Trial begins in civil rights lawsuit

Tuesday, April 7, 1998 | 9:05 a.m.

A federal court jury is hearing the civil rights lawsuit brought by Walter, Jim and Robert Bratcher as an outgrowth of a disturbance in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 1994.

"This is a case of three brothers who were on their first visit to Las Vegas," attorney Robert Kossack said during his opening statement Monday.

Attorney Brian Whitaker, who gave the opening statement for the defense, said the defendants "have been under a cloud for a long, long time with accusations that have been made in this case."

Police videos captured the events that morning, including the incident involving the Bratchers. The disturbance resulted in the arrests of 92 people.

"This incident took 15 seconds," Whitaker told the jury. "These officers made split-second decisions."

After the incident, the brothers filed a lawsuit against the police department and six other defendants.

Kossack said the problem began about 12:30 a.m. when police began trying to clear thousands of people off Fremont Street and its surrounding sidewalks "in an impatient, expeditious manner."

He said the brothers were heading to Fitzgeralds Hotel-Casino, where they had room reservations, but a line of police officers blocked their passage.

"The officers simply pointed for the Bratchers to head west," Kossack said.

He said that sent the brothers back into the crowd, which was being beaten by police batons and doused with pepper spray.

"The Bratchers were never given any time to disperse," Kossack said.

He said one officer used an overhand motion to strike Robert Bratcher, now 34, over the head with a baton, creating a gash in his scalp that required seven stitches.

The attorney said Jim Bratcher, now 37, also suffered painful bruises during the confrontation, and police falsely arrested Walter Bratcher, now 23.

No charges were filed against Walter Bratcher. Jim Bratcher was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of unlawful assembly, and a judge later found him guilty.

Whitaker said police had a plan to clear Fremont Street that morning and videotaped the events to show elected officials what had happened to the New Year's celebration downtown.

"For years this event has progressively changed," the attorney said. "The crowds have become younger, more intoxicated, more violent."

When police began clearing the area that morning, he said, people in the crowd began throwing things at them.

Whitaker said Walter Bratcher will admit he threw a plastic cup of beer at police. He said the man also tried to kick officers.

The attorney denied claims that Robert Bratcher's head was cut by a baton blow. He said the man's head struck the edge of an officer's face shield.

James Marsh, a retired Chicago police officer who does consulting work on police control tactics, testified Monday for the Bratcher brothers.

He said he reviewed videos and documents in the case before reaching an opinion that officers had used excessive force in 13 of 14 interactions with members of the Bratcher family.