A former NYPD officer was battling for his life when he fatally shot his longtime friend during a rage-filled confrontation in Farmingdale in May 2020, a lawyer for the rookie cop told a Nassau County jury Tuesday in Mineola.
“Errick Allen acted reasonably, he had a reasonable fear that deadly physical force was about to be used against him,” defense attorney Anthony La Pinta said after delivering closing arguments in the trial of Allen, 30, of North Massapequa. Allen is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and menacing in the death of childhood buddy Christopher Curro, who was 24.
“A classic case of self-defense,” added La Pinta, who told the jury the forensic evidence showed that Curro was the aggressor in the fight that ended with his death and had grabbed for the officer’s Glock during a brief scuffle.
Prosecutor Jessica Cepriano countered, telling the jury that Allen was enraged by an exchange of insulting and confrontational text messages when he confronted his estranged friend on Langdon Road in Farmingdale on May 12, 2020. Allen didn’t intend to kill the unarmed Curro when he brought his service weapon to the faceoff, Cepriano said, but intentionally shot his friend when he realized the clash would likely lead to the end of his three-month NYPD career.
“He brought his gun because he was ready to unholster it and use it,” Cepriano told the jury, which is scheduled to begin deliberations Wednesday after a five-week trial. She told the jury that the forensic evidence showed that Allen had the upper hand in the fight and shot his longtime pal out of anger.
Cepriano is a prosecutor with the New York Attorney General’s Office, which has been designated by law to oversee all police-involved fatalities.
Allen and Curro grew up on the same block and were inseparable as students at Alban Avenue Elementary school in North Massapequa, La Pinta said in his opening statement, but their relationship “drifted a bit” as they went through…
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