North Hollywood Shootout Lawsuit

* I have a different perspective to offer on the Emil Matasareanu lawsuit. First of all, in my opinion neither the Los Angeles Police Department nor the paramedics did anything wrong.

Let us assume for the sake of argument that the defendants in this case were found 100% liable by the jury.

On what basis would the damages be calculated? Will [plaintiffs’ attorney] Stephen Yagman argue that Matasareanu’s children were deprived of the loving companionship of their father as well as his ability to provide financial support? If this criminal would have survived, after all the charges and convictions, chances are he would be locked up in prison for the rest of his life. His kids could have visited this parental role model periodically for valuable spiritual guidance.

As for support, I suppose Matasareanu was very skilled in his chosen profession as a bank robber, and it is a tragedy that his offspring will be deprived of this very lucrative source of income.

I would love some feedback from the legal community on how damages will be argued, in the unlikely event the jury goes temporarily insane and returns with a verdict favoring the plaintiffs.

ROBERT QUINN

Winnetka

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Before I even finished the first paragraph of your article “Shooting Scenes Rigged, Perez Says” (Feb. 10), it occurred to me how reminiscent this scenario was [of] the events three years ago in North Hollywood. “As a 21-year-old man shot by police lay bleeding to death in the hallway of a shabby Mid-City apartment building, Los Angeles Police Department officers intentionally delayed calling an ambulance . . . while they concocted an elaborate story to justify” [the shooting, according to former Officer Rafael Perez of the Rampart Division].

The North Hollywood shootout may be old news, but the extremely questionable circumstances surrounding the death of bank robber Emil Matasareanu on Archwood Street seems awfully [similar] to those of Juan Saldana on Shatto Place.

Now, does the public really care that two “bad guys” were left to “bleed out”? Probably not. However, in [the Rampart] case we have a far-reaching scandal that cannot be ignored. With Matasareanu, all we had was (supposedly) an isolated incident that could easily be swept under the rug as we simultaneously scoffed at his [family’s] efforts to hold the LAPD accountable.

NICHOLAS SANTOS

North Hollywood