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Tag: victims
California Bans Paparazzi Drones

California Bans Paparazzi Drones

Los Angeles (AFP) — California approved a law which will prevent paparazzi from using drones to take photos of celebrities, among a series of measures aimed at tightening protection of privacy.

Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a string of legislative bills also including an expansion of one against so-called “revenge porn,” when former lovers share nude photos of their exes online.

The drone ban bill, which is aimed at shoring up privacy for the general public but will work equally well for celebrities, was authored by lawmaker Ed Chau.

“As technology continues to advance and new robotic-like devices become more affordable for the general public, the possibility of an individual’s privacy being invaded substantially increases,” he said.

“I applaud the governor for signing (the law) because it will ensure that our state’s invasion of privacy statute remains relevant even as technology continues to evolve,” he added on his website.

California passed a “revenge porn” law last year, making it illegal to post naked pictures of an ex-partner online and setting a jail term of up to six months for anyone convicted.

The new law signed Tuesday allows victims of revenge porn to seek damages in civil court, and also to seek a restraining order to get the offending photos taken down from the Internet.

The bill also expands the ban to include “selfie” photos.

“Rather than having to argue in court on the grounds of invasion of privacy… lawyers can now pursue relief by directly showing the images were sent without the consent of the victim,” said the bill’s author Bob Wieckowski.

AFP Photo/Michel Comte

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Fathers Of Isla Vista Victim, Shooter Meet In Private

Fathers Of Isla Vista Victim, Shooter Meet In Private

By Eryn Brown, Los Angeles Times

The fathers of Isla Vista rampage shooter Elliot Rodger and victim Christopher Michaels-Martinez met in private on Sunday.

According to CNN, Peter Rodger and Richard Martinez sat down without media or cameras present. Other details about their meeting, including its location, were not disclosed.

Elliot Rodger, 22, a student at Santa Barbara City College, went on a rampage in the town of Isla Vista, an area popular with students at the University of California, Santa Barbara, on May 23.

He allegedly stabbed and killed his three roommates before driving through Isla Vista on a shooting rampage killing another three people and injuring 13 before crashing his car and turning his gun on himself.

Christopher Michaels-Martinez, a 20-year-old UC Santa Barbara sophomore, was the final victim gunned down in the rampage. He was killed in the I.V. Deli Mart convenience store.

Richard Martinez told news organizations last week that he hoped to meet with Peter Rodger. In the days since his son’s shooting, Martinez has spoken out for tougher gun laws on television and at public events, including a memorial at UCSB’s Harder Stadium on Tuesday.

Elliott Rodger, who had been in therapy since he was a child, legally purchased three guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Shortly before the rampage, he posted a video on YouTube in which he said that he was lonely because “girls have never been attracted to me” and vowed “retribution” and “slaughter.”

The young man’s parents said Thursday that it had been “hell on earth” knowing their son’s actions led to tragedy.

“We are crying out in pain for the victims and their families. It breaks our hearts on a level that we didn’t think was possible,” Peter and Chin Rodger said at the time, in a statement. “It is now our responsibility to do everything we can to help avoid this happening to any other family.”

Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/MCT

Parents Of Isla Vista Shooter: We Are Crying Out In Pain For Victims, Families

Parents Of Isla Vista Shooter: We Are Crying Out In Pain For Victims, Families

By Joseph Serna, Los Angeles Times

The parents of Isla Vista killer Elliott Rodger say it has been “hell on earth” knowing that their son caused the tragedy that took the lives of six University of California Santa Barbara students last week and that they remain heartbroken.

“We are crying out in pain for the victims and their families. It breaks our hearts on a level that we didn’t think was possible,” Peter and Chin Rodger said in a statement disseminated by family friend Simon Astaire. “The feeling of knowing that it was our son’s actions that caused this tragedy can only be described as hell on earth.”

The statement is the most in-depth public communication from the couple since the immediate aftermath of the rampage on Friday night, when their 22-year-old son sped through the streets of the seaside college town of Isla Vista running down bicyclists and shooting at pedestrians and convenience store customers.

The attack killed three and wounded 13 others. Police later found the bodies of Elliot Rodger’s three roommates in his apartment. They had been stabbed to death.

The six victims were: Christopher Michaels-Martinez, 20; Weihan “David” Wang, 20; Cheng Yuan “James” Hong, 20; Veronika Weiss, 19; Katie Cooper, 22; and George Chen, 19.

Rodger shot himself as police closed in after he crashed his car during the attack.

In a series of videos Rodger posted to YouTube before the massacre, the Santa Barbara City College student described himself as a virgin who had never been kissed and had no friends and blamed his isolation on society in general and women in particular.

In an interview with CNN, Astaire recalled his encounters with the young man, whom he described as “unbearably reserved, self-contained.”

“He seemed to merge into the walls,” Astaire said. “He seemed the loneliest person in the world.”

Astaire said Rodger’s parents hope to help ensure a similar attack can never happen again.

“It is now our responsibility to do everything we can to help avoid this happening to any other family — not only to avoid any more innocence destroyed, but also to identify and deal with the mental issues that drove our son to do what he did,” they said in the statement.

The violence has lawmakers in Sacramento revisiting the state’s gun-control laws, including provisions to screen for those with mental health issues.

Rodger had been seeing therapists since he was a child and had been prescribed psychotropic drugs. Regardless, he was able to legally purchase three handguns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

Sheriff’s department officials said he had more than 400 rounds in his car at the time of last weekend’s shooting.

Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times/MCT

‘Active Search’ Ends For Mudslide’s Last Two Victims

‘Active Search’ Ends For Mudslide’s Last Two Victims

By Jack Broom, The Seattle Times

SEATTLE — The brother of one of the two people still missing in the Washington state mudslide said he understands and accepts Snohomish County officials’ decision to greatly scale back the search.

“The amazing thing is that of 43 people who were lost, 41 were found,” said Frank Hadaway of Puyallup, one of three brothers of Steve Hadaway, of Darrington.

“So do I have an issue? No. Reality is reality,” Frank Hadaway said. “We knew this day was coming sooner or later.”

Snohomish County Sheriff Ty Trenary on Monday said the county has ended the “active search” for the victims of the March 22 mudslide that killed at least 41 people and covered Highway 530 near Oso.

It was a difficult decision, Trenary said, but the search will now be made as weather conditions allow and where evidence indicates the remains of the last two missing people — Hadaway, 53, and Kris Regelbrugge, 44 — might be. Regelbrugge was home and Hadaway was doing work at a house when the slide struck.

Operationally, that means the search effort that drew 900 to 1,000 people each day at its height is down to about 30, Trenary said. More searchers could return if specific evidence is found indicating a victim might be nearby.

Monday’s announcement also means that most of the workers from various offices and agencies supporting the search will be sent back to their regular assignments.

Asked if the decision to cut back the search was accepted by the families of Hadaway and Regelbrugge, Trenary would say only that he has talked to a number of victims’ families since the slide occurred, and will not discuss those conversations.

Calls by The Seattle Times to relatives of Regelbrugge on Monday were not returned.

Recent wet weather has complicated the search and increased danger to searchers, Trenary said.

The sheriff acknowledged there is a possibility the final two bodies will not be recovered. However, he stressed the search will continue, far more limited in scope and manpower. “We’re now at a smaller scale … searching a much smaller area,” Trenary said.

He said deciding to scale back the search was difficult because “we know Kris (Regelbrugge) and Steve (Hadaway)’s families are both looking for closure.” Hadaway’s body is believed to be in a deep pool that will need to be drained before further searching is practical, Trenary said.

The Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the remains of all 41 slide victims it has received.

As debris removal continues, spotters in the field will work alongside heavy-equipment operators to identify personal property. An active search could resume if conditions change, allowing access to areas that were previously inaccessible, according to a news release.

Also Monday, Snohomish County Executive John Lovick said the county and state are working to set up an independent commission to review actions taken — and not taken — in the slide area before and after the slide.

The review presumably will examine whether the county took adequate steps to warn residents after previous slides, and if the response to the disaster proceeded as quickly as it should have.

In addition, the county will open a long-term recovery center in Darrington this week to offer services to those affected by the slide. Gary Haakenson, the county’s executive director for public safety, will lead the multifaceted recovery effort.

Haakenson said that work will focus on eight key themes for recovery: economic, housing, health, community planning, infrastructure, natural/cultural, social, and Highway 530 itself.

In the slide, a mammoth stretch of hillside fell near Oso, between Arlington and Darrington, and spread across the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River, covering houses and a stretch of the highway. President Barack Obama, who viewed the slide area last week, announced $7.5 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help Snohomish County with the disaster’s costs.

A “primitive” one-lane road around the Highway 530 slide area was to open at midnight Monday, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

The two-mile route is intended for local residents, although drivers will not need to show ID.

Vehicles will travel behind pilot cars, and no stops will be allowed. State troopers will be stationed on each end of the restricted section.

Travis Phelps, Transportation Department spokesman, said caravans will be led through the area in the westbound direction every hour on the hour, and eastbound every hour on the half-hour.

The roadway, which has been used by Seattle City Light crews, is part dirt, part gravel and has some asphalt sections. It runs south of the debris field east of Oso. The road will be open 24 hours a day, but logging trucks will only be allowed through between 5 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Phelps said the state is studying what it will take to open Highway 530, but no target date to reopen is set. He said it’s not yet known how much work is needed to clear and repair the road and make the route safe.

Lindsey Wasson/Seattle Times/MCT