Everyone in the Valley is reeling from the death of Doug Georgianni, the Redflex employee who was shot and killed while monitoring a photo radar van on Sunday. He will be missed by his family and many others but his memory will be kept alive, unfortunately, in a way they may not want.
Georgianni’s death is the culmination of a battle among the public, critics, legislators and the police. Notwithstanding our thoughts on where we thought the photo radar controversy might lead, did we ever really anticipate this type of tragedy? Was it foreseeable? In my opinion, rarely is such depraved and unprovoked violence ever anticipated. This is sick.
Last year, Thomas Monroe Townsend attacked a photo-enforcement camera near 59th Ave and the101 with a pickax. In March, he received one year of probation and a $3,500 fine. Still, I don’t believe that anyone can consider this a precursor to what happened to Mr. Georgianni. In my opinions, the only good things that can come out of this senseless tragedy are 1) send the man who killed Georgianni to prison forever, and 2) Georgianni’s family suing the hell out of the man. Because I am a civil attorney, let’s discuss the civil application of these events.
If the suspect is convicted of the crimes associated with this incident, under Arizona law he cannot then deny the allegations of the criminal offense in a civil proceeding. That means that if he pleads or is convicted of a reckless homicide, and if sued, the fact that he committed a reckless homicide will already have been established. He will not be able to deny that fact.
However, assuming he has insurance (Auto, home), if his act is deemed intentional, then it might well void any insurance coverage he has to provide compensation to the victim’s family. On the other hand, if the act is determined to have been reckless, there is a good chance that the victim’s family will indeed be able to claim and recover under an insurance policy that allows for such. This would be under an auto policy (the perpetrator was driving a car at the time of the incident), or homeowners (contrary to general belief, an incident does not have to occur on your property for homeowners insurance to apply.
I understand that we do not yet know if this was intentional or not and frankly, we may never know, but regardless I feel that what this man did was extremely reckless and violent and he should be punished. In my opinion, just as important, the family should be able to state a civil claim for the death of their son, husband and father, and recover every single penny possible for their lifetime of loss.
Have we learned a lesson from this incident? I certainly hope so. Violence, in whatever form, is truly no remedy.
Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit. Mohandas Gandhi
Georgianni’s death is the culmination of a battle among the public, critics, legislators and the police. Notwithstanding our thoughts on where we thought the photo radar controversy might lead, did we ever really anticipate this type of tragedy? Was it foreseeable? In my opinion, rarely is such depraved and unprovoked violence ever anticipated. This is sick.
Last year, Thomas Monroe Townsend attacked a photo-enforcement camera near 59th Ave and the101 with a pickax. In March, he received one year of probation and a $3,500 fine. Still, I don’t believe that anyone can consider this a precursor to what happened to Mr. Georgianni. In my opinions, the only good things that can come out of this senseless tragedy are 1) send the man who killed Georgianni to prison forever, and 2) Georgianni’s family suing the hell out of the man. Because I am a civil attorney, let’s discuss the civil application of these events.
If the suspect is convicted of the crimes associated with this incident, under Arizona law he cannot then deny the allegations of the criminal offense in a civil proceeding. That means that if he pleads or is convicted of a reckless homicide, and if sued, the fact that he committed a reckless homicide will already have been established. He will not be able to deny that fact.
However, assuming he has insurance (Auto, home), if his act is deemed intentional, then it might well void any insurance coverage he has to provide compensation to the victim’s family. On the other hand, if the act is determined to have been reckless, there is a good chance that the victim’s family will indeed be able to claim and recover under an insurance policy that allows for such. This would be under an auto policy (the perpetrator was driving a car at the time of the incident), or homeowners (contrary to general belief, an incident does not have to occur on your property for homeowners insurance to apply.
I understand that we do not yet know if this was intentional or not and frankly, we may never know, but regardless I feel that what this man did was extremely reckless and violent and he should be punished. In my opinion, just as important, the family should be able to state a civil claim for the death of their son, husband and father, and recover every single penny possible for their lifetime of loss.
Have we learned a lesson from this incident? I certainly hope so. Violence, in whatever form, is truly no remedy.
Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit. Mohandas Gandhi
As an agent of the state why didn't Redflex have their employees wearing protective gear like bullet proof vests? Redflex knew camera operators have been attacked numerous times overseas. If your going to outsource law enforcement, at least do it right so and give the poor employees some safety measures.
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