One of the three innocent bystanders injured when NYPD officers fired 46 shots at a man with a gun last weekend plans to sue the city, claiming cops engaged in "contagious shooting." Which is dangerous, you know?

To recap (this is the NYPD's current version of events): two men got into a fistfight outside a block party in Harlem; one had a gun; the other man grabbed it, shot the man and then fired one or two shots at an approaching cop; four police officers then fired 46 times, killing the unarmed man, wounding the man with gun, and shooting three bystanders and two cops.

Not a great demonstration of shooting accuracy, clearly. Now Larry Garlick, who ended up with a bullet in his leg, is alleging that the reason so many shots were fired is because, hell, when one cop starts shooting, they all just start shooting. It's a debatable point.

"I see it more - based on what I'm reading - that each of those officers felt the threat themselves," [a former commander of the Police Department's firearms training section] said. "This shooting took place within seconds of a shot going off, and they pretty much fired at the same time."

Let's just give everyone one bullet each from now on, problem solved.

[NYT, Previously. Pic via]