PHOENIX -
A FOX 10 Exclusive
The wife of Doug Georgianni, the Scottsdale man who was gunned down inside a photo radar van four years ago -- speaks out for the first time.
The interview comes on the heels of a jury finding no fault with the state for the death of her husband -- but she says the lawsuit wasn't about the money. It was about right and wrong and getting justice for him.
"For four years, I've wanted justice for Doug," said Jean Georgianni. "I woke up every morning knowing I was going to spend the day with my best friend."
"Doug may very well be alive if they'd done as simple as spend a few hundred dollars to give these people bullet proof vests," she said.
Jean believes the Department of Public Safety could have prevented her husband's death, but a jury didn't agree. The verdict was handed down Tuesday.
"While I respect the fact that six jurors thought otherwise, it doesn't change the truth," she said.
She believes civilian employees, like Doug, should not have been required to sit in marked DPS photo radar vans.
"When there was actually an e-mail death threat to Redflex against its executives and its employees in February, two months before Doug was killed, even though DPS was involved in that investigation, they didn't stop and say geez, somebody could get hurt here."
Still, the jury blamed the shooter, Thomas Destories. He's currently in prison serving a 20-year sentence. In an exclusive interview with FOX 10, Destories claimed he had no idea anyone was in the photo radar van.
"I wanted to make sure no one was there. I looked, I checked, it was quiet, it was silent," he said.
"I do believe him that he did not know there was anyone in that vehicle," said Jean. "It's still very hard, but I'm not a person that holds on to anger. It poisons your soul."
And after four years of fighting for justice for Doug, she said, "You have to accept sometime that difficult things happen in life and while the result of this court case was difficult, it pales in comparison to what losing Doug did to me in my life."
DPS released this statement:
"In this case, the jury weighed the facts and came to a studied, careful resolution. The justice system performed its duty."
Georgianni's attorney says they're considering an appeal.
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