Families sue Blackwater over contractors' deaths in Iraq

Pilotonline ^ | 1/5/05 | ESTES THOMPSON/AP

[wagglebee]

RALEIGH, N.C. — Families of four slain security contractors whose bodies were burned and dragged through the streets of Fallujah, Iraq, have sued the workers' former company, Blackwater Security Consulting of Moyock.

The families contend that the company, with headquarters just over the Virginia line at Chesapeake, cut corners that led to the men's deaths last year. The lawsuit, filed today, seeks unspecified damages.

The workers were sent into Fallujah without proper equipment and personnel to defend the supply convoy they were guarding, according to the civil lawsuit.

"The fact that these four Americans found themselves located in the high-risk, war-torn city of Fallujah without armored vehicles, automatic weapons and fewer than the minimum number of team members was no accident," the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit alleges that one week before the deaths, Blackwater fired a project manager who had insisted that the contractors use armored vehicles.

A spokesman for Blackwater said company officials had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment. Company officials declined to discuss their decisions last year after the deaths.

The attack made worldwide headlines, as frenzied and jubilant Iraqi crowds dragged the charred bodies of the four Americans through the streets and strung two of them up from a bridge. Killed were Stephen S. Helvenston, Mike R. Teague, Jerko Gerald Zovko and Wesley J.K. Batalona.

Blackwater contracted with ESS Support Services Worldwide to provide security for food shipments to U.S. bases in Iraq. According to the suit, the contract called for security teams to have two armored vehicles and a minimum of six personnel, as well as a heavy machine gun that could fire up to 850 rounds per minute.

But plaintiffs' attorney Dan Callahan said the victims were sent out in unarmored vehicles, without the heavy machine gun and without a map, and got lost.

"When they went out, they got slaughtered," Callahan said.

[wagglebee]

I've met some of the principals of Blackwater Security and I know they didn't cut any corners.

[Prost1]

Can anyone say "Tort Reform"?

[wagglebee]

Almost all of these guys are former SEALs, Rangers, etc., they knew what they were going into.

[M Kehoe]

I prayed for the families of the murdered Blackwater employees. I'll say another prayer for them.

I'd like to ask Dan Callahan if he has been in a war zone. Dan, have you been in a war zone? Have you even been in the military?

And Dan, if you have served our country, don't ya think you should go over to Iraq and either capture the killers, or kill them? They are the ones who killed these families' loved ones.

Ooops, my bad, I'm typing to a bottom feeder.

5.56mm

[McGavin999]

OMG, their loved ones would be so ashamed.

[SilentServiceCPOWife]

My brother-in-law is a K-9 officer in Virginia Beach and he has been offered a job at Blackwater to train dogs in Iraq.

[wagglebee]

I have a feeling that the Blackwater employees who died would be ashamed of this move by their families.

The founder of Blackwater, Erik Prince, is an heir to a very conservative family (his father made a huge fortune in Michigan making auto visors and his sister is married to the son of the founder of Amway) that has donated millions to the GOP. I have a feeling that the leftists have had their eyes on Blackwater since the Fallujah incident last year.

[wagglebee]

I've met a couple of them, they're wonderful people.

[steplock]

Warning! john edwards and his minions of demons are in town!!

[spunkets]

"The families contend that the company... cut corners that led to the men's deaths last year."

The family is wrong. They were killed, because the Iraqi police they were meeting with were the enemy.

[wagglebee]

The Breck Girl is out of a job, it makes sense he would go back to swindling working Americans out of their hard-earned money.

[LFOD]

Blackwater shooters have provided force protection for many a trip down the road I have traveled.
Before we shoved off, everytime, they would review what to do if/when it hit the fan.
Even though I know that attacks can happen anywhere and anytime, the Blackwater personnel had their act together, carried AND displayed plenty of firepower while showing a genuine concern for my safety.

Blackwater shooters take the job seriously. No BS. I wish we had more of them.

I am truly sorry for the families who lost loved ones in in Fallujah, however it still remains a war zone.

As for me - thank you once again Blackwater!!!
Live from Iraq - LFOD

[gunner03]

whats up dad? (this from my son)

interesting story about the lawsuit................i don't know how so can you post a reply for me...............tell them that every contractor knows the deal when they get there. you may have some shortages of gear or armored vehicles. every man weighs the risks and decides if its something they want to do. its not the military.....you are free to quit whenever you want. i have friends in blackwater in iraq and they have made no complaits to me about it.

i've lost a few friends in iraq too........its not some company's fault, thats just the way it goes. i think those families should be ashamed of themselves. they just grouped themselves together with the lady who sued mcdonalds because she burned her lip on hot coffee. ask any contractor and they will say the same thing.

and for you arm chair quarterbacks out there........i paid my dues in iraq and am now working in afghanistan.

[contractorwife]

I agree with everything you all have said. It's such a sad state of affairs when people lose focus of what really went wrong. Sure, there probably needs to be something hashed out in the form of guidelines/laws for contractors because they do fall into a gray area, but this is not the avenue to do this. Nor should the families think that it is their job or responsibility to set precedent. Those guys are all former security forces and knew exactly what they were going into when they signed their contracts. And even if they thought they knew what the deal was and realized it in the middle of their contract, they are free to go the minute they are uncomfortable. Blackwater has even been known to send people home themselves because of their concern for the contractor's wellbeing.

Those families should be content they will be receiving 65% of what those men were making per month for the rest of their lives. And find comfort in the fact that their loved ones were well trained and chose this kind of career path with educated minds.