Run-in with off-duty officer doesn’t extinguish fire of teens’ vigil

By Emily Richmond

Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2005 | 8 a.m.

An off-duty Henderson police officer, upset that teenagers were gathered next to his home for a vigil in memory of three friends who died in a 2003 car wreck, stomped out votive candles he said posed a fire risk.

On Nov. 10, 2003, after a night of partying, 16-year-old Sean Larimer crashed his Pontiac Grand Am into a cement and cinder block wall at the corner of Pinion Springs Drive and Silver Springs Parkway in Green Valley.

Three of his passengers -- Travis Dunning, Josh Parry and Kyle Poff, all 15 -- were killed, while a fourth passenger, 15-year-old Cody Fredericks, survived with serious injuries. Larimer, whose blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit for adults, was sentenced to two years in the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center and is scheduled to be released in February.

The wall, which borders the home of Henderson Police Sgt. Jack Brooks, was turned into a makeshift shrine Thursday as about a dozen people marked the crash's second anniversary.

Brooks said he took action only after failing to convince the vigil participants that the candles threatened pine trees in his front yard. Brooks said the wall is on his property and his homeowner's association requires him to maintain it.

"There were candles on the wall and I knocked those down and kicked the fire out with my shoes," Brooks said Monday.

Brooks said his wife is particularly fearful of fire after losing her brother in a 1976 blaze.

"I didn't do it because I'm a cold-hearted, selfish guy," Brooks said. "I don't mind if those kids want to gather and kneel down and pray. But the fire has got to stop."

Brooks' actions upset some vigil participants and there was a heated exchange of words.

A Henderson resident who stopped to observe the vigil told the Sun she heard Brooks swearing at the teens as he ordered them to leave. He was wearing his badge and he flashed a set of handcuffs, she said.

"Every other word was the 'F' word," said the woman, who asked that her name be withheld. "He said, 'Don't they have a f-ing grave to visit? When are they going to stop coming to my house?' He was very belligerent."

Brooks said the episode unfolded as he was returning home from work about 8:30 p.m., dressed in plain clothes and wearing his badge. He said he did not identify himself as a police officer and retrieved the handcuffs from his car only as a safety precaution.

He acknowledged using profanity but said it was not directed at any of the individuals. The teens were swearing at him at the time and had cursed at his wife earlier in the evening, Brooks said.

Rick Poff, whose son Kyle died in the crash, said he heard about the run-in with Brooks from some vigil participants. Based on the information he was given, Poff said, he intends to file a complaint with the police department's internal affairs division.

"It's a good thing I wasn't there (at the vigil) because I would be in jail," Poff said.

Henderson Police Chief Alan Kerstein said Monday there has been no formal complaint or allegation of misconduct stemming from the incident to date.

"We talked to Sgt. Brooks about being a little more tolerant," Kerstein said. "Anytime there's an encounter on or off duty, we need to be as professional as we possibly can. We've told that to all our personnel."

Kerstein said he also encourages participants in future vigils to recognize that the wall is private property and that they must respect homeowners' rights.

"We want everyone to be adults and get along," Kerstein said.

Police and an arson investigator for Henderson Fire responded to Brooks' 911 call. At the request of the police officer, the vigil was moved to the opposite side of Silver Springs.

The arson investigator made sure the scene was safe and asked participants to move their candles from the top of the wall, said Henderson Fire Deputy Chief Doug Stevens.

"The vigil was not stopped," Stevens said. "We certainly respect the need for people to remember and honor their friends. We just want to make sure they do it in a safe and responsible manner."

As long as the candles were not balanced on top of the wall, there was no fire threat, Stevens said.

Several remnants of the vigil remained days later, including scorch marks against the wall and pools of melted wax on the ground. Scratched into the red dirt was "RIP" and the names of the boys who died, surrounded by a large heart.

While cleaning up the debris left by last year's vigil, Brooks said he spoke with two Green Valley High School students who stopped to watch and said they had been friends with the teens who died.

He encouraged the students to consider planting a memorial tree in the city park across the street from the crash site, where future gatherings could be held. Brooks offered $100 toward the cost of the tree, an offer that he said still stands.

Freddie Parrish, who has lived on Pinion Drive for about two years, said he isn't bothered by the teenagers who use his street corner to mourn, provided they obey traffic laws and don't block private driveways with their cars.

"It's their friends who died," Parrish said. "I gotta say I'm surprised two years later people would go to that kind of effort. Most kids forget about stuff by then."

Emily Richmond can be reached at (702) 259-8829 or at [email protected].