California
Black Lives Matter activist loses lawsuit against LA police over ‘swatting’ hoax response
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A leading Black Lives Matter activist in Los Angeles on Thursday lost her lawsuit against the city’s police department over its handling of hoax phone calls that brought a large law enforcement response to her home.
Police have said three teens driven by racial hatred were behind so-called swatting calls across the country, including two in 2020 and 2021 to the Los Angeles home of Melina Abdullah, co-founder of BLM-LA and a Cal State LA professor. “Swatting” refers to a phony emergency call made to send police to a particular address without cause.
Abdullah, a prominent police critic, condemned the Los Angeles Police Department responses to her residence, which included armed SWAT officers surrounding her house and ordering her to come outside through a loudspeaker.
She sued the department for its actions during the Aug. 12, 2020, incident, which she said left her and her three children fearing for their lives. A jury found the LAPD and the city were not liable, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office said.
During the trial, police Sergeant James Mankey, one of the defendants, said authorities received a call about a hostage situation at the activist’s home. Mankey told jurors he ordered officers to approach the property in tactical gear even though he was “70%” certain they were responding to a hoax, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The sergeant said he didn’t want to take the chance of not sending the officers if the 911 call turned out to be true.
Abdullah’s attorneys alleged that police targeted her because of her activism.
LAPD investigators said in 2021 that the teenagers, aged 13 to 16, connected over the Discord chat platform and were suspected in more than 30 bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting “video gamers, activists, schools, airports, houses of worship, entertainment venues and memorial parks.”
Maine
Former UMA presidential candidate has been paid more than $370K under settlement
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The former incoming president of the University of Maine at Augusta who withdrew amid faculty complaints in 2022 is still collecting about $20,000 a month from the state university system.
Under terms of a settlement, Michael Laliberte has collected $372,083 from the University of Maine System as of April 24 without ever working a single day, the Kennebec Journal reported.
Laliberte was set to start as UMA president when news surfaced of no-confidence votes during his time as president of State University of New York at Delhi. That led to no-confidence votes in UMS Chancellor Dannel Malloy after he acknowledged he had been aware of Laliberte’s no-confidence votes but declined to share the information with the search committee.
Laliberte ultimately opted to withdraw from the position.
He received a lump sum of $235,000 in June 2022 and started to receive $20,000 monthly payments if he is unable to find a comparable job and can offer proof that he is trying to find work. University system officials said Laliberte’s documentation of his efforts to secure work are not public record and available for review by the newspaper.
Malloy overcame the no-confidence votes to earn a two-year contract extension this week. University officials hired Jenifer Cushman in May 2023 to serve as president of the Augusta campus.
Texas
Remaining wrongful death lawsuit filed after deadly concert has been settled, lawyer says
HOUSTON (AP) — The one remaining wrongful death lawsuit filed after 10 people were killed during a deadly crowd crush at the 2021 Astroworld music festival has been settled, an attorney said Thursday.
Jury selection in the lawsuit filed by the family of 9-year-old Ezra Blount, the youngest person killed during the concert by rapper Travis Scott, had been set to begin Sept. 10.
But S. Scott West, an attorney for Blount’s family, said a settlement was reached this week.
Blount’s family had sued Scott, Live Nation — the festival’s promoter and the world’s largest live entertainment company — and other companies and individuals connected to the event, including Apple Inc., which livestreamed the concert.
Treston Blount, Ezra’s father, had said that during the Nov. 5, 2021, concert, his son was sitting on his shoulders when they were crushed by the crowd. Treston Blount lost consciousness and when he came to, Ezra was missing. A frantic search ensued until Ezra was eventually found at a Houston hospital, severely injured. The boy, who was from Dallas, died several days later.
The lawsuit filed by Blount’s family was one of 10 wrongful death civil suits filed after the deadly concert.
Earlier this month, lawyers had announced that the other nine wrongful death lawsuits had been settled in connection with the concert.
Terms of the settlements in all 10 lawsuits were confidential.
The settlement of the lawsuit filed by Blount’s family was first reported by the Houston Chronicle.
About 2,400 injury cases filed after the deadly concert remain pending. More than 4,000 plaintiffs filed hundreds of lawsuits after the Astroworld crowd crush.
During the crowd crush, attendees were packed so tightly that many could not breathe or move their arms. Those killed ranged in age from 9 to 27. They died from compression asphyxia, which an expert likened to being crushed by a car.
Earlier this month, state District Judge Kristen Hawkins, who is presiding over the litigation, had scheduled the first trial related to the injury cases for Oct. 15. That trial was set to focus on seven injury cases. It was not clear on Thursday if that trial date would remain or be moved up with the settlement in the Blount lawsuit.
So far, no lawsuit has gone before a jury. One wrongful death lawsuit — filed by the family of 23-year-old Houston resident Madison Dubiski — was days away from going to trial earlier this month before it was delayed and then settled.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs in the lawsuits have alleged in court filings that the deaths and hundreds of injuries at the concert were caused by negligent planning and a lack of concern over capacity and safety at the event.
Scott, Live Nation and the others who’ve been sued have denied these claims, saying safety was their No. 1 concern. They said what happened could not have been foreseen.
After a police investigation, a grand jury last year declined to indict Scott, along with five others connected to the festival.
Black Lives Matter activist loses lawsuit against LA police over ‘swatting’ hoax response
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A leading Black Lives Matter activist in Los Angeles on Thursday lost her lawsuit against the city’s police department over its handling of hoax phone calls that brought a large law enforcement response to her home.
Police have said three teens driven by racial hatred were behind so-called swatting calls across the country, including two in 2020 and 2021 to the Los Angeles home of Melina Abdullah, co-founder of BLM-LA and a Cal State LA professor. “Swatting” refers to a phony emergency call made to send police to a particular address without cause.
Abdullah, a prominent police critic, condemned the Los Angeles Police Department responses to her residence, which included armed SWAT officers surrounding her house and ordering her to come outside through a loudspeaker.
She sued the department for its actions during the Aug. 12, 2020, incident, which she said left her and her three children fearing for their lives. A jury found the LAPD and the city were not liable, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office said.
During the trial, police Sergeant James Mankey, one of the defendants, said authorities received a call about a hostage situation at the activist’s home. Mankey told jurors he ordered officers to approach the property in tactical gear even though he was “70%” certain they were responding to a hoax, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The sergeant said he didn’t want to take the chance of not sending the officers if the 911 call turned out to be true.
Abdullah’s attorneys alleged that police targeted her because of her activism.
LAPD investigators said in 2021 that the teenagers, aged 13 to 16, connected over the Discord chat platform and were suspected in more than 30 bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting “video gamers, activists, schools, airports, houses of worship, entertainment venues and memorial parks.”
Maine
Former UMA presidential candidate has been paid more than $370K under settlement
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The former incoming president of the University of Maine at Augusta who withdrew amid faculty complaints in 2022 is still collecting about $20,000 a month from the state university system.
Under terms of a settlement, Michael Laliberte has collected $372,083 from the University of Maine System as of April 24 without ever working a single day, the Kennebec Journal reported.
Laliberte was set to start as UMA president when news surfaced of no-confidence votes during his time as president of State University of New York at Delhi. That led to no-confidence votes in UMS Chancellor Dannel Malloy after he acknowledged he had been aware of Laliberte’s no-confidence votes but declined to share the information with the search committee.
Laliberte ultimately opted to withdraw from the position.
He received a lump sum of $235,000 in June 2022 and started to receive $20,000 monthly payments if he is unable to find a comparable job and can offer proof that he is trying to find work. University system officials said Laliberte’s documentation of his efforts to secure work are not public record and available for review by the newspaper.
Malloy overcame the no-confidence votes to earn a two-year contract extension this week. University officials hired Jenifer Cushman in May 2023 to serve as president of the Augusta campus.
Texas
Remaining wrongful death lawsuit filed after deadly concert has been settled, lawyer says
HOUSTON (AP) — The one remaining wrongful death lawsuit filed after 10 people were killed during a deadly crowd crush at the 2021 Astroworld music festival has been settled, an attorney said Thursday.
Jury selection in the lawsuit filed by the family of 9-year-old Ezra Blount, the youngest person killed during the concert by rapper Travis Scott, had been set to begin Sept. 10.
But S. Scott West, an attorney for Blount’s family, said a settlement was reached this week.
Blount’s family had sued Scott, Live Nation — the festival’s promoter and the world’s largest live entertainment company — and other companies and individuals connected to the event, including Apple Inc., which livestreamed the concert.
Treston Blount, Ezra’s father, had said that during the Nov. 5, 2021, concert, his son was sitting on his shoulders when they were crushed by the crowd. Treston Blount lost consciousness and when he came to, Ezra was missing. A frantic search ensued until Ezra was eventually found at a Houston hospital, severely injured. The boy, who was from Dallas, died several days later.
The lawsuit filed by Blount’s family was one of 10 wrongful death civil suits filed after the deadly concert.
Earlier this month, lawyers had announced that the other nine wrongful death lawsuits had been settled in connection with the concert.
Terms of the settlements in all 10 lawsuits were confidential.
The settlement of the lawsuit filed by Blount’s family was first reported by the Houston Chronicle.
About 2,400 injury cases filed after the deadly concert remain pending. More than 4,000 plaintiffs filed hundreds of lawsuits after the Astroworld crowd crush.
During the crowd crush, attendees were packed so tightly that many could not breathe or move their arms. Those killed ranged in age from 9 to 27. They died from compression asphyxia, which an expert likened to being crushed by a car.
Earlier this month, state District Judge Kristen Hawkins, who is presiding over the litigation, had scheduled the first trial related to the injury cases for Oct. 15. That trial was set to focus on seven injury cases. It was not clear on Thursday if that trial date would remain or be moved up with the settlement in the Blount lawsuit.
So far, no lawsuit has gone before a jury. One wrongful death lawsuit — filed by the family of 23-year-old Houston resident Madison Dubiski — was days away from going to trial earlier this month before it was delayed and then settled.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs in the lawsuits have alleged in court filings that the deaths and hundreds of injuries at the concert were caused by negligent planning and a lack of concern over capacity and safety at the event.
Scott, Live Nation and the others who’ve been sued have denied these claims, saying safety was their No. 1 concern. They said what happened could not have been foreseen.
After a police investigation, a grand jury last year declined to indict Scott, along with five others connected to the festival.
