Probe of corrections officers urged

Jen Lawson

Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2003 | 9:27 a.m.

A citizens review panel has asked Metro Police for a full investigation into a Clark County Detention Center inmate's allegations that four corrections officers roughed him up while in a jail elevator.

The review board's screening panel, which independently investigates complaints against Metro officers, also asked internal affairs to look into an allegation filed by a man against a female corrections officer, whom he said had people vandalize his car and make harassing phone calls.

The two were apparently romantically involved, Andrea Beckman, executive director of the Citizens Review Board, said.

"Whenever a case is sent to internal affairs, the screening panel is saying (the complaint) is not totally without merit," Beckman said.

According to review board panel paperwork, Larry D. White claims that David Brost, Patrick Cusak, Darrell Payne, Thomas L. Stewart and Robert Spinoza, all corrections officers, used excessive force Aug. 12 while transporting White on an elevator.

The panel asked internal affairs to look into whether the elevators in question are equipped with video cameras and whether a tape is available.

"If there is any footage, we want to see it," Beckman said.

In a separate complaint, Morzean Weatherspoon accuses correction officer Elizabeth Shoeboot of having fellow officers spray paint his car and harass him by telephone. These incidents allegedly occurred between June 2 and July 3, according to panel paperwork.

Weatherspoon showed the panel photographs of a vehicle with spray paint on it and said Shoeboot was responsible.

"We're trying to find out if there's any proof of this happening," Beckman said. "We only have one side of the story."

Officers who have complaints filed against them are given two weeks to respond if they choose, and often complaints are thrown out once the panel hears the officers' side.

The four corrections officers accused of excessive force haven't yet responded to the complaint; the two-week period hasn't yet passed, Beckman said. Shoeboot let the response period expire without offering to give her side.

Another complaint filed by a citizen who felt he was treated unfairly Aug. 22 during a traffic stop was referred to the Neighborhood Justice Center for mediation, a recommendation that the review board wants to start using more often as a way to resolve certain complaints -- such as allegations of rudeness -- against Metro officers, Beckman said.

"It's more of an attitude adjustment," Beckman said. "Sometimes mediation is appropriate in cases where there may be a miscommunication or misunderstanding."

The review board is defining its guidelines for mediation and she called the pending complaint "a new baby."

"We want to see how it turns out," she said. "'Mediation is the wave of the future."

Both the citizen and officer must agree to mediate the conflict, and the cases are handled by professional mediators. Since the review board was formed in 2000, only a few cases have been referred to mediation and only case has actually been mediated, Beckman said.

Undersheriff Doug Gillespie said Metro uses mediation to resolve conflicts internally, and the department supports the process between citizens and officers.