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Suit alleges civil rights violations by Metro Police
Monday, June 1, 2009 | 3:52 p.m.
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Family members of a man shot and killed in 2007 by a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officer have filed a civil rights complaint against the department and the officer.
The parents and sisters of Ronald Neal Joseph Jr. last week sued Metro and Sgt. Sara Bradshaw over the incident in which police said Joseph had just robbed a man at a convenience store and was running, with his gun raised, toward Bradshaw when she shot him.
The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas by Baton Rouge, La., attorney Alfreda Tillman Bester and Las Vegas attorney Alda Anderson. Joseph's family members live in Louisiana, Bester said.
Metro at the time said that at 1:47 p.m. on June 6, 2007, dispatch received a call about a man with a firearm in the parking lot of the Terrible Herbst at 5485 West Flamingo Ave.
"Officers arrived to an armed robbery in progress of a citizen, who was in the parking lot, seated in his car. Officers confronted the suspect, who turned and started moving towards the officers. The suspect had a firearm in his hand and ignored officers’ commands. One officer fired at the suspect, striking him," Metro said at the time.
Joseph, 24, was armed with a fully loaded .45-caliber firearm at the time of the shooting, Metro said.
A Clark County Coroner's Inquest jury later found the shooting justified, though three of the eight jurors refused to sign the verdict form. Several witnesses agreed Joseph was running with his weapon raised, but one thought he was running from the officer, news accounts at the time said.
A Metro Police spokesman on Monday said the department had not been served with the suit and had no other comment except that the results of the coroner's inquest speak for themselves.
Bester on Monday raised familiar complaints about the Coroner's Inquest system, saying "The (Clark County) coroner's inquests always find the shootings by the police are justifiable."
The suit charged: "Neither Bradshaw nor any other officer of the LVMPD at the site of the shooting of Ronald Neal Joseph Jr. had probable cause to believe that he posed a threat of death or serious physical harm to the officer(s), or to any other person."
The suit claims Bradshaw had been involved in another shooting about three months prior to the shooting of Joseph and because of that wasn't fit for duty the day of the Joseph shooting.
The suit also raises Joseph's race -- he is black -- and Bester said there is a concern about the frequency of black people being shot by Metro.
"We think it is an issue. But the primary issue is the unnecessary use of force," she said. "We hope this sheds light on the frequency of police shootings in Las Vegas."
"Officer Bradshaw was not fit for duty and should not have been allowed to carry a gun; nor should she have been allowed to participate in, or respond to a situation of the nature which resulted in the death of Ronald Neal Joseph, Jr. Further, Bradshaw was not adequately trained nor sensitized to deal with an incident of this kind involving a young African-American male,'' charged the suit, which alleges violations of Joseph's rights to equal protection of the law and due process.
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So if it were a BLACK cop who shot that WHITE guy running thru the parking lot with a gun in his hand it would be justified. Why does it always have to be racial when someone thinks they are going to cash out the cash cow. I wasn't there don't know what happended but it really gets old when it's always the cops fault. Not to side with them but you come up against a guy in a parking lot with a gun and what would you do ? That just robbed someone at gunpoint. Would you not draw your weapon and shot. I would. Oh and the best part of the story follows. "The suit also raises Joseph's race -- he is black -- and Bester said there is a concern about the frequency of black people being shot by Metro." If there doing the crime then they deserve the bullet.
"Neither Bradshaw nor any other officer of the LVMPD at the site of the shooting of Ronald Neal Joseph Jr. had probable cause to believe that he posed a threat of death or serious physical harm to the officer(s), or to any other person."
How is an armed robber running around with a loaded 45 caliber weapon not a threat to other people? If Metro chased him and he got away--then what? He robs you or your grandma? Shoots somebody you love by accident or on purpose?
His parents should not pass the blame. My parents didn't raise me to do things like this. If I did and I got shot, I'd know in my final moments that I asked for it and got what I deserved. This man would've robbed more people and could've eventually killed someone or caused someone to get killed.
It is not a civil rights matter when the suspect was certainly a danger to society and was in possession of a deadly weapon. Race has nothing to do with it. His parents should be the ones being sued for raising and putting a criminal on our streets.
Good job Metro. Thanks for keeping scum like this off of our streets!
Great job metro. Though it would have been nice for this man to have spent 10 years of misery in prison he got what he was asking for. Live by the sword, die by the sword. My heart does go out to the parents for their loss, I could not imagine losing a child, however he was a violent criminal.
fantastic job metro!!! i dont like spending ma tax dollars on officers who get hurt on this life on the line job, they bring it to the maximum every day out there to make our streets a little safer everyday and if they shot a violent criminal with a .45 loaded caliber weapon then by all means they have their right to draw out their weapons in order to serve and protect us since thats what she did his family needs to go back to Baton Rouge and think about where their "kid" went wrong and what they could've done to straighten him out!!! and not sue our police officers for shooting a foreign criminal thinking he can get away with his shinnanigans out here, thanks again metro!!!
Great job Metro for removing another violent criminal from the street!!!
Once again bad job by the ACLU for yet trying to cash in on the black community. The All Criminals Loser Union once again expolits the system. They forget about the victims of the crimes whose civil liberaties were taken away by there clients. How ironic there always black!!!! I wish the ACLU and the NAACP spent there energy and money fixing there community and teaching them the laws and how to live within society.
Its not Metro or the governments job to raise them and discipline them. Especially if they are going to complian about it.
I didn't see ACLU mentioned in the story... I don't think they're that dumb. This is a legal fail waiting to happen. The shooting was clearly justified and they guy just wants free money.
Let's get this scenario sorted out:
1. Cops arrive at a crime scene and find a black male, armed with a loaded 45 automatic pistol, robbing a customer at gunpoint. The black male then swings around and points his pistol at the officers, who have commanded him to put down the weapon.
2. Cop fires her weapon first and kills the black male armed robber.
How can anyone file a wrongful death suit over this scenario?
Sara, will you marry me? You are our HERO!!!!
Three of eight jurors refused to sign the verdict form. Isn't anyone even a little curious about that?
Sorry, but the family suing the police department is wasting so much money. They are not going to win this lawsuit. When you have an type of weapon and you're told to drop it, and you don't.... you are going to get shot. Get over it.
Hey Spence, I agree with you again. ACLU always defending the criminals. I bet you that if Mr. Joesph didn't have the gun and wasn't robbing people, he'd still be alive. Funny how that works! Sgt. Bradshaw...you're my Hero!
Kudos to Sgt. Bradshaw...my Metro respect meter went up a notch. And gee, a black criminal's family playing the race card and trying to extort money because junior was a loser. Where were those caring parents during little Ronald's formative years?
Quote from the article:
"Bradshaw was not adequately trained nor sensitized to deal with an incident of this kind involving a young African-American male,'' charged the suit, which alleges violations of Joseph's rights to equal protection of the law and due process."
Since when does equal protection of law include treating African-American males differently than anyone else? Wouldn't that be the opposite of equal protection?
Also, I share the anti-ACLU sentiments out there, even if this is off-topic.
ACLU = all criminals love us
Remember the Black plain clothes officer in NY I think it was, Chasing a criminal that had just broken into his car? He was shot by white police officers. I guess that was just a "oops" thing. Stories like these really bring out the racist here. All the family is saying here is that there are a lot of disconcerning issues here. We all know that Metro isnt the well trained para military organization they would have us believe. Have you really seen the news lately? Just because they have the position to protect and serve dosen't mean there arent a few criminals within the organization. You would be a fool to believe otherwise. (Nothing personal to anyone reading this). Just remember, just because you are a so called "upright citizen" dosen't you can't get caught up in police misconduct. Remember when and if it happens, don't retain a lawyer just trust that Metro will investigate and do the right thing.
Although, I personally am so far to the left, that even the even the democrats appear to me to be "right-wing," I consider myself to be a strict constitutionalist. It is my opinion that since its inception there has been an organized and systematic assault by the conservatives in the United States on the civil liberties written into the US Constitution. The "War on Drugs"; "War on Terror"; "War on Communism" and a host of other wars waged by the right wing are really nothing more than a War on People--an excuse to erode civil rights to the point of non-existence. I invite you to my website devoted to raising awareness on this puritan attack on freedom: http://freethegods.blogspot.com/
Oh please Journey, One election and one mixed race president comes no where near to chipping away the centuries of racism and exclusion deeply embeded in this country. You should be ashamed of yourself for that statement.
It is absolutely absurd to believe that if this guy would have been white he wouldn't have been shot! If any posters here are truly ignorant enough to believe that a white man can behave like this and not be shot I'd be interested in hearing from them. When will it become normal to just accept that our behavior is what gets results, not our skin color? We are not doing anyone favors by creating these "handicaps" in life for people.
LV4LIFE - Why is it that the messiah himself, as well as the media, always refers to Obama as "the first black president" and not "first mixed race president", which he is? If he feels no need to acknowledge the fact that his mother was white and he was raised by his white grandparents, it's probably okay for you to accept that he is black as well.
What does the President's ethnic heritage have to do with this simple "shoot all armed crooks" credo that saves many lives of Metro PD officers?
afveteran - Nothing at all, nothing at all, and nor should it. It's just that every time an armed black criminal gets shot by a LEO, some morons always have to play the race card. It's wearing thin. To all African-Americans who still feel victimized by your ancestors' slavery, please know that my ancestors' fought and died for the North trying to end slavery, so get over it.
the guy shot was a vet of the Iraq war, all vets are all crazy, they should be all locked up...in mental hospitals I guess, according to you Metro-lovers...
This is all Jim Gibbons fault. Nevermind it is, shut up.
First let me say to journey...I do consider myself educated. I have a degree in mathmatics. Secondly, what makes you think I am whining about my skin color? You don't even know what that is.
And lastly to labdaddy, I could care less what the media calls Mr. Obama, and I have never heard where he has refered to himself as black(he may have). I only know that the old addage still runs true in this country..."if you have one drop of black blood in you, you are black". I still contend that he is mixed race. Or would you prefer that if white and black mix the dominant black genes will always over shadow the white?
This man had a loaded gun,and was robbing someone! He may have been running away to just away to avoid capture,but it still dosent get him off. Its a hard thing to pull your firearm,and its even harder to pull the trigger when someones life is at stake,but this officer did what she thought was best for all! You werent there,and she defused it. Yes he lost his life,but he shouldnt have been breaking the law in the first place!!! And yes,this will live with the officer long after she leaves the force too.
I agree with previous post that race should not be the issue here as he had a loaded firearm & was committing a crime at the time he was shot. I would love to hear the family's attorney explain why an officer who had a previous shooting makes them unfit for duty ?? That makes no sense at all. Also Metro trains their officers for all situations so to say she was not properly trained is nuts. How about people taking responsibility for their own actions & not blaming the police for trying to protect innocent hard working people of all races.
Did any of you that have posted here click the link to the lawsuit and read it. You should really do that before you post anything else to see what a real crock of s**t this lawsuit is. Not to mention a huge waste of time, Money and court time to defend such a thing.
Oh and by the way if you do a little homework on Metro opposed to most other police agencies in the country our Police have some of the best training in the country. Most departments train once a year if that because of funding. But Metro, Henderson, N. Las Vegas train at least 4 times a year. So to say that this officer was not trained properly is really far fetched.
To repond to the person who questioned why the 3 jurors did not sign off on the inquest. It may just because they did not want to be on record as agreeing with the verdict not that the verdict was wrong, but that they were forced to be on the jury (As Jury duty does to most people on a jury)& did not want to be apart of the proceedings. Or they could have thought the verdict was totally wrong, but they did not vote NO either! So they have to be questioned to find out the truth, but do not assume it means they wanted to disagree with the verdict.
LV4Life wrote -
"And lastly to labdaddy, I could care less what the media calls Mr. Obama, and I have never heard where he has refered to himself as black(he may have). I only know that the old addage still runs true in this country..."if you have one drop of black blood in you, you are black". I still contend that he is mixed race. Or would you prefer that if white and black mix the dominant black genes will always over shadow the white?"
No, just the opposite! I'm a white male and Obama's white heritage screams out through omission in almost all media stories about him.
It's the press that assumes Obama is black because he has one black parent. It hearkens back to Jim Crow days.
I'm sure I'll be called a racist because I take pride in the fact that Obama is half white. Reverse discrimination is beginning to rear its ugly head in America.
Excuse me...but when a cop tells you to get on the ground YOU DO IT. The officer responded to an armed robbery...the man had a gun ...refused commands...I'd a shot him too!...if the gun wasn't involved I could see where a tazer would have surficed...but when your faced with a person who clearly disregards anothers life and can at any time pull that trigger and leave your family without a father or a mother I do not feel sorry for the suspect who gets himself killed over something so stupid and could have been prevented.Its kill or be killed out there people.
One of the things that make our Country great is the judicial system we have. We have courts to decide the guilt and punishment for those that break the law. We don't want to be a Country that gives the police the right to be judge and jury, what if next time it is you they believe committed a crime and deserve to die. I appreciate the job the police do and realize it is a dangerous vocation but they too have to be held accountable. This case leaves so many questions. For example: where was the wound on the young man(was it in the front?), did he actually use a gun in the robbery(did someone other than the police officer see it?), did the young man shoot, did the young man have a criminal record, these are questions that would be answered in a court of law. I knew Ron Joseph; I was one of his teachers in High School. I can tell you he was a joy to have in my class. He was always cheerful and got along well with everyone. It breaks my heart to hear what happened with him, but I can tell you he was not raised to be a criminal and I don't know what led him to this horrible end. If he were your child wouldn't you want your day in court?
I live in Indiana and even I know when you raise a gun to a cop, you deserved to be shot if and when you are ordered to put the weapon down and you don't put it down!!!
If you don't put the weapon down when ordered, you show intent to harm...
Kudo's to the "Police Officers" involved, you did the right thing!!!