A New York judge says a lawsuit filed by the family of a Hofstra University student killed in an off-campus police shooting can move forward.
Newsday reports the judge ruled against Nassau County's bid to dismiss the wrongful death lawsuit.
But the judge threw out parts of the suit including a claim the shooting was the result of the county's negligence in training and supervising the officer who shot Andrea Rebello.
The 21-year-old junior was shot in the head by police in May 2013 as she was being held hostage in her off-campus Long Island home.
Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice had said that the officer who shot Rebello, Nikolas Budimlic, had no option but deadly force.
Family attorney David Roth says the family, who lives in Westchester County, is happy with the decision and is moving forward with the litigation.
County and police officials declined to comment Tuesday.
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Budimlic, an eight-year veteran of the Nassau Police Department who had previously spent 12 years as an NYPD officer, was among the first officers to respond to a report of an early morning robbery at the house near the Hofstra campus in Hempstead.
After entering the house, the officer encountered Dalton Smith holding Rebello in a headlock. Smith maneuvered down a flight of stairs and was attempting to leave with the young woman through a rear door, yelling expletives at police officers and threatening to shoot the student.
Smith, 30, had been on parole for his involvement in an armed robbery, according to Rice's report. An arrest warrant had been issued for him about three weeks before the fatal shooting occurred. Smith also had prior convictions for attempted robbery and weapons possession.
