Black father tries to make money off of his children's deaths

The black father of three children who drowned in the Hudson River says that the City of Newburgh and Orange County each owe him $40 million. Jean Pierre has filed a notice of claim alleging the city permitted a "dangerous/hazardous condition" at its waterfront boat ramp. Pierre's estranged girlfriend, LaShanda Armstrong, killed herself and three of her four children when she drove her minivan down the ramp and into the Hudson River. The fourth child, 10-year-old La'Shaun Armstrong, escaped through a van window and swam to safety. Pierre said that there should have been some kind of barrier or other control to keep people from driving into the water. Pierre also says that Orange County should have known for months the kids were in danger. In a second notice of claim, he said that the county Department of Child Protective Services had the responsibility to monitor Armstrong, 25, and the children ever since 2-year-old Landen Pierre was discovered, half-dressed and wandering the streets in the cold of early morning. Pierre was supposed to be watching the boy that night and was arrested after Newburgh police discovered he had left Landen alone while he went to a gas station. A Newburgh judge later granted a temporary order of protection against Pierre and adjourned the case in contemplation of dismissal. Neighbors said that they heard Pierre pounding on Armstrong's door and shouting at her from the sidewalk, less than an hour before Armstrong loaded the kids into the minivan. Armstrong's aunt Angela Gilliam was surprised to hear about Pierre's high-dollar claims. "Someone should file a claim against him," Gilliam said. "Forty million? Are you kidding me?" Gilliam said that her side of the family hadn't heard anything from Pierre, who has moved to Georgia.