In This Issue: Vol 8, No. 1 (Summer, 2007)

First of all, once again, thanks for your interest and support. It is because of your help that we were able to win the cases of Officers Zigan and Freeman and to take on three more major cases.

The first new case is that of Officer Robert Lawlor of Hartford, Connecticut. Interestingly, it has many parallels to that of Raymond Bunn in Atlanta. Both involve the use of a vehicle in an attempt to run down a police officer doing his job. In Robert Lawlor’s case, the driver was a dangerous wanted felon. Similar to Raymond Bunn, Officer Lawlor believed that he and his partner were in imminent physical danger. Two expert witnesses used in the Bunn case will also be testifying in the Lawlor trial to demonstrate that the use of force by the police was not only authorized but necessary.

Another new case is that of the 25-year-old Deputy Sheriff Guillermo “Gilmer” Hernandex in Edwards County, Texas (see lead article). Deputy Sheriff Hernandez also faced a vehicle lunging toward him while he was on foot. He thought that his job was to prevent the escape of illegal aliens and their driver after they had entered the U.S. His shooting of the tires of the fleeing automobile in an attempt to stop it was appropriate. How could he possibly have known that the smuggler had packed the SUV so tightly that one of the person’s heads was in the wheel well? That individual was struck by bullet fragments after they hit the wheel. Officer Gilmer was indicted by the same district attorney who charged Border patrol agents Compean and Ramos. LELDF is assisting with the appeal of Deputy Sheriff Hernandez’s conviction in the United States 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

We are also taking on the case of the Queens undercover detectives involved in an episode last November in which one of the suspects was killed (see page 3). Detective Gescard Isnora, who is African-American, believed that he was facing a violent situation when a car driven by African-American Sean Bell, who died in the incident, tried to run him over. Sitting in the passenger seat was Joseph Guzman, who served time for armed robbery. Officer Isnora had to assess the situation in a matter of seconds and thought that his life, and those of his fellow officers, was in danger. In fact, the car did strike him, injuring his leg. Bell purposely crashed into the parked police van. When Officer Isnora saw Guzman reach for what he thought was a weapon, he thought that all of the officers were in jeopardy.

Michael Palladino, President of the New York Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, says that he and his organization believe that the officers were justified in firing on the vehicle. The officers were in a tense situation dealing with dangerous men accustomed to using firearms. We are supporting Officers Isnora, Oliver, and Cooper in this highly-charged case.

Earlier this year, we assisted with hearings to dismiss the charges against Officer Raymond Bunn. Unfortunately the charges were not dismissed but we have assembled a great team of experts and we are now preparing for a trial to be held later this year. In addition, Officer Bunn faces a civil trial by the estate of the deceased and LELDF is supporting that effort as well.

It is a sad commentary on our country when law enforcement officers such as Bunn, Zigan, Freeman, Lawlor, Isnora, Oliver, and Cooper use deadly force in a highly-charged confrontation and then do not have their actions judged fairly or objectively and wind up being indicted.

Statistics demonstrate that 90 percent of shooting incidents take place within a three-second time frame. In those split seconds, a police officer faced with a dangerous threat must take decisive action. Three seconds is rarely enough time for a decision-making process about his intent or the degree on injury that result from his action. An officer’s actions in such situations are primarily reactive and follow his training to stop the threat and aggressive behavior.

The reason that LELDF exists is to balance the scales for our law enforcement heroes who face dangerous and violent situations — even death — and then are charged with a crime instead of being given a medal for valor in the line of duty.

Sincerely,


David Henderson Martin