The family of a bystander shot in the head by NYPD officers during a confrontation with a fare beater at a Brooklyn subway station has taken the first step in filing an $80 million lawsuit against the city, officials said Saturday.

The notice of claim, filed Thursday, accuses officers involved in the Sept. 15 shooting of exhibiting “carelessness and reckless” disregard for the lives of others when they opened fire on Derrell Mickles, a man armed with a knife at the crowded Sutter Ave. subway stop in Brownsville.

Straphanger Gregory Delpeche, 49, was riding an L train to work when a stray bullet fired by one of the officers struck him in the head.

The officers first had tried to stop Mickles with a Taser but opened fire when the stun gun didn’t work, officials said.

The NYPD released bodycam footage of a police shooting at a Brooklyn L subway station that left four injured by gunshots, including an officer hit by friendly fire. The Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024 shooting was sparked by fare-beater, Darrell Mickles, walking through an open gate at the Sutter Ave. L station in Brownsville and later brandishing a knife at a pair of NYPD officers. (NYPD)
The NYPD released body-cam footage of a police shooting at a Brooklyn L subway station that left four injured by gunshots, including the suspect, two bystanders and an officer hit by friendly fire. The Sept. 15, 2024 shooting was sparked by fare-beater Darrell Mickles walking through an open gate at the Sutter Ave. L station in Brownsville and brandishing a knife at NYPD officers. (NYPD)

Delpeche has been hospitalized ever since the shooting, recovering from a debilitating brain injury at a Level One trauma center, his attorney said. The $80 million sought in the lawsuit will go towards medical costs, he added.

“There is no amount of money that can make up for the harm that Gregory has suffered – we can only hope to make his life more manageable by providing him with enough resources to take care of all of his medical needs,” his attorney Nick Liakas said in a statement.

“The NYPD caused irreparable harm to this innocent bystander and to avoid further tragedy, major policy changes must be considered, including eliminating the use of highly ineffective Tasers on civilians.”

The stray police slug pierced the left side of Delpeche’s head and exited, possibly leaving bullet fragments in his skull, doctors told his shocked family.

“He’s still in intensive care. … He’s sedated,” Delpeche’s cousin Greg Nougues, 57, told the Daily News after the shooting. “They had to open up the cranium so his brain could swell, so they could operate.”

Gregory Nougues is pictured during a press conference after police released body cam footage of the subway shooting that left Gregory Delpeche critically shot, outside of the Sutter Ave L train subway station on the corner of Sutter Ave. and Van Sinderen Ave. in Brooklyn, New York on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Shawn Inglima for New York Daily News)
Greg Nougues is pictured during a news conference after police released body-cam footage of the subway shooting that left his cousin Gregory Delpeche critically wounded at the Sutter Ave L train station at the corner of  Van Sinderen Ave. in Brooklyn, New York on Sept. 20, 2024. (Shawn Inglima for New York Daily News)

A second subway rider, a 26-year-old woman, was also struck by a stray NYPD bullet during the shooting and suffered a minor injury.

One of the two cops who opened fire was wounded by friendly fire from his partner and was listed in stable condition.

Mickles was also shot and critically wounded. He has been charged with assault on a police officer and menacing.

The drama unfolded about 3 p.m. when Mickles, who has a history of mental illness, walked through an open subway gate at the subway station, according to police. Mickles has about 20 prior arrests, including more than a dozen for burglary, plus one for a robbery and one for gun possession, police sources said.

The NYPD released bodycam footage of a police shooting at a Brooklyn L subway station that left four injured by gunshots, including an officer hit by friendly fire. The Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024 shooting was sparked by fare-beater, Darrell Mickles, walking through an open gate at the Sutter Ave. L station in Brownsville and later brandishing a knife at a pair of NYPD officers. (NYPD)
NYPD body-cam footage shows Derrell Mickles being confronted by police officers. (NYPD)

Two 73rd Precinct officers, assigned to the station on overtime as part of an effort to tamp down on subway crime, followed Mickles in a second encounter he had with them within 15 minutes.

“At a certain point on the platform, the male mutters the words ‘You know I’m going to kill you if you don’t stop following me,’” NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said at a news conference held on the afternoon of the shooting. Officers Edmund Mays and Alex Wong caught up to Mickles and asked him to take his hands out of his pockets, Maddrey said.

“They become aware that he has a knife in his pocket,” the chief said.

An officer displays a photo of a suspect's knife.
An officer displays a photo of the knife Derrell Mickles was allegedly holding at a news conference at Brookdale Hospital after a police officer and three other people were shot in the Sutter Avenue L train subway station in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York on Sept. 15 2024. (Gardiner Anderson for New York Daily News)

“They give numerous commands,” Maddrey said. “The male basically challenges the officers—‘No, you’re going to have to shoot me.’”

The fare beater was within seven feet of the cops — with his knife drawn  — when they opened fire, officials said.

Nougues said it was too soon to know how severe his cousin’s brain damage will be.

“It’s a waiting game now. It’s just a waiting game,” said Nougues, who added that Delpeche has been able to move his arms and legs.

Delpeche worked as a clerical associate at Woodhull Medical Center, relatives said.

The family members of Gregory Delpeche, from left, Dr. Mullair Jeudi, Catheline Jeudy, Gregory Nougues and Christie Davis-Nougues, watch the NYPD-released body cam footage of the police-involved shooting outside of the Sutter Ave L train subway station on the corner of Sutter Ave. and Van Sinderen Ave. in Brooklyn, New York on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Shawn Inglima for New York Daily News)
The family members of Gregory Delpeche, from left, Dr. Mullair Jeudi, Catheline Jeudy, Gregory Nougues and Christie Davis-Nougues, watch the NYPD-released body-cam footage of the police-involved shooting outside of the Sutter Ave. L train subway station at the corner of  Van Sinderen Ave. in Brooklyn, New York on Sept. 20, 2024. (Shawn Inglima for New York Daily News)

A notice of claim is a legal announcement filed if someone is planning to sue the city. The official lawsuit may be filed within the next few months.

“The NYPD will review the lawsuit if and when we are served,” an NYPD spokeswoman said Saturday.

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