ADVISORY/Opening Statements Tomorrow in Gousse v. LAPD-Rampart Lawsuit; Budget Rent-A-Car General Manager Will Be First Witness to Testify.

News Editors/Assignment Desks

ADVISORY...for Thursday (Oct. 23)

--(BUSINESS WIRE)

WHAT:    Opening statements in Dr. Angelo E. Gousse's civil lawsuit
         against the LAPD-Rampart Division, City of Los Angeles and
         Budget Rent-A-Car will begin on Thursday, October 23, 2003 in
         Los Angeles Superior Court, 111 North Hill Street, Department
         30, Los Angeles, CA. before the Hon. Elizabeth A. Grimes.
         Plaintiff's attorney, Browne Greene, will outline the merits
         of the case, including racial profiling and police
         misconduct. The trial began October 20, 2003 and is expected
         to last 2-3 weeks. The trial schedule is Monday-Friday 9:30
         AM-Noon and 1:30 PM-4:00 PM. Gousse v. City of Los Angeles,
         Case No. BC 252804.

         Paul Santos, a Budget Rent-A-Car general manager, will be
         called as the first witness, and will testify that the car
         rented to Dr. Gousse had been rented out 43 times bearing the
         license plate of another of its rental cars that had been
         reported stolen.

WHO:     Dr. Gousse filed suit June 21, 2001 against the Defendants
         for civil rights violations, civil battery, false arrest and
         negligence. He alleges that Budget Rent-A-Car's negligence
         set the stage for the LAPD's misconduct, and which has caused
         permanent injuries to his left arm.

         A Miami, FL. urological reconstructive surgeon, Dr. Gousse, a
         40 year-old black man of Haitian descent, was in Los Angeles
         in February 2001 to attend a UCLA medical conference at the
         invitation of his mentor Dr. Shlomo Raz, a pioneer in the
         field in which Dr. Gousse was considered a rising star.

         Dr. Gousse rented a car from Budget's LAX location that bore
         the switched plates of another of its cars that had been
         reported stolen. Violating its own policy, Budget allowed Dr.
         Gousse to exit the lot even though the license plate on his
         rental car did not match the license plate in its computer.
         Budget had rented this car 43 other times to customers.

         On February 11, 2001, Dr. Gousse was driving westbound on the
         Santa Monica Freeway near Arlington Street when he was
         stopped by LAPD-Rampart Division officers. Back-up units and
         a police helicopter were called to the scene. With the guns
         of at least six police officers pointed at him, Dr. Gousse
         was ordered to the ground and handcuffed. He was pulled up
         from a prone position, put into a squad car and taken to
         Rampart Division. Arrested, he was never read his Miranda
         rights.

         At the scene, Dr. Gousse alleges that the police made no
         effort to look at his identification or to retrieve the
         exculpatory rental documents that were in the glove
         compartment. He kept complaining that the handcuffs were too
         tight, but they weren't removed until his hands had gone numb
         and he was placed in a jail cell. Throughout his almost
         2-hour ordeal, Dr. Gousse was subjected to a barrage of
         racial epithets and verbal abuse. At Rampart, the officers
         learned that the arrest was improper. Instead of letting him
         go, they began running a tape recorder and tried to ask Dr.
         Gousse leading questions in an attempt to "cover-up" the
         police officers' misconduct, but he did not succumb to this
         ruse.

TIME:    THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2003 AT 9:30 AM.

WHERE:   The Hon. Elizabeth A. Grimes, Department 30
         Los Angeles Superior Court
         111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA. 90012

NOTE:    Dr. Gousse and his wife, Marie Gousse, are represented by
         Browne Greene with Greene, Broillet, Panish & Wheeler, LLP
         (www.gbpwlaw.com); Tel: [phone]; and Robert W. Kelley
         with Sheldon J. Schlesinger, PA of Fort Lauderdale, FL.

         Defendant City of Los Angeles is represented by Cory Brente
         and Christian Bojorquez with the City Attorney's Office; Tel.
         213-978-7027. Defendant Budget Rent-A-Car is represented by
         Scott J. Ferrell with Call, Jensen & Ferrell; Tel:
         949-717-3000.