TAXPAYERS SHOULD COUNTERSUE OVER BANK HEIST SHOOTOUT.

Byline: Don Schultz 

IT appears as though the memory of the Feb. 28 North Hollywood shootout between the Los Angeles Police Department and bank robbers is going to be with us for a while longer.

Attorney Stephen Yagman has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of two young sons of one of the bank robbers. The lawsuit alleges civil rights violations and police misconduct.

Frankly, as Los Angeles taxpayers we should be outraged by this attempt to raid our city treasury because of allegations made against our LAPD. Calling this legal action a frivolous lawsuit would be a gross understatement.

Many of us who witnessed the live television coverage of the failed bank robbery, which ultimately led to the death of the two bank robbers, remember all too vividly the total disregard for human life and property displayed by these two gunmen. They terrorized innocent bystanders and LAPD officers for several hours by spraying bullets from automatic weapons that resulted in gunshot wounds to police officers, several North Hollywood residents, damage to property and police cars and irreparable emotional damage to North Hollywood business owners, workers and residents.

Is there really any semblance of public sympathy for these two blood-thirsty gunmen who made a choice to shoot it out with our LAPD because their bank robbery was unsuccessful?

Probably not.

Los Angles taxpayers should insist that the City Attorney's Office file a countersuit in the same federal court where attorney Yagman filed his action. The city would have a much stronger case in asking for reimbursement for medical treatment for those innocent parties shot and wounded in the failed bank robbery as well as financial restitution for property damage to North Hollywood businesses and homes and the bullet-ridden police cars. The real intent would be to have the original lawsuit withdrawn and not to actually pursue legal action against the children.

Obviously, legal action is seldom, if ever, taken against the surviving family members of criminals, which is only fair.

However, when an attorney is able to convince the family of an individual who placed an entire community in physical jeopardy to file a lawsuit against the LAPD, we as taxpayers - who would have to foot the bill if the courts find in favor of Mr. Yagman's clients - should have a viable option. That option would appear to be to convince our City Council to direct the City Attorney's Office to file a countersuit.

All too often, apathy appears to be the way of life for voters and taxpayers in Los Angeles. But, given the live television coverage of this bank robbery that went sour and the personal vulnerability that so many of us experienced on that day in February, we should not be in so generous a mood as to reward the surviving members of this slain gunman with any cash settlement from our hard-earned tax dollars.