Coroner’s jury blames man for his own death

Keith Paul

Friday, May 3, 2002 | 11:04 a.m.

A coroner's inquest jury Thursday took only 12 minutes to clear three Metro Police officers of wrongdoing in the asphyxiation death of a man who struggled with them -- and in an unusual move, the jury ruled the person who caused the death was the slain man.

The jury ruled that the Feb. 16 death of Craig Becker, 46, was an excusable homicide, clearing officers James Coovert, Christopher Peto and Matthew Gillis of criminal wrongdoing.

Dan Bowman, a chief deputy Clark County district attorney who helped present the case, said he has never seen a jury determine that the dead person was responsible for the death when ruling in a homicide.

Becker died Feb. 16 after struggling with police. Officers went to his house after reports that Becker, who told police he was Jesus Christ, had spent the better part of the morning destroying the place in front of his two teenage sons.

The verdict frustrated Becker's family, but family members said it was what they expected from a Clark County coroner's inquest.

"It can only work one way and it worked they way they wanted it to," said Jan Mullins, Becker's sister. "My son is a policeman in Phoenix; it's not like I am anti-police at all. But I would want to say to those three officers, 'If that was your family member, your brother or your father, is that how you would have liked him to be treated?'

"In my heart of hearts I don't think the answer is yes."

Rick Petrone, an attorney representing some of Becker's family, said prosecutors put witnesses on the stand only to clear the officers. He called the proceeding a farce, saying "the only thing missing was a kangaroo."

The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada has been critical of coroner's inquests claiming the process is not a fair hearing of the facts. In 100 cases since 1976, an inquest jury has ruled only once an officer was criminally responsible for a person's death. A Clark County grand jury later cleared the officer by refusing to indict him.

In the Becker case, the officers were called to his Washington Avenue home by one of his friends. Becker, according to testimony from his wife, friend and two sons, started destroying the inside of his home, saying that the house need to be "cleansed" and that he was Jesus Christ.

At one point, according to testimony, Becker was up on the roof of his house, either naked or wearing only shoes and a T-shirt, ripping off shingles.

"He was surprisingly calm. It was like he partly knew what was going on," said Becker's 15-year-old son, Robert Becker.

Coovert and Peto were the first officers to arrive at the house. They found the man naked in his destroyed kitchen bleeding badly from his foot, apparently cut by the broken glass and dishes on the floor.

"He said he was Jesus Christ and unless there is a sick child at the hospital he needs to visit, he didn't want to speak to us," Peto said.

Coovert said he and the other officers could not leave because Becker was injured and behaving strangely. Coovert testified that Becker started to move toward him with his arms flailing. Coovert said he then sprayed Becker with pepper spray, but it seemed to have no effect.

Gillis arrived with a shotgun that fires beanbag rounds and stood outside the house. Coovert testified that Becker ran out of the house and toward Gillis while continuing to flail his arms.

Becker's younger son, Danny Becker, testified the police went into the house and pushed his father out.

Coovert testified he held Becker face down on the ground as the man struggled. He testified he held him by his back and may have put his arm on the back of Becker's neck while he was trying to restrain him as the other officers tried to get handcuffs on Becker.

"I wanted to get him off his stomach as quick as possible," Coovert said, adding that because he had pepper sprayed Becker, he wanted to move him onto his side so he would have an easier time breathing.

But soon the officers and paramedics, who were also called to the house but were standing by until the officers restrained Becker, saw Becker had turned blue and was not breathing. Becker was taken to Lake Mead Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Becker died from restraint asphyxia and posterior neck compression with contributing factors of obesity, agitated delirium and artery disease, Dr. Donna Smith, a county medical examiner, testified.

There was damage to the muscles and fat under Becker's skin on the back of his neck and his lower back, indicating restraint was used. The force of holding Becker face down, along with Becker resisting, could have caused the asphyxiation, she said.

Mullins said she is not sure if the family will pursue a civil suit against the officers and Metro, but added that "it's a good possibility."

A lawsuit seemed likely as two attorneys were in the courtroom for the inquest. And a friend of Becker's children who was there the day he died testified without prompting, "He was not a threat to me."

Asked why he said that without being asked, 15-year-old Christopher Buchanan shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know."

He said he talked with the two attorneys representing the family, but added they told him only that he had to be in court for the inquest.