LAW OFFICES
CYNTHIA ANDERSON-BARKER 3435 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 2900
Los Angeles, California 90010-2015
Telephone: (213) 381-3246
Fax No.: (213) 381-OO24
November 22, 2004
Dear Friend:
This letter is determine whether you wish to be part of a lawsuit against the LAPD for injuries you received during the Democratic National Convention, on August 14, 2000, after the Rage Against the Machine concert .Because of a change in the legal position of the case (and, to a lesser extent the political position of the case), we are contacting new victims. You are being contacted by us through a progressive organization you have contact with or from another individual who was aware that you were injured.
I am a civil rights attorney and member of the National Lawyer's Guild–a progressive legal organization. In August 2000 myself and a team of attorneys filed a lawsuit on behalf of fourteen individuals who were injured by the police and made those individuals representative of the class of all people who were injured by the LAPD on August 14, 2000. We are now at the point in the case where the judge will decide whether to allow us to proceed as a class and add additional plaintiffs. . The court will make the decision, in part, based upon the situations of the potential class members. Therefore, we need to contact as many class members as possible and provide information about these potential class members to the court. If you were injured by the Los Angeles Police Department on the evening of Monday, October 14, 2000 after the Rage Against the Machine concert you may be a potential class member. The police injured protesters by hitting them with rubber bullets, batons, and police horses.
We believe that, with your help, this lawsuit could have the effect of making it too expensive for the LAPD to continue shooting non-violent protestors with rubber bullets and other dangerous "less lethal" munitions. It is imperative that we stop the wholesale use of rubber bullets and other impact munitions because they are capable of inflicting severe injuries. We know of two young women who suffered permanent eye damage as a result of rubber bullet injuries: Melissa Schneider who was blinded in one eye after the Rage concert; and, Xochitl Estrada who suffered permanent eye damage at an anti-police brutality protest on October 22, 2000. With anti-war protests coming, the likelihood that there will be further rubber bullet victims is real.
The attitude of the LAPD towards these injuries is callous. The LAPD, through its attorneys, has stated "off the record" that paying off lawsuits for injuries from rubber bullets is just a "cost of doing business." But, the LAPD did not anticipate that anyone would file a class action lawsuit and is unwilling to pay the claims of every person it injured on August 14, 2000. To that end, the LAPD has offered to settle handsomely with our fourteen plaintiffs if we agree to drop the class action portion of our claim. We are not going to do that. We believe that if the LAPD ends up having to pay a large sum to settle with the entire class of injured persons, they will realize "cost of doing business" is prohibitive and the mass use of rubber bullets will be stopped.
We need your help to achieve this goal. Therefore, please fill out the attached form and let us know of any other August 14th victims you are aware of. Do not delay sending back the form if you are missing some information – getting the form done is more important than having all the information.
There is another wrinkle in the case. If the judge does not let us proceed as a class action, we plan on filing a damages action on behalf of anyone who was injured on August 14th after the Rage concert.
Please call me if you have any questions. Please send back the enclosed documents by December 1, 2002.
Very truly yours,
Cynthia Anderson-Barker
O. (213) 381-3246 Fax: (213) 381-0024
E-mail - cablaw@hotmail.comCLIENT DATA
NAME: _______________________________________________________________________
ADDRESS: _______________________________________________________________________
CITY AND STATE: _______________________________________________________________________
HOME PHONE: ___________________ WORK PHONE:_____________________________
E-MAIL: ___________________ TELEFAX NO.:____________________________
DATE OF BIRTH: ___________________
DATE OF INCIDENT: ___________________
TIME OF INCIDENT (PROVIDE YOUR BEST TIME ESTIMATE, THE DISPERSAL ORDER WAS MADE AT ABOUT 8:00 P.M. AND THE POLICE BEGAN DISPERSING PEOPLE FROM THE PIT AT 8:20 P.M.): ______
LOCATION OF INCIDENT (VERY IMPORTANT)(EG: PROTEST PIT, OLYMPIC BL. AT FIGUEROA, ETC.): _________________________________________________________
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF INCIDENT: __________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
IDENTITY OF INVOLVED OFFICERS: _________________________________________________________
INJURIES SUFFERED: _______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
DID YOU SEEK MEDICAL TREATMENT: ____ YES _____ NO
TREATING HOSPITAL: ______________________ TREATING DOCTOR: _____________________________
DATES OF TREATMENT: _____________________ MEDICAL EXPENSES: _____________________
PROPERTY DAMAGE OR LOST EARNINGS: ____________________________________________________
PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE INCIDENT: _____ YES _____ NO VIDEOTAPE: _____ YES _____ NO
NAMES AND TELEPHONE NUMBERS OF WITNESSES: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
OTHER VICTIMS (PLEASE PROVIDE TELEPHONE, EMAIL AND ADDRESS):
____________________________________________________________________________________________
