Biker Cop Hits Retired Judge!

[Hawkeye6]

Biker New York Cop Runs Down Ex-Jurist
Posted: September 23rd, 2005 09:48 AM EDT

JIM HINCH, PHILIP MESSING and MARSHA KRANES
Courtesy of New York Post

September 23, 2005 -- A retired Manhattan Supreme Court judge crossing a busy Downtown Brooklyn street at lunchtime was critically injured yesterday by an off-duty cop riding a motorcycle without a license, authorities said.

Paul Bookson, 72, who's also a former state senator, underwent emergency surgery at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan following the 12:30 p.m. accident in front of the Brooklyn Supreme Court building.

He was in "very critical" condition with two broken legs.

One cop said the motorcyclist, who was not immediately identified, was taken to nearby Long Island College Hospital with minor cuts.

A member of the NYPD for about a year, she was issued a summons for operating a motorcycle with only a learner's permit. The Yamaha bike belongs to her boyfriend, who's also with the NYPD, sources said.

"He is such a kind person, a magnet for people," said Eva Bruné of the Eldridge Street Synagogue on the Lower East Side, where Bookson is congregation president.

"He is a very important leader. He's completely devoted to the congregation, and we all are devoted to him."

Bookson joined the Wall Street law firm of Herzfeld & Rubin in 1995 after serving 12 years in the state Senate and 19 on the bench.

Witnesses said he was reading papers as he walked into the street.