Tuesday 11 October 2011

Miami Commission looks to pay $ 500,000 to victim of attempted rape by police

The City of Miami would pay $ 550,000 in a settlement to a victim of a policeman who tried to rape in 2007 in Miami Beach.

She was one of three victims who accused the former police officer Michael Ragusa of sexual assault that occurred within his patrol vehicle while the officer was wearing his uniform. Ragusa was convicted in 2008 of two counts of rape and one count of attempted rape. He is currently serving a sentence of 10 years.



El Nuevo Herald is not identifying the woman because she is a victim of sexual assault

The night of the attack, the woman, a Cuban immigrant of 35 years working as a waitress, had fallen from a bus when the ordered Ragusa to come into his patrol vehicle. Ragusa led her to a dark area is unzipped his pants and ordered her to give him oral sex. After he removed his pants Ragusa and kissed force. The woman tried to stop the attack but could not.

Finally, when Ragusa tried to penetrate, the woman asked in a limited English: "How do you know that I have AIDS?" At these words, Ragusa suddenly stopped attacking. However, continue to contact you by telephone.

Shortly after the women reported to Ragusa, two women said they had been raped.

Last year, she sued Ragusa, the city of Miami and John Timoney, former police chief, for damages suffered after the attack. According to the lawsuit, the city and Timoney shared the blame for hiring a police background without examining it. Ragusa had applied for employment in six other departments before being hired by the Miami Police Department in 2004.

The lawsuit says that the psychological examination performed at the time said Ragusa only met the minimum quality of the department. During the hiring process, admitted to stealing money from their employers and to have hired prostitutes in the past.

In addition, continued demand, the department received several complaints from people accused of using unnecessary force Ragusa during arrests. In fact, some of these individuals have sued the city and Ragusa.

"Emboldened by the lack of real oversight or discipline, misconduct Ragusa continued to escalate," reads the document demand. "He used his status and authority as police to meet their own impulses and his desire to control people, including kidnapping and raping women."

The lawsuit filed in Federal Court in South Florida that the attack was a predictable result because of poor recruitment practices, supervision and training by the City. The woman claims to have suffered physical, mental and emotional.

City Attorney Julie Bru, is asking the Commission for permission to pay the victim $ 550,000 and settle the lawsuit out of court. The Commission will vote on the issue during its regular meeting Thursday.

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