Audiotape found in case of injured 84-year-old man

Jace Radke

Thursday, Aug. 26, 2004 | 9:47 a.m.

Henderson Police have found an audiotape that was recorded minutes after an 84-year-old man suffered broken ribs and a broken hip during his arrest by a Henderson Police officer.

In a hearing last month police officers said they did not know what happened to the tape, but last week it was found in an unrelated internal affairs file.

"The officer taped many different incidents on the tape, and it was filed with a different case," said Walt Cannon, who is representing Henderson Police in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by the now 86-year-old Charles Walker.

The entire tape as well as just the relevant portion of the recordings, were transferred to compact disc and turned over to Walker's lawyer, Leo Flangas. The portion of the tape involving Walker is 70 seconds long, Cannon said.

Cannon said that the tape includes Walker complaining that his arm hurt, and the voices of officers asking Walker why he didn't follow instructions.

Flangas said that the copy that he has heard contains Walker's complaints about being hurt and the officers taking him to the front of a patrol car.

"There is no smoking gun on the tape," Cannon said.

Flangas questions whether the tape may have been tampered with, and has asked that the original tape be released for examination.

Cannon said he plans to bring the original tape to a Sept. 3 hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Philip Pro and will play if requested by Flangas.

The tape was recorded by Officer Jesse Lujan shortly after Walker was handcuffed after his car was pulled over by police near the corner of Army and Market streets on July 21, 2002.

Walker's lawsuit alleges that Officer David Tomlinson used excessive force when he pepper-sprayed Walker and threw him to the ground. Police maintain that Walker yelled and swore at Tomlinson and attempted to get back in his car and that's why the officer pepper-sprayed Walker.

Lujan was the third officer to arrive at the scene and turned on his tape recorder to make a record of what was going on as he helped to escort Walker to the front of a patrol car.