Controversy mars inquest history

Ed Koch and Jen Lawson

Friday, May 23, 2003 | 10:16 a.m.

Thirty-nine-year-old Jon Kenji Fukumoto was the 114th person to be killed by a Clark County law enforcement officer since 1976.

In 102 of those cases, the deaths were judged to be justifiable; seven were excusable -- meaning the officer made an understandable mistake; three were deemed to be suicides, meaning the person who was shot wanted police to kill them. In one death, the jury ruled that the man died from cocaine toxicity, not his struggle with officers. Only one death was ruled criminally negligent, according to coroner's records.

The officer ruled to be criminally negligent was later cleared by a Clark County grand jury, which refused to indict him.

The inquest process has long been a target of criticism by the American Civil Liberties Union because it's not an adversarial proceeding. Now Sheriff Bill Young is expressing concern that the process is unfair.

"I don't think it's perfect," Young said. "The thing that's missing is a real advocate for the person who died."

In 99.9 percent of officer-involved shootings, Young said he thought the officer did the right thing.

But, he added, "I think we've killed too many people where we need an alternative."

Young changed Metro's use-of-force policy earlier this month to include Taser guns as a nonlethal alternative to a firearm. Tasers send 50,000 volts of electricity, 0.162 amps, through a person's body, rendering them temporarily immobile. The guns can be fired from up to 21 feet away.

Gary Peck, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, said Young deserves "enormous credit" for acknowledging his concerns about the number of shootings and the lack of a real voice for the deceased in the inquest process.

"It is not a process that is well-suited for getting at the truth," Peck said. "It is instead a process designed to allow the government to present its version of the truth."

Despite past controversies, Clark County Coroner Ron Flud said he believes the system works.

"I personally wouldn't change it a bit -- I think it is a fair system," Flud said. "The one major complaint is that it is not adversarial. But what we need to remember is that the officers also have rights."

An answer to the adversarial issue could be the creation of a prosecutor or "presenter" position in addition to the district attorney. Under the present system, a representative from the district attorney's office is the lone presenter of evidence to the inquest jury.

That's a big problem, Peck said, because the district attorney's office works closely with the police, making it difficult for its representatives to be objective.

Inquests are run by a hearing master, who is an independent attorney, not a judge. Flud said one of his most-used inquest hearing masters is Frank Cremen, one of Southern Nevada's most high-profile defense attorneys.

Also, Flud said, the jury is selected from members of the public, and the jurors get to ask questions of the police officer and witnesses.

Attorneys representing the family of the victim of the shooting and interested public parties, such as the ACLU, can submit written questions to the hearing master, who has the discretion of whether to ask them.

"We have participated in these inquests, and they are a farce," Peck said. "We have presented questions only to have the hearing master either ignore them or so thoroughly distort them as to make them meaningless."

Perhaps the most controversial of local coroner's inquests was that of three Metro vice detectives who killed 39-year-old casino floorman Charles Bush on July 31, 1990. They entered his Paradise Road apartment without a warrant. One of the officers put Bush in a headlock, and he died.

The coroner's inquest ruled that the slaying by officers Gerald Amerson, Michael Campbell and Thomas Chasey was justified.

"Before scheduling that inquest, I went to the district attorney and asked if he was planning to pursue criminal charges," Flud said. "If criminal charges are filed, there is no need for an inquest. The DA asked for an inquest."

Flud noted that officers charged with criminal acts in shootings are tried in courts and traditionally have been found guilty.

One such incident were the criminal charges filed against Metro Police Officers Ron Mortensen and Christopher Brady, who participated in the Dec. 28, 1996, off-duty drive-by shooting that killed 21-year-old Daniel Mendoza.

Brady entered a plea agreement and was sentenced to nine years in prison. Mortensen was convicted and was sentenced to life in prison. Neither case went before a coroner's inquest.

As controversial as the Bush killing was, Flud noted that the attorney general stepped in after the inquest and filed criminal charges against the officers. But that trial ended in a hung jury that was deadlocked at 11-1 for acquittal. The case has not been retried.

Flud said, despite not being convicted of crimes, Bush's killers were punished by the department. One officer left the force shortly after the incident and the other two were reassigned.

Metro also paid $475,000 to Bush's family as part of a settlement that did not include an admission of guilt. Instead, it closed the book on litigation that in total cost the department more than $1 million.

Peck said he and other civil libertarians are exploring ways to make inquests more adversarial. Until that happens, the only option for family members of those killed by officers is civil court.