The NYPD has sued for the shooting of Edward Wilkins by police officer Sean Armstead
The mother of a dog walker who He was shot by his lover’s husband, a policeman Last year, she sued the NYPD, claiming her son’s killer should not have had a gun.
Edward Wilkins, 20, was fatally shot by Officer Sean Armstead, 36, who then killed himself outside Buffalo Wild Wings in Wallkill on May 8, 2022, because he suspected the younger man of having an affair with his wife, Alexandra Vanderheyden, 35.
Wilkins’ mother, Helena Dow, sued the New York Police Department Thursday, claiming that the department should have known Armstead had mental health issues and that he should not have been allowed to possess a gun — or even become a cop, according to a court filing. Upper Manhattan.
The suit alleged that Armistead—who was supposed to work the midnight shift at PSA 8 in the Bronx—was ill on the day of the murder and was “negligently allowed to take his service revolver and three clips of ammunition”.
The jealous cop tracked down Vanderheyden and Wilkins. An employee of a dog walking company – To the La Quinta Inn in Wallkill, upstate.
He later crashes his car into Wilkins after he chases him on the NY-211 before Wilkins flees on foot.
Wilkins – who made it to the Buffalo Wild Wings parking lot – Armstead shot it The lawsuit alleges 11 times outside the restaurant.
Vanderheyden, who had been with Armstead for nine years, arrived on the scene to find both men dead after her husband shot himself, sources told The Post in May.
The lawsuit alleges that Armstead “was negligently allowed to take his service revolver and three clips of ammunition even though he had previously come into contact with illness, was therefore off duty, and had no legitimate reason to possess it.”
The lawsuit alleges that the 11-year-old veteran policeman “suffered from mental illness, was a known risk of engaging in violence, was psychologically and emotionally unfit to be a police officer and possessed… a dangerous handgun.”
The NYPD was negligent in “supervising Armstead and entrusting him with a gun,” which was “a substantial factor and proximate cause of death” for Wilkins, the suit alleges.
Prior to the tragic crime, Wilkins suffered from “pre-traumatic stress disorder and experienced excruciating pain…and agony including a fear of imminent death while his car was struck by Armstead,” the prosecution claims.
Dow is suing for unspecified damages. She also calls her suit the Armistead estate.
Dow attorney Michael Culp, of the law firm O’Connor & Partners, PLLC, told The Post, “I can confirm that [Dow] he [Wilkins’] My mom and this was very hard for her.”
He declined to give further details.
Vanderheyden is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit. No work number could be found for her on Thursday.
The NYPD declined to comment because the case is pending.
The Orange County Commissioner of Finance is listed as the administrator of the Armstead estate. An attorney for the estate declined to comment.
aAdditional reporting by Craig McCarthy