Friday, July 13, 2012

** Former paramedic beating suspect sues Los Angeles police chief for defamation

** Family of US military medic killed by private contractor sues gunman’s company

UNITED STATES NEWS

** A California man, suspected in the March 2011 beating of a paramedic, is now suing the Los Angeles Police Department chief. That is the word from LAWeekly (Simone Wilson/July 12) which said Giovanni Ramirez, who was cleared in relation to the Bryan Stow assault, has filed suit against Chief Charlie Beck on the grounds of defamation. According to the news site, it remains unclear just how much Ramirez is hoping to extract from a legal win. However, pundits say the case could be a slam dunk, given the Chief’s effusive claims that Ramirez was guilty, despite DNA tests, lie detector tests, and witness statements pointing to others as being responsible for the crime. Two men have since been arrested and charged in the case, with both expected to head to trial soon.

** The California family of a US Army medic killed by a private contractor in March 2011 in Afghanistan is suing the man’s employer. The Toronto Star (Jessica McDiarmid/July 10) said relatives of Rudy Acosta, 19, filed suit against the Ontario, Canada based company Tundra Group and its subsidiary Tundra Strategies, Inc. Monday. According to the newspaper, Acosta died after private security guard Shir Ahmed fired on a group of soldiers cleaning their weapons in a secure zone at Forward Operating Base Frontenac. Ahmed had already been terminated for another incident at a separate base but had been rehired by Tundra. The family says the company erred in failing to properly document Ahmed’s history and in not informing the military of his past. Tundra Strategies CEO Rob MacIntyre, meanwhile, declined comment pending perusal of the suit.