A Borough Park man has been awarded $4.6 million for catastrophic injuries suffered when a young police officer ran him over, an incident in which the officer admitted under oath that he initially lied about what happened, according to the man’s lawyer and court papers.

The victim was struck and badly wounded the night of Nov. 16, 2002, as he and his wife crossed 16th Avenue, en route to their car, after attending a Chasunah.

The woman was not hurt, but her husband, then 57, fractured his leg and shoulder and suffered head wounds and brain damage when he was hit by a patrol car driven by Officer Byron Chow, says Herbert Subin, the attorney representing the victim.

Now 62, the victim was forced to stop working – he had been a salesman – and suffers from short-term memory loss and mood swings, the suit claimed.

The couple sued the city and the NYPD, and a jury last March awarded them nearly $12 million. Subsequent talks resulted in last week’s settlement for $4.6 million.

A spokeswoman for the city’s lawyers confirmed the settlement to Newsday, but neither she nor the NYPD would comment.

According to trial transcripts, Chow in his deposition had blamed the victim for the accident, claiming he ran out from between parked cars. But at trial, Chow, assigned to the 66th Precinct, admitted he was driving faster than he had previously claimed and didn’t see the victim until after he was struck.

Chow during the trial admitted that he had lied during a deposition when he said he first saw the victim come out from between parked cars. Subin, citing that testimony, asked him at trial, “And again we know that’s a lie, right?”

“Yes,” Chow answered.

Chow denied he was pressured to alter the facts of the case but Subin said it’s clear the NYPD failed by not punishing Chow in the 10 months since the verdict.

(Source: Newsday)