Ex-Blackwater president denies excessive force
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RALEIGH, N.C. — The former president of the security firm Blackwater has denied in sworn testimony that the company's contractors regularly used excessive force or that officials falsified travel documents.
Gary Jackson said in a December deposition for a civil lawsuit that he believes both claims are false. Two former Blackwater employees, Brad and Melan Davis, have accused the company's workers of using extreme force and improperly billing for travel costs. Blackwater has since changed its name to Xe.
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AAR, owner of former Blackwater aviation leaving NCJackson declined to answer several questions during the deposition, exercising his Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself. Jackson's attorneys advised him to do so when questions came close to the scope of a criminal case against him.
A federal grand jury in North Carolina indicted Jackson and others last year on weapons charges.
Brad Davis contended in court documents that he witnessed contractors using unjustified force to "kill or seriously injure innocent Iraqi civilians." He said the workers did not stop to see if the civilians had been hurt or killed.
Susan Burke, an attorney for the Davises, asked Jackson if the company repeatedly used excessive force.
"My belief is that it is an absolute falsehood," Jackson said, according to the deposition posted on the website of Burke's law firm. Jackson left the job as president of the company at the end of 2008.
Asked about whether travel documents were falsified, Jackson offered a similar answer: "My belief is that it is completely incorrect."
Attorneys did not question Jackson at all about the more salacious allegations in the federal lawsuit filed in Virginia. The lawsuit claimed that Blackwater sought reimbursement for a prostitute for workers in Afghanistan and strippers in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Burke declined to comment. An attorney for Jackson didn't return a call seeking comment.
Moyock, N.C.-based Xe was purchased last year by investor consortium U.S.TC Holdings.
In March, Wood Dale based AAR Corp. announced it was buying Aviation Worldwide Services, one of the units in the collection of companies owned by Xe Services.
With annual sales of $1.4 billion, the 55-year-old AAR has about 6,000 employees in 13 countries. It maintains and repairs aircraft and handles logistics related to spare parts for commercial airlines and the U.S. military. It also makes pallets, containers and mobile hospitals.
