Posted on 03/24/2007 7:57:05 AM PDT by radar101
In a case eerily reminiscent of the controversial jailing of Border Patrol agents Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos while the illegal-alien drug-smuggler they wounded went free, two illegal aliens are now suing imprisoned Texas Deputy Sheriff Gilmer Hernandez for injuries from shell fragments that struck them as the officer shot at the tires of a van in which they escaped from a routine traffic stop.
Maricela Rodriguez-Garcia and Candido Garcia-Perez are preparing to file a civil lawsuit against Hernandez and Sheriff Don G. Letsinger, possibly seeking millions of dollars in damages for alleged violation of their civil rights.
Jimmy Parks, defense attorney for Hernandez, told WND the lawsuit "has just become standard operating procedure down here on the border."
"There is a natural progression that begins when these people organize a professional (human) smuggling ring to get illegal aliens into the United States," he said. "They become very sophisticated at it, then when law enforcement makes the attempt to try to break up the smuggling ring, they just run away."
WND has obtained a copy of a draft complaint to be filed in the U.S. District Court in Del Rio, Texas, against Hernandez and Letsinger, both individually and in their official capacities.
Parks said he was not surprised by the lawsuit and expects "the illegal aliens are going to sue for millions in this case."
(Excerpt) Read more at freerepublic.com ...
If we have a Plaintiff Attorney here on the forum, doesn't a conviction make it 100 times as easy to sue?
To shell shocked to comment ping...
I heard on the Glen Beck Show that the vehicle these illegals were in was a stolen vehicle! This is just outrageous!
Free Gilmer Ping!
If you want on, or off this S. Texas/Mexico ping list, please FReepMail me.
How can it be that people in our country illegally and committing crimes could ever possibly have legal standing to bring such a suit?
Oh, right. Nevermind...
And the greedy lawyers on this forum think this is juuuust fine.
If the shooting was unlawful then the officer should be held liable for the consequences. This isn't reminiscent of anything. If a police officer shot at me without adequate legal justification, I would sue too!
Wot?
Jorge's legacy continues to grow.
And idiotic vigilantes on this forum think that cops should have the right to shoot at anyone, anytime, for any reason whatsoever. Sorry, but the law says otherwise.
Any officer worth his pay knows you may only shoot at someone or their vehicle under certain circumstances.
The dead can sue and can not testify. They are leaving the border patrol only two choices.
Don't do anything.
OR
Leave no witnesses.
The Texas Rangers investigated this incident backwards, forwards, inside and out. They found that Hernandez was JUSTIFIED in what he did. Then along comes Johnny Sutton the US Attorney of the W. Texas Dist., who decided to prosecute Hernandez like he did the two Border Patrolmen so that he can ram his personal agenda down our throats, ruin careers and lives in the process and strut his power. He's on a roll and it's going to get worse, mark my words. There's more going on than meets the eye here. I've had 30 yrs. in state level LE just so you know where I'm coming from. Sutton is Bush's wonderful friend, BTW.
It is coming to light about perjury and false witnesses in the case of the Border Patrolmen and the prosecution of Hernandez has the same pattern: paying illegal aliens to give testimony, providing SSNs for them and other "considerations" but we have become girly-men, afraid of our shadows, obedient to the mighty power of the Feds and grovel at their feet, we are good "subjects", Kind George would be proud of us.
And you were talking about the "Law", really? How about our immigration laws? How about Coyotes smuggling aliens into the country? How about possession of stolen vehicle? How about defending oneself against vehicular assault (Hernandez' video cam verified this), the list goes on and on.
Those of us in Texas put lots of stock in our Texas Rangers' investigative skills and thoroughness, I'll go with their conclusions anytime.
Glenn Beck on officer Hernandez from last month.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0702/02/gb.01.html
Here`s the point tonight. The U.S. government, is on the wrong side of this issue. Americans know that our representatives in Washington are lying to us about what they want to do with the border. This will not last much longer. Society cannot stand if people think their leaders are intentionally lying to them all the time.
Here`s how I got there. Three stories I want to touch on here. I believe they`re all connected.
First one is Gilmer Hernandez. He is a former sheriff`s deputy in a small town in Texas. He was convicted of violating the civil rights of a Mexican woman who suffered a minor gunshot wound -- I believe it was in her lip -- while being smuggled into Austin.
Now, the woman was hiding in back of a van. When Hernandez discovered her and several other illegals crouched in the back, he said, "Can I see your papers?" Instead, the van sped away and, according to Hernandez, he tried to stop it by shooting at the tires. One of the bullets went in low and ricocheted in the van, and it accidentally struck the woman. Now, she`s OK, but she`s decided to sue.
Now, Gilmer is facing ten years in prison. Thanks, justice system.
Second story, David Seip (ph), he`s a former border agent accused of using excessive force to stop an illegal alien in 2001. He was subsequently fired and now has just been acquitted after six years of being out of work. He now wants his old job at the border back.
Why would you do that? You get paid very little and you currently have no authority to even do your job. Why you want that job is beyond me.
And three, finally, in Raymondville, Texas, 2,000 non-Mexican illegal aliens are being held in a tent city until they`re sent back to their home countries. But civil liberties groups, surprise, surprise, are now saying that the facility is "inhumane and unsafe". Really?
Well, here`s a quick piece of advice for you. If you want to avoid the unsafe tent city that cost us $65 million to build, don`t break into our country!
The common thread here is, is that good Americans are working their butts off to protect our borders from illegal aliens, but when they try to do their job, the government swoops in and helps the criminals.
Civil rights? You don`t have civil rights here. You`re breaking the law. You have human rights, but no legal rights.
You know what? Problem is, illegals will keep coming as long as our government gives them an open invitation to do so with the full legal protection.
Our government is like a bad set of parents. You know, the kind that tell their kids, "Hey, you behave yourself," but then they never enforce anything? The kids know their parents aren`t going to back up their words, so they run wild.
You want to know why our society is falling apart? It`s because mommy and daddy in Washington are lying to you. They`ll never keep their promises.
They tell us that they care about security. They tell us they want to stop illegal immigration, but they do nothing about it except ribbon- cutting ceremonies and other hollow gestures. Look, we caught 12 people in Los Angeles.
Actually, you know what something, Washington? Simply doing nothing would be an improvement of what you`re doing now. You`re sending the completely insane message to our border police that if you get involved, you`ll go to jail.
Meanwhile, the illegal aliens have lawyers who are trying to get them rooms at the Ritz Carlton! How did this happen in our country?
No, I actually know. Let me tell you. Our politicians are involved in power grabs and backdoor deals which help keep them getting elected over and over again but compromises our security.
So, here`s what I know tonight. The politicians in Washington, you better pay attention. The American people are sick and tired of your lies. We`re onto you. We know you don`t mean anything you say about the borders, and we`re not going to put up with your lies very much longer. We`re not that stupid. Stop treating us like we are.
Here`s what I don`t know. Why is the government actually doing it? I have my theories. I actually believe because it`s sold out to multinational corporations or they`re just desperate to get the growing Hispanic vote.
But I`m not even sure if that`s the truth. Why? Because I can`t get one politician in Washington to actually tell me a story that I believe.
Mark Krikorian, he`s from the Center of Immigration Studies. Why is our government lying to us about the border? What`s really going on?
MARK KRIKORIAN, CENTER OF IMMIGRATION STUDIES: Well, I mean, I think couple of the things you pointed to are part of the explanation, but just part.
The fact that, you know, campaign contributions from companies that use cheap labor, that maybe is part of it.
The idea that Democrats especially, but also some Republicans, think that they`re going to import voters, likewise, it may be part of it, but I think it`s really more than that.
Immigration is one of those issues that splits the elite and the public. It`s not a right/left issue; it`s an up/down issue. And, frankly, much of the elite, whether it`s Republican or Democrat, businessmen, labor, whatever it is, just don`t see the fuss.
They think it`s OK to have a loose border and no real enforcement because -- and I say this advisedly -- they have become what I call "post- Americans." They`re really no longer concerned, first of all, with the good of their fellow countrymen. They`re kind of citizens of the world, and they see this whole idea.
BECK: You know, that`s what I mean when I say they sold out to multinational corporations. I don`t think that these corporations, they don`t -- they see America as a market. They don`t see it as their home country. And you see this on news channels all the time.
You`ll see these people: "We`re a global news organization." Bull crap. You`re an American news organization. This country gave you the right to say these things and to create this country first. But they don`t feel a responsibility to pay that back or protect it at all.
KRIKORIAN: No, absolutely not. And it`s clearly the case with a lot of the multinational corporations.
But my point is that it`s not just a corporate thing. This is really big business, big labor, big media, big academia, big religion. This is a elite versus public thing. The American public is still very patriotic and nationalistic, and I consider that to be a good thing. The elite just isn`t. And that`s why you see it`s so hard to make progress on this thing.
BECK: Here`s what I don`t understand. It`s not that I`m -- it`s not that I`m a jingoistic guy and hey, rah-rah America. I can actually see the middle class being erased. I`m seeing -- I`m seeing such a split between the uber-rich and the desperately poor.
And that`s not necessarily something that is new, but what is new is you`re importing people with a fourth grade education who have no chance of ever living the American dream, because they`ll be trapped in that fourth grade education.
That cannot last. It destroys America. How come these -- these elite and these, you know, professors can`t figure that one out?
KRIKORIAN: Well, there`s a couple of reasons. One, they don`t see it. It`s not their kids who are going to these schools, not their -- you know, they`re not going to emergency rooms that are being overwhelmed. It`s not their jobs that are being affected, which is why I`ve long thought that the kind of immigration I`m for is journalists and lawyers from overseas. Because then, you`ll see some competition and some action.
But it`s not just that. It`s also that much of the elite gets to feel kind of morally superior to ordinary people because they say, "Well, listen, I`m not a narrow-minded bigot like are you. I want to let everybody come in. That makes me better than you."
BECK: You know what kills me, is we`re sending such a dangerous message to our law enforcement people down at the border. I mean, here we are, we`re sending them to jail and some of them. Look, this guy who is in the shootout in the van, I don`t know if he was on the right side or the wrong side. But I`m hearing these stories an awful lot.
And it always ends the same way. The border guards either lose their job or they go to jail, and then the illegal aliens get cash. The guy who -- the two border guards that are now serving prison time, this drug dealer is suing the United States government for $5 million.
Why deal drugs? Come across the border, sneak across, hope somebody mistreats you and play the great American lottery?
KRIKORIAN: Exactly. I mean, in some sense, if you had any sense, you`d come over and provoke the Border Patrol to hit you over the head with a flashlight so that you can cash in.
Now you know, you`re right, it probably is true that, as in any law enforcement organization, that there`s going to be some bad apples, but we`ve seen a pattern of going against our people, our law enforcement people.
BECK: It`s insane. Thanks, Mark, appreciate it.
KRIKORIAN: Thanks, Glenn.
BECK: Whenever I do a segment on illegal immigration, I get tons of leaders from people asking about, you know, all the really awesome footage of people sneaking over the border and over the fence. If you want some of that footage, today is your lucky day.
Running down law officers for profit may be the new 'migrant' game for $$$.
http://www.elpasotimes.com/breakingnews/ci_5507012
Mar. 23, 2007 A man attempted to run over an El Paso police officer with his SUV this afternoon, El Paso Police reported.
An officer attempted to stop a 2004 Chevrolet Tahoe for speeding about 3:46 p.m. today, police said. The driver failed to stop for the officer, but did not aggressively try to flee. The officer continued to follow the Tahoe to the Stanton Street Bridge where traffic and pedestrians blocked the Tahoes ability to enter the bridge.
The officer stopped his vehicle in front of the Tahoe to block his escape and exited the patrol vehicle. The operator of the Tahoe accelerated his vehicle in the direction of the officer, who had to jump out of the way to avoid the Tahoe striking him, police said. The Tahoe struck the patrol vehicle and fled the scene.
The officer announced a description of the Tahoe and driver to area units, who began searching for the vehicle. Eventually, the Tahoe ran a stop sign at Nevada and Brown, striking a 2006 Ford F150 traveling southbound. The driver of the Tahoe fled on foot, but responding officers located and took him into custody a short distance away, police said.
The driver of the Tahoe, a 42-year-old man from Santa Teresa, is facing several charges, including Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon (the vehicle) and Evading Arrest or Detention in a Motor Vehicle. An ambulance transported the driver of the Tahoe to a local hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries.
If you are a citizen of the United States then you have a certain rights defined by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. If you’re illegally present in our country, then the rights the people of the United States defined for themselves through the Constitution should not apply to people illegally present on our soil. Yes, police powers must be limited and controlled, but civil people have no expectation that police officers should put themselves in danger when anyone, citizen or not, fails to yield peacefully to an order, or worse yet acts in any aggressive manner. If you’re not breaking the law, it’s easy enough to resolve a problem when the instant matter has deescalated.
While I’m not particularly fond of cops, I don’t believe they should be second-guessed when a decision is made in the heat of the moment when dealing with someone breaking the law or acting in an aggressive manner. Illegal aliens, by their very presence have already broken the law.
And, specifically, in the case of the BP agents and the deputy sheriff, they should get all benefit of the doubt before prosecution when the crime involves anyone not legally present in the country. And, the illegally present person should have no rights or privilege with respect to a civil action under any circumstances.
So, BMIC, if while you’re behaving yourself and acting in a civil manner, you’re shot by a cop, sue him. If you’re an illegal alien invading our country, and you’re shot and live to tell about it, go home and whine about it at home, and think about the liability of breaking our laws.
This has got to stop. We need a law stating that if you were involved in illegal activities at a time of incident then you can only file criminal charges but not civil and receive no compensation.
This is where we need REAL tort reform.
A tort action must never be founded upon the illegal activities of a plaintiff.
Here we have illegal aliens who were in the commission of their illegal actions.
The PROXIMATE cause of their injuries was the illegal activity.
This is not different than a person jumping into a lion's cage and then suing the circus because the lion tammer's whip hit them as he was beating back the lions.
This is about attorney fees.
Who are the lawyers and how do we get them disbarred.
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