============================================================================= * Forwarded by Terry Liberty-Parker (1:382/804) * Area : WACO (WACO: Excessive Force By Govt (Waco & other)) * From : ERIC GRAY, 1:300/507 (03 Mar 95 18:01) * To : ALL * Subj : Davidians Sue Govt ============================================================================= This message was from BEN MOORE to ALL, originally in conference AENNEWS and was forwarded to you by ERIC GRAY. ------------------------- -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- DAVIDIANS TO SUE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT...DIFFERENTLY!!! AP 27 Feb 95 21:34 EST V0011 HOUSTON (AP) -- Branch Davidians and their survivors sued the government for $63.5 million Monday, claiming it meant for church members to die in the federal raid on their compound and the fire that destroyed it. "This is a fundamentally different approach than any of the other lawsuits," said lawyer James Brannon, who filed the lawsuit in federal court. "The others claim that the government made mistakes," he said. "This is the only one that takes a position that they calculatedly destroyed the compound and everything in it." Fifty-six relatives of Davidians who died and a few surviving church members are each seeking $10 million in damages plus $7.5 million for the church, claiming federal agents "willfully, wantonly and intentionally planned an illegal, violent paramilitary operation which they knew or should have known would result in unnecessary violence, personal injury and loss of life." Also Monday, an earlier lawsuit against Treasury and Justice department officials was expanded to include the U.S. government as a defendant. That lawsuit, which seeks more than $1 billion, accuses the government of negligence that resulted in excessive force in the initial assault and ensuing siege. It also says officials ignored alternative strategies that might have shortened the standoff and saved lives. "What we're about is asking the government to accept its share of the responsibility for what happened," said lawyer Michael Caddell, who represents 10 surviving Davidians and the relatives or estates of 84 others. Joe Kroviski, a Justice Department spokesman in Washington, said officials hadn't seen the lawsuits and would have no comment Monday. Two years ago, on Feb. 28, 1993, about 100 agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms arrived in cattle trailers at the compund outside Waco where David Koresh and his followers lived. They planned to arrest Koresh on weapons charges. Four agents and six Davidians died in the gun battle that followed. Seventy-nine Davidians, including Koresh and 18 children, died 51 days later, when the FBI mounted an armored assault and the compound went up in flames. The government blames Davidians for the fire; the church blames the government. Nearly a dozen civil lawsuits have been filed by federal agents and by Davidians. None have gone to trial yet. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.61 Comment: (Fido <1:231/110>, Compuserve 74441,1242) iQEVAwUBL1MwUoSAJOVFNaChAQHXVAgAj2d7yYjMFihRkBY/z22e/7NyvOVD8IWn 9VizdP72joTR+quxi6ixByQ2UnaD8MJLVavIcr//d2b0vYPKGAc0ue3B9nIgPST/ bu2Y4uXKYznXhS35oGVY+TgYWd8pGeosYl4KoUjJh8jW11QWbkbmR2L3L+wYEHzj 1FOxM6DKWF/K6bMCWOG4aEtndZUi8vEy9d1DDM5u9rIoQTFleJ/4+Pnoq7EnYEaH Kx9Se+282Pi4qKo67A1GKHk9bHcDFN0JQe1rgfR8krDAG4dvfultH5BrC5KE6Z0v 6cHKzBgbzMGhSz4gg+2nMISa6pKJP3zJSDxOk0tqM52/MWE/HGeIUg== =/qj2 -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- ~~~ PGPBLUE 3.0 ... 50 years of progress - 1943-1993 - Warsaw to Waco --- GEcho 1.00 * Origin: Gun Control = Criminals & Police vs. the Unarmed. (1:231/110.0) * OLX 2.2 TD * With that much hyperbole, you should be in congress. -+- GoldED 2.41 + Origin: The Desert Reef >(;} * Tucson Az * V.34 * 602 624 6386 (1:300/507) ============================================================================= Hello All! Terry --- GoldED 2.41 * Origin: LibertyBBS [512]462-1776 Austin, Texas (1:382/804)