levine, like those close to Mr. Delpeche, said the footage released by the police on Friday had undercut the argument that the shooting was justified. Based on the edited, 17-minute video, Mr. Levine said, Mr. Mickles was not an imminent threat to the officers when they shot him.

The events that led up to the shooting began around 3 p.m. with an initial, unsuccessful attempt by Mr. Mickles to avoid the subway fare, followed 10 minutes later by his entering the system through an emergency gate without paying, the video shows.

Two officers, Edmund Mays and Alex Wong, follow him up the stairs to the nearly empty subway platform while noting the knife in his hand, the video shows. They ask him repeatedly to drop the knife. Mr. Mickles refuses, tells them to leave him alone and challenges them to shoot him.

An L train arrives, and Mr. Mickles backs into one of the cars, followed by the officers. They demand again that he drop the knife as several passengers look on, the footage shows. He continues to refuse.

The officers fire their Tasers, which fail to subdue Mr. Mickles. He rushes down the platform toward Officer Mays before stopping and turning to face Officer Wong. Mr. Mickles appears to be standing still in front of an open subway car door when the officers begin firing, the video shows. Ms. Gahalal and her husband were in that car, Mr. Levine said.

“It was handled very poorly by the police, and two innocent bystanders are going to have lifelong effects as a result of their decision,” he said.

Officer Mays, who was shot below the armpit, has been released from the hospital, officials said. Mr. Mickles, who was shot in the stomach, remains hospitalized. On Friday, he was arraigned on charges that include attempted aggravated assault on a police officer and criminal possession of a weapon. He has pleaded not guilty and is being held on $200,000 cash bail.

Sheelagh McNeill contributed research.

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