A former NYPD officer who paralyzed a young businessman after shooting him with his police-issued weapon in a horrific fit of drunken road rage was sentenced to 10 years in prison in New Jersey on Monday.
At his sentencing in Superior Court, Camden, N.J., Hieu Tran received an agreed-upon term for the May 17, 2024, incident that rendered Kishan Patel a quadriplegic. The three-year press officer for the NYPD lost his job last month when he pleaded guilty to attempted murder.
During a perceived driving dispute, Tran pulled up alongside the victim by a red light near Route 73 and Cooper Road in Camden County and fired several shots through his windows, striking the 30-year-old Patel in the back of his head. He then roared on through the intersection and hit a nurse in another vehicle, causing her severe injuries, and fled the scene, according to court docs.
Patel had just gotten engaged and was managing his family’s businesses before the horrific incident. It’s not clear whether he will ever walk or speak again, according to his attorney Joseph Marrone. He broke several vertebrae and sustained an anoxic brain injury, requiring round-the-clock care in a specialized rehabilitation facility.
The Daily News previously reported that Tran, at the time, was depressed and drinking heavily while under pressure at work and had communicated as such to his commanders at the NYPD, though no action was taken. He was assigned to the NYPD’s press office.
William Farrington / Pool
NYPD Officer Hieu Tran is pictured in Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday, June 7, 2024. (William Farrington / Pool)
He divulged his state of mind to a psychologist following his arrest, with Camden prosecutors citing his “untreated work-related PTSD” when they first brought charges.
Patel’s relatives, who are suing Tran and the city in a separate Manhattan federal court lawsuit, say they have been emotionally and financially devastated by the incident, spending almost $1 million to retrofit their home to accommodate lifelong medical care.
Oct. 3, 2024: Armed ‘time bomb’ rips family
New York Daily News Front page of the New York Daily News for Oct. 3, 2024: Suit: Man left paralyzed in road rage shoot after NYPD let troubled officer keep gun. Manjina Patel on Wednesday says her son Kishan (inset) is fighting for his life after NYPD Officer Hieu Tran shot him in a road rage incident in New Jersey.
Their suit accuses the NYPD of complicity for allegedly enabling a toxic culture that fuels alcoholism and drug addiction among members, describing Hieu as a “ticking time bomb.” The nurse injured during the road rage incident, Stephanie Hummel, has also filed a suit.
Representatives for Tran and Patel did not immediately respond to The News’s inquiries. The Camden County prosecutor’s office and the city Law Department, which represents the NYPD in the related litigation, declined to comment.
