Saturday, April 23, 2011
Las Vegas Review-Journal
When Mitchell Crooks checked out of the county jail last month and checked into a Las Vegas hospital, the 36-year-old videographer knew he had a fight on his hands.
His face was bloodied and bruised. His $3,500 camera had been impounded by police, and he faced criminal charges for battery on a police officer.
One month later, things have changed for Crooks.
The Clark County district attorney's office has dropped all charges, and Crooks has retained an attorney of his own. The Metropolitan Police Department has opened an internal investigation into the Las Vegas police officer, Derek Colling, who Crooks says falsely arrested and beat him for filming police.
And his camera -- which captured the entire March 20 altercation between Crooks and Colling -- has been returned...[Full Article]
Labels: Las Vegas, police, police brutality, video
Friday, July 16, 2010
LAS VEGAS -- The father of a Las Vegas businessman who was shot and killed by police at a Las Vegas Costco store says he's been receiving eyewitness reports which directly contradict the official version of Saturday's events.
William Scott, the father of Erik Scott, gave his first interview to 8 News NOW's George Knapp.
The shooting incident is different from almost anything we've seen in memory involving Metro Police, not only because there were more than three dozen eyewitnesses, but also because of who was shot.
Erik Scott was a West Point graduate who also had a degree from Duke. He was a successful businessman and his father is a nationally known aviation journalist with extensive contacts in military and intelligence circles.
Bill Scott says he will withhold judgement while the investigation continues, but it's clear he has serious questions about the reported sequence of events that ended with his son dead in front of a Costco...
[Full Article]Labels: Bill Scott, Costco, Erik Scott, Las Vegas, police
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Did Las Vegas Metro Police Shoot Veteran Prematurely?
A lawyer representing the family of a man fatally shot by police at a Las Vegas membership warehouse store denied police reports Monday that the man had pulled out a handgun and pointed it at police.
Erik Scott, 39, had at least one handgun with him at the time of the shooting Saturday, but also had a concealed weapon permit, attorney Ross Goodman said.
"He did not pull a handgun," Goodman said. "All the witnesses we've heard from have said he did not make any threatening gestures, and didn't do anything that could be construed as acting in a threatening manner."...
[Full Article]
Metro IDs officers in fatal shooting at Summerlin Costco
Metro Police on Monday said a man fatally shot by officers at a Costco store in Summerlin had pointed a gun at an officer before three officers fired their weapons, killing the man.
Police identified the three officers in the Saturday shooting as Officer William Mosher, 38, who has been with the department since June 2005; Officer Joshua Stark, 28, with the department since September 2008; and Officer Thomas Mendiola, 23, with the department since March 2009.
All officers are part of the Northwest Area Command Patrol Division. The Clark County Coroner's Office has identified the man killed as Erik Scott, 38, of Las Vegas.
[Full Article]SUMMERLIN COSTCO STORE: Slaying of Army veteran shocks friends
The man shot by police outside a Summerlin Costco store on Saturday was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point with a master's degree from Duke University, friends said.
Army veteran Erik Scott, 39, was at the store near Charleston Boulevard and the Las Vegas Beltway with his girlfriend before three officers fatally shot him in a confrontation.
Friends and an attorney speaking on behalf of Scott's relatives, described him as a good man from a military family. His father was in the Air Force, and his grandfather fought in World War II, friend Mike Pusateri said. "The most loyal, honest, trustworthy, salt-of-the-earth guy you could meet," said Pusateri, 38. "You only meet one or two of those kinds of guys in your life, and Erik is one of them." Scott worked for Boston Scientific, a medical devices manufacturer, as a sales representative for the company's pacemakers. Attorney Ross Goodman, who represents Scott's family, said Scott was one of the company's top sales employees...
Conflicting Accounts of Officer Involved Shooting Emerge
...Attorney Ross Goodman represents Scott's family. He says Scott never pulled a gun and was not acting in a threatening way toward officers. He says other witnesses will back that up. Some comments on 8NewsNOW.com from people who claim to have witnessed the shooting agree with Goodman.
One person wrote, "I saw the whole thing go down from start to finish, and the cops were trigger happy. The guy never had a chance." "I was there, and I never saw this guy do anything with his gun," another person wrote. "The police started shooting immediately after ‘drop it' was yelled."
Metro officers say they haven't heard those eyewitness accounts yet and encourage anyone who saw anything to contact them.
"It sounds like he was trying to show the police his gun by lifting up his shirt," Castillo said. "These guys, they fired prematurely."
Captain Neville says 911 calls will prove otherwise. "I could clearly hear the officers giving commands to the individual to get him on the ground," he said. "You could hear people yelling and screaming in the background. You could hear the shots being fired." "When you listen to that, it definitely sends a chill down your spine," Capt. Neville said.
Goodman says he hopes surveillance video, along with the witnesses he's hearing from, will show Scott did nothing wrong.
[Full Article]
Labels: Erik Scott, Las Vegas, Nevada, police, shooting
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) - In light of the recent attempt to set off a bomb in New York's Times Square, extra eyes are keeping watch over possible terrorist targets. A national program is training parking attendants to watch for suspicious people.
Las Vegas, one of the hottest tourist spots in the world makes one wonder if what happened in New York could happen here.
"Would you want to come someplace where terrorists are setting off bombs," asks Las Vegas resident Jim Hawkins.
A new government program plans to train parking attendants and meter maids to watch and report anything suspicious...
Labels: Las Vegas, Nevada, program, spying, terrorism
Monday, March 15, 2010
What Are The Odds...?
WASHINGTON – Two guns used in high-profile shootings this year at the Pentagon and a Las Vegas courthouse both came from the same unlikely place: the police and court system of Memphis, Tenn.
Law enforcement officials told The Associated Press that both guns were once seized in criminal cases in Memphis. The officials described how the weapons made their separate ways from an evidence vault to gun dealers and to the shooters...
Guns Used In Pentagon Shooting And Las Vegas Courtroom Shootings Orininated With Tennessee Police
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Talk about improbable odds. The guns used in the Pentagon and Las Vegas courthouse shootings came from the police and court system in Memphis, Tennessee.
John Patrick Bedell’s gun originated with police in Tennessee.
“Law enforcement officials told The Associated Press that both guns were once seized in criminal cases in Memphis. The officials described how the weapons made their separate ways from an evidence vault to gun dealers and to the shooters.”...
Labels: Bedell, guns, Las Vegas, Memphis, Pentagon, Tennessee
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