A man shot in the leg at an Italian festival in Queens is suing the NYPD for failing to protect him.

Brooklynite Matthew Ortiz was shot in September 2008 when the Italian Feast Festival in Ridgewood erupted in “open outbreaks of escalating violence,” court papers say. His lawyer, David Harrison, blames cops.

“There were a number of mini-riots, and the police presence was practically nonexistent,” Harrison said. “If stuff going on gets worse and worse . . . it’s negligence.

“When the police are there and the same thing keeps happening over and over, I think you can argue they assumed a duty [to protect Ortiz],” he said, claiming that the circumstances make such a suit legally permissible.

The city Law Department, not having seen the April 15 suit, declined comment.