FBI joins investigation of Henderson arrest

Keith Paul

Friday, July 26, 2002 | 11:09 a.m.

The FBI has begun a civil rights investigation into how an 84-year-old man sustained broken ribs and other injuries after being arrested by Henderson Police officers Sunday.

"We have been asked by (Henderson Police) Chief (Michael) Mayberry to conduct a civil rights investigation," said FBI Special Agent Daron Borst, a spokesman for the FBI's Las Vegas office. "We will gather the facts and then forward them to the Department of Justice's civil rights division, who will make the determination if federal civil rights law was violated."

The investigation, started Thursday, will likely take a month to complete. There is no time frame for a decision to be made by the Justice Department after the case is sent to Washington, Borst said.

Henderson Police are also conducting an internal investigation of the incident involving Henderson resident Charles Walker and officers David Tomlinson and Wade Seekatz. The confrontation began with a traffic stop.

Tomlinson was not put on administrative leave, but he was moved from patrol to other unspecified duties Thursday. Seekatz -- who arrived on the scene to help handcuff Walker, according to police reports -- remained on his patrol duties.

Walker's attorney says the Henderson Police officers used excessive force to subdue the elderly man, with little provocation.

"I don't know why it escalated this far," Leo Flangas said. "There is no reason for it. I think that it's appropriate that the FBI investigates this."

Walker was listed in fair condition Thursday in St. Rose Dominican Hospital Rose de Lima Campus. Flangas said Walker had five broken ribs, a fractured hip, a sprained wrist and bruises.

A civil lawsuit against the city and the police department will be filed, Flangas said, but probably not until the city attorney determines if three misdemeanor charges against Walker will be dismissed.

Mayberry asked the FBI to look into the incident to get an "objective investigation of the situation," said Vicki Taylor, a Henderson spokeswoman who fielded all questions about the case for the police.

Asked why the FBI was brought into this case and not others involving alleged excessive force -- such as a January incident in which Michael Nicholas was hit with a baton after struggling during an arrest -- Taylor said circumstances were different this time.

She said Walker's age and injuries were the factors in asking for the civil rights investigation. She declined to discuss the Nicholas case, as he filed a lawsuit against the city and police department.

Tomlinson, 30, an officer for about two years, described Walker in a police report as being "very angry" and not following directions during the traffic stop.

Tomlinson wrote that he was in the area of Army and Market streets Sunday about 7:40 p.m. when he saw a car parked in the middle of the intersection. Tomlinson told Walker to remain in the car, but Walker got out and started walking toward the officer.

"Charles immediately began to yell at me and argue," Tomlinson wrote. "Charles told me the stop was ridiculous. ... I was afraid he might be trying to attack me."

Walker headed toward his own car and started to reach inside the car as Tomlinson was yelling for him to stop, the report said. Tomlinson then tried to squirt Walker with pepper spray.

"I thought he might be trying to enter the vehicle to flee the area or possibly attempt to retrieve a weapon inside his vehicle," Tomlinson wrote.

Tomlinson then tried to handcuff Walker, but Walker is accused of pulling away. Tomlinson then forced Walker to the ground. Tomlinson wrote in the report that Walker continued to resist. It was not until Seekatz arrived that Walker was handcuffed.

Walker was taken to the Henderson jail. There, it was determined Walker was injured and had to be taken to the hospital.