State Trooper Found Guilty In Boston Accident

A jury found him guilty of negligence.

When Norma Shulman decided to watch the 2007 Boston Marathon, she didn’t expect to get knocked down by the police. This unfortunately happened to the 65-year-old woman from Framingham, Massachusetts. At the marathon, Shulman was watching the race from behind a white line when a motorcycle driven by Sgt. Dennis Bertulli collided with her, pushing her to the ground.

On Friday, a jury at the Middlesex Superior Court found the police officer guilty of negligence and awarded Shulman $15,500 in damages.

According to an article posted on Boston.com, Shulman also sued the Bertulli and the investigating officer, Lt. William Cederquist, for civil rights violations. She said the police tried to blame her for the accident. However, the jury ruled against her on that claim.

“Regardless of the verdict, we did the right thing by pursuing this issue,” Shulman said. “They tried to cover it up and blame it on me.”

Concerning the jury’s finding of negligence, state police spokesman David Procopio had this to say: “We respect the jury’s decision but disagree with its finding that the department was negligent, and believe the facts presented to the court support our position: this incident was an unfortunate accident.”

For More: Boston.com