Does a plaintiff have a claim for damages arising from a police officer encountering heightened risk in the pursuit of duty?

The defendant argues that new claims arising from a police officer encountering heightened risk in the pursuit of duty is not a basis for recovery. The defendant cites Rector v. City of New York: "a police officer may not recover damages for common law negligence where some act taken in furtherance of a specific police ... function exposed the officer to a heightened risk of sustaining injury."²⁷ However, this argument ignores the "separate and apart" exception, that holds if a police officer is injured as a consequence of conduct independent of the reason for which the officer is summoned, General Municipal Law 205-e does apply.²⁸ Here, the plaintiff was called upon to serve a warrant against one individual only to see another individual acting suspiciously. The officer was not injured as a consequence of serving the warrant, but was injured from of a different cause. Contrary to the defendant's arguments, the plaintiff falls within the "separate and apart" exception, and General Municipal Law 250-e is applicable.