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"The citizens they maim and kill by "mistake," are the very ones who pay
their uniformed killers and maimers salaries, benefits and pensions. Then
they pay again with their lives and bodies for the "mistakes" made by the
police."
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Triple Indemnity
WHO DIES AND PAYS?
Posted November 12, 2004
thepeoplesvoice.org
By: Ted Lang
An insurance company death benefit that pays twice the face value of the
policy upon the accidental demise of the insured is termed "double
indemnity." You can be sure that when such a death benefit is paid,
especially when the payout is substantial, the underwriting company will
assign an investigator to protect the company from the possibility of a
fraudulent claim. Imagine the investigative curiosity generated by a
substantial claim of "triple indemnity," assuming there is such coverage
available.
In spite of the scarcity of such outstanding protection regarding its
possibility in the private sector, cases of triple indemnity in the public
sector are significantly on the rise. Yet very few of these cases generate
any curiosity at all, let alone any real investigation. And that's just
fine with the perpetrators and errant individuals who cause the many
incidents of so-called "accidental death." The deliberate act and guilt of
the perpetrator is easily proven, yet those identified as to their
recklessness, irresponsibility, or even criminal behavior, are seemingly
always immune as to accountability. They benefit enormously from triple
indemnity protection.
These perpetrators will always claim such deaths as accidents, or as an
innocent mistake, or attempt [almost always successfully] to lay the blame
for their deliberate acts elsewhere. Of course, we are speaking of the
staggering wrongful deaths caused by the police all across our nation.
Increasingly, these "accidents" excusing police recklessness and
overreaction while just "doing their jobs," are showing more evidence of a
general hostility towards all citizens.
The citizens they maim and kill by "mistake," are the very ones who pay
their uniformed killers and maimers salaries, benefits and pensions. Then
they pay again with their lives and bodies for the "mistakes" made by the
police. And finally, when the families of those killed or maimed sue the
jurisdiction whose police unleashed such unjust and unprovoked violence, it'
s the citizens once again who must indemnify the victims for the repulsive
brutality.
Also profiting from the increasing mistakes and third-level indemnification
payouts caused by police brutality and wrongful deaths are the trial lawyers
who are cashing in on this unauthorized and non-budgeted new spending by
government. Ultimately, this results in yet a fourth level of
indemnification: increased taxes. Since this is a statistic that shows
another unfavorable aspect of growing government animosity at all levels
towards its citizens, you can be sure its metrics are another highly-guarded
secret and embarrassing statistic of government failure.
The instances of deadly police brutality and official government cover-ups
and distraction by bureaucrats was once again on display in the brutal
murder of 21-year-old college student, Victoria Snelgrove, outside Fenway
Park on the night of October 21st. Witnesses reported some displays of
rowdiness, but not the near riot conditions cited by Boston Police
Commissioner Kathleen O'Toole and Mayor Thomas M. Menino. Both politicians
vowed to get to the bottom of this and track down the "hooligans" that
caused the Boston Police Department to lose control of the situation. It
may be recalled that Snelgrove wasn't participating in any of the rowdiness
and was just an innocent bystander.
In articles subsequent to the senseless police killing, I pointed out that
the primary function of the police in controlling an unruly crowd was
intimidation; police must be assertive and demonstrate a no-nonsense command
of the situation. And part of this assertiveness can quickly incorporate the
use of terror. This was precisely the cause of Snelgrove's death.
I had deduced that Boston Police deliberately used the so-called
"non-lethal" gas-operated pepper spray pellet long guns improperly, such
that very serious injury and even the possibly of a death should have been
anticipated. But their assumed need to terrorize unarmed citizens, as well
as the knowledge that police and their overseeing government officials are
rarely prosecuted for a wrongful death in such a scenario, precipitated the
reckless abandon by pointing these non-lethal weapons and peoples' heads at
virtual point blank range. They ignored the manufacturer's suggested range
and chest-and-below target area to instill terror.
Selecting just one jurisdiction where police brutality and killings are of
unusually high occurrence, New York City, the following settlements have
been paid: Spruill killing, involving Johnnie Cochran's law firm, $1.6
million; Dorismond killing, $2.250 million; Diallo killing, $3 million; and
the Abner Louima beating and sodomy case, which also involved Johnnie
Cochran's law firm, $8.750 million.
These cases only scratch the surface and represent only those cases
highlighted by settlements and trials. Most police killings involve neither and the shooter is rarely identified.
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© THEODORE E. LANG 11/8/04 All rights reserved.
Ted Lang is a political analyst and a freelance writer.
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