NYPD slapped with wrongful death suit after cop shot wife's lover, self - New York Post

Edward Wilkins, 20, was gunned down by Officer Sean Armstead, 36, who then killed himself outside a 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 on Thursday sued the NYPD, claiming the department should have known that Armstead was suffering from mental health problems and that he shouldn’t have been allowed to have a gun — or even become a cop, according to the filing in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Armstead — who was supposed to be working a midnight shift in the PSA 8 in the Bronx — had called out sick the day of the murder and was “negligently permitted to take possession of his service handgun and three clips of ammunition,” the suit alleges.

Wilkins — who only made it as far as a Buffalo Wild Wings parking lot — was shot by Armstead 11 times outside the restaurant, the suit claims.

And the 11-year veteran cop was, “suffering from mental illness, was a known risk to engage in violence, and was psychologically and emotionally unfit to be a police officer and possess a dangerous …handgun,” the lawsuit alleges.

The NYPD was negligent in “supervising Armstead and entrusting him with a handgun,” which “was a substantial factor and a proximate cause of the death,” of Wilkins, the suit claims.