Judge to review records of man hurt by police

Jeffrey Libby

Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2002 | 9:02 a.m.

A Boulder City Municipal Court judge will review medical records before arraigning an elderly man injured last month when he resisted Boulder City Police officers during a traffic stop.

Judge Victor Miller granted a request Tuesday by an attorney for 73-year-old Robert Parker to consider holding a competency hearing before issuing a ruling on the misdemeanor charge of resisting an officer. A date for the hearing was not immediately set.

Parker suffers from Alzheimer's disease according to medical assessments issued by Boulder City Hospital and Desert Springs Hospital, attorney Cal Potter said.

Boulder City Police in August charged Parker with resisting an officer during a felony traffic stop. Police stopped Parker because his license plates matched those allegedly involved in a hit-and-run accident in Las Vegas.

After exiting the vehicle in which he was riding as a passenger Parker refused two orders to drop a cigarette, according to police reports. Officers said they attempted to handcuff him and a struggle ensued. Police threw Parker to the ground and pinned him before successfully cuffing him.

Parker sustained three broken ribs and cuts and bruises. He was the second elderly man in recent months injured by police during a traffic stop. An 84-year-old man was injured by Henderson Police during a traffic stop in July.

A panel of Boulder City civilians and police ruled unanimously last month that the arresting officers used appropriate force on Parker.

Parker may file a lawsuit against the police, Potter said, but not before the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, in Washington, issues a finding on an FBI investigation concluded last month.