It’s disappointing, though not surprising, that the state Appeals Court has decided that San Francisco authorities cannot be held responsible for the deaths of a father and two sons at the hands of an illegal alien gangster whom the city had protected from deportation. The decision affirms an earlier ruling of one year ago from the Superior Court.
Salvadoran Edwin Ramos had a record of arrests for violent crimes in San Francisco, but the city’s illegal alien sanctuary policy protected him from hard time or deportation, leaving free to shoot and kill Anthony, Matthew and Michael Bologna (pictured below) June 22, 2008, as they neared the family home in their car after attending a barbecue with other relatives. It has been theorized that Ramos, an MS-13 thug, thought they were members of a rival gang.
In fact, widow Danielle Bologna came to understand the part San Francisco’s sanctuary policy played in the shooting within a few weeks of the crime: Family blames sanctuary policy in 3 slayings.
Bill O’Reilly agreed that the city was at least partially responsible:
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San Francisco was colorful even among sanctuary cities for its generosity to criminal “youth” (sometimes adults with helpful fake IDs). The city sent some “juvenile” crack dealers to a comfy group home in San Bernardino County at a cost to local taxpayers of $7k per youth per month.
Regarding the recent ruling, the Bologna attorney is considering an appeal. The trial of Edwin Ramos has not yet been held.
Appeals court rules SF not responsible for deaths, San Francisco Chronicle, February 1, 2011
San Francisco cannot be held responsible for the deaths of a father and two sons allegedly gunned down in 2008 by a man city officials refused to report to immigration authorities, the state Court of Appeals decided Monday.
The ruling upholds a February 2010 Superior Court decision.
Tony Bologna, 48, and his two sons, Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16, were shot to death in a car near their Excelsior district home in June 2008. A third son in the car was not injured.
Relatives sued the city, claiming San Francisco’s sanctuary policy protecting illegal immigrants kept the alleged gunman, Edwin Ramos, in the country and played a major role in the slayings.
Yet both the lower court and the appellate court agreed that the city isn’t legally to blame for any crimes Ramos committed following his earlier arrests as a juvenile for assault and attempted purse-snatching.
The family of the victims argued that the city violated federal law in not reporting Ramos, who was 21 at the time of the killings, to immigration officials and therefore failed to prevent the crime. Laws protecting cities from such liability prevailed in the case.
“We’ve always known that the law was stacked in the city’s favor,” said plaintiff’s attorney Matthew Davis. “Certainly the family is going to be disappointed.”
Davis said he would review the ruling before deciding whether to appeal to the state Supreme Court.
The case was a flash point in the debate over the city’s policy to protect illegal immigrants.
Former Mayor Gavin Newsom restricted the use of the sanctuary policy in July 2008, requiring city employees to report suspected illegal immigrant youths to federal authorities in the case of felony arrests.
