NYPD cop dubbed 'PistolPete' claims dubious record for 'most sued officer' in the city as it is revealed more than $1 billion in taxpayers money paid out in lawsuits over a decade

The number of claims made against the NYPD in the past decade have double - with more than $1 billion being paid out in taxpayers money

One cop - Peter Velentin - has been taken to court by the public 28-times

Up to 2012, 9,570 lawsuits were filed to the city

55 officers have been sued 10 times or more - costing the city $6 million



A tough-talking narcotics detective who has dubbed himself 'PistolPete' and the 'King of the Bronx' also holds the dubious title of most-sued NYPD officer.



Peter Valentin, has been taken to court by members of the public 28 times since 2006, to face a flurry of accusations that he has falsely arrested people - costing city taxpayers $884,000 in payouts for the 36-year-old cop.



Indeed, across the department the number of claims made doubled over the past decade to a high of 9,570 suits filed in 2012 that cost the city more than $1 billion during the same time period.

Lawsuits: The NYPD had faced nearly 10,000 lawsuits in ten years - resulting in the loss of more than $1 billion of taxpayers money

An in-depth investigation by the New York Daily News discovered that 55 officers out of the 34,000 strong NYPD have been sued 10 times or more over the past decade - with those 55 officers costing the taxpayer, more than $6 million.



These include, Valentin, who told the News that he was not aware of his dubious position as the number-one sued officer in the police force.



The majority of the suits allege that they were arrested for no good reason, were injured in the process and almost lost their jobs, pets, kids or homes as a result of their collaring by the NYPD.



Among the allegations is a lawsuit concerning an early morning raid in May 2011, at a Bronx apartment building where 14 people in five different apartments were taken to jail.



A dog was wounded by gunfire during the arrests and another dog was shot dead.



Valentin was the arresting officer and signed many field test for drugs allegedly recovered during the raid.



However, attorney's for the resident's claimed that Valentin had arranged the warrants through 10 controlled buys from the same informants and that the only charge that stuck from the raid was for the possession of a small mount of marijuana.

Defense: Michael Palladino, President of Detectives' Endowment Association, center, says that multiple lawsuits are not an indication of any officers work

A total of $202,500 in settlements were dished out by the city for the raids.



In another lawsuit brought against Valentin, a new mother spent a week on Rikers Island because the officer discovered white powder from her apartment he said was cocaine.



The mom, Jemilah el-Shabazz denied it was crack-cocaine and a lad test proved negative.



'That was the worst week of my life,' said el-Shabazz, who received a $10,000 settlement.



'They had everybody under siege and they didn’t find anything.'

The Ramos family, who had their dog shot during one of Valentin's raids were awarded a mammoth $130,000 settlement from New York City.



Three members of the Ramos famuly were brought in on gun and drugs charges and spent a night in jail.



They were released after they claimed they had no drugs and their gun was an imitation pistol lighter.



One member of the family said that the dog was shot in their hallway during the arrests and an elderly woman told the New York Daily News that the three arrested family members are 'Traumatized. They’re seeing a psychiatrist right now.'



The most recent lawsuit that names Valentin is from November and in it he is accused of being too rough arrested a former All-City basketball star in retaliation for a lawsuit he launched earlier.

New York Police Department officers monitor a march against stop-and-frisk tactics used by police on February 23, 2013 in New York City

'I’m going to f*** you up,' Tyrone Shields, 23, is quoted Valentin as saying during their July 2013 encounter in the New York Daily News, during which he referred to himself as 'the king of the Bronx.'



NYPD's LAWSUIT LEAGUE TABLE: THE MOST SUED OFFICERS IN THE FORCE

This is the list of the 12 most sued police officers in the NYPD over the past decade. Financial settlements are no an admission of guilt of any wrongdoing by the city. 1: Peter Valentin: 28 lawsuits. $884,004 in payouts

2: Vincent Orsini: 21 lawsuits: $1,087,502 in payouts

3: Fritz Gelmaud: 21 lawsuits: $404,002 in payouts

4: Warren W. Rohan. 20 lawsuits: $241,960 in payouts

5: James R. Rivera: 19 lawsuits: $436,500 in payouts

6: Andrew J. Jillery: 19 lawsuits: $614,001 payouts

7: Michael Rivera: 18 lawsuits: $520,500 in payouts

8: Steven R.. Sposito: 17 lawsuits: $973,750 in payouts

9: Christopher Schilling: 17 lawsuits: $297,500 in payouts

10: Michael Lopresti: 17 lawsuits: $1,016,001 in payouts

11: David P. Courtien: 17 lawsuits: $764,850 in payouts

12: Harry Bonhomme: 17 lawsuits: $452,501 in payouts

Shields had claimed a first lawsuit against Valentin months earlier after the detective searched his apartment for drugs - with a warrant that had a different apartment's address, according to legal papers.



Joanna Schwartz, professor at UCLA Law School, said that when an officer is sued at least 10 times or more, it could signal a 'problem' that needs to be examined.



'Research shows that only 1 to 2 percent of people who feel they’ve been mistreated by police file suit,' she said.



However, many point out that lawsuits do not mean that an officer is doing his job badly or even wrongly.



While the 'average citizen may find it unsettling, the more active an officer is the higher the likelihood of being involved in some type of litigation.



'It is neither indicative of wrongdoing nor stereotypical,' said Michael Palladino, president of the Detectives Endowment Association.



He said that the city should fight more of the lawsuits - because word is now out on the street that authorities cave pay-up too easily.



'Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and there’s a lot of fire here,' said lawyer Neil Wollerstein.



However, former NYPD Police Commissioner Ray Kelly did create a Civil Lawsuit Monitoring Program and a separate Risk Assessment Unit in September to try to get a grip.



And City Controller Scott Stringer said that he’s launching a program called ClaimStat, 'a data-driven claims review that will identify patterns and practices across city agencies that lead to claims and work with agencies to find solutions that save taxpayers money.

