Philadelphia police sued over fatal shooting last year in Grays Ferry

The family of a man police killed last year in Grays Ferry has filed a wrongful death suit against two Philadelphia police officers and the city alleging that two officers used excessive force in the shooting.

Giuseppe Particianone, 33, a South Philadelphia mechanic, died on April 10, 2020, after a police officer “let off a volley of shots into an occupied home without regard for anyone inside,” the lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania alleges.

Officers Bradford Conlon and Antoine Hayes had responded to reports of gunshots in the 1500 block of Bailey Street. They opened fire after a woman in a space behind the house allegedly pointed a gun at the officers.

The woman, Kaitlynn Pugliese, 22, was shot in the left thigh, left hip, and left buttock. Particianone was shot multiple times in the abdomen and died at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center a short time later. Multiple firearms were recovered from the scene, police said.

The 29-page lawsuit alleges that Conlon, with just one year of experience at the time, prematurely fired his weapon. Hayes then “negligently, recklessly, and perhaps criminally” fired a “fusillade of bullets” into the house at 1521 S. Bailey St., the suit alleges.

Particianone “was shot while on his hands and knees between his own kitchen and living room,” where his father, Rocco, was lying on the sofa when the shooting started, according to the lawsuit.

In additional to wrongful death, the lawsuit alleges excessive force and assault and battery against both officers. The family is seeking an unspecified amount of financial compensation.

The city had no comment, spokesperson Kevin Lessard said.

The lawsuit says that the Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office cleared Conlon and Hayes of any wrongdoing.

Pugliese was charged with manslaughter in Particianone’s death, along with firearms violations. The case is pending.