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Mona Shield Payne / Special to the Sun
Trevon Cole’s fiancee Sequioa Pearce and Craig Smith react with surprise after hearing the verdict of justifiable homicide during a coroner’s inquest Saturday, Aug. 21, 2010, at the Regional Justice Center.
By Kyle B. Hansen (contact) 
, Cara McCoy
Published Saturday, Aug. 21, 2010 | 9:56 a.m.
Updated Sunday, Aug. 22, 2010 | 1:29 a.m.
Sun Archives
Clark County Sheriff Douglas Gillespie said the coroner’s inquest that cleared a Metro detective in the shooting death of a man while executing a search warrant is evidence that his department is transparent and trustworthy.
“I think there’s been a lot of scrutiny and criticism of my organization as well as the inquest process,” he said.
“I think today it’s evidenced that we are transparent, that we are willing to admit mistakes, when in fact they are made,” he said. “And I think the officers from my organization that testified today did a very good job of sending that message very clearly to the community.”
After two days of testimony, a seven-member jury ruled Detective Brian Yant justified in June 11 shooting 21-year-old Trevon Bertwane Cole at his Las Vegas apartment.
Police allege that Cole had previously sold drugs to an undercover officer. Yant testified that he shot Cole — who turned out to be unarmed — after he kicked in a bathroom door and saw Cole take what appeared to be “a shooting stance.”
Jurors were shown a picture of Cole’s left hand taken after his death. In it, he is clutching a tube of lip balm.
During their testimony, detectives conceded that mistakes were made in handling the case, including inaccurate criminal history information that was submitted in an affidavit.
Gillespie, meanwhile, said the District Attorney’s Office and the judge carried out the inquest well, and the family should be satisfied that their questions were asked of the witnesses.
“I believe that this was pretty transparent. I believe they got to ask a lot of questions,” he said. “This inquest, I believe, many people thought would take less than a day. But because of the level of questioning that took place, it took two very full days.”
The shooting of Cole already has led to changes within Metro and more will be coming, the sheriff said.
“Just because it’s come back as justified doesn’t mean that we are done reviewing this particular case,” Gillespie said.
“Now that the inquest is over in regards to Officer Yant...we’ll get more in depth into the totality of the review from the internal standpoint. We have a use-of-force board that will be reviewing the facts and circumstances as well.”
The board will determine if Yant will face any disciplinary action, Gillespie said.
And just a few days after the shooting, Metro stopped allowing squads like the narcotics unit involved in Cole’s case to execute the most dangerous search warrants. Any search warrants that require use of force to enter a building will be executed by SWAT officers until a review of Metro policy is complete.
Gillespie said people should consider Metro’s efforts to make improvements before judging the department or his success as sheriff.
“In the tough times, when we have made mistakes, when we need to step forward and adapt, modify and change policy, training and tactics, that’s exactly what we’ve done,” said Gillespie, who is running for re-election. “That’s what we’re going to continue to do as long as I’m sheriff of this organization.”
Still, Cole’s family was disappointed in the verdict.
Attorney Andre Lagomarsino, who represents the Cole family, said he respects the jury’s role, “but I disagree strongly with the verdict...We’re a bit shocked. No, we’re not a bit shocked — we’re extremely shocked.”
Lagomarsino said Cole’s family is still exploring what it will do next and hadn’t decided yet on any legal actions.
After the proceedings concluded, he ushered a group visibly distraught family members away from the throng that had assembled near the 16th floor elevators at the downtown Regional Justice Center.
Family members and his tearful fiancee, Sequioa Pearce, hugged and cried before exiting the courthouse.
Maggie McLetchie, an attorney for the ACLU of Nevada, said the justifiable verdict was “distressing given the evidence we heard, but not surprising.”
The ACLU of Nevada has called for changes in the inquest system to make it more transparent. McLetchie said the system is “inherently flawed” and criticized the fact that there were no African Americans on the jury.
She said it was ironic given that the inquest process evolved after a white officer shot a black North Las Vegas teen in 1969.
“The process is a waste of time and serves as a retroactive rubber ‘OK’ stamp on homicides by Metro,” she said, adding that the involvement of the District Attorney’s Office, which works closely with Metro, makes it impossible for the process to be neutral.
Reached by phone Saturday evening, former state Assemblyman Wendell Williams, a vocal opponent of the inquest system, also expressed disappointment with the verdict.
“It had all the obvious problems — the warrant was done under false pretenses with false information, the judge was misled, there was obviously a case of mistaken identity. I guess it’s just another indication that ever since 1969 the whole process has been a sham,” he said.
Detective Dan Long, with the aid of Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Laurent, right, reviews photos of marijuana from the cell phone of Trevon Cole while testifying Saturday during a coroner's inquest at the Regional Justice Center.
Williams, who leads a group called the League of Action, on Friday led a small group of protestors outside the courthouse and said they planned to protest at the sheriff’s office on Monday.
Coroner Mike Murphy said after the hearing that although his office is responsible for conducting inquests, he did not have a position on any changes to the system.
“As far as addressing whether there should or shouldn’t be changes, that’s not the responsibility of our office. We have very clear guidelines to follow, and we followed them in this case,” he said.
“The responsibility of the office of the coroner is to conduct the inquest per the state and county code. We provided that service to the public as we are directed to do by those statutes,” he said.
The shooting deaths of Cole and of Erik Scott, a 38-year-old Las Vegas man killed by police July 10 outside a Summerlin Costco store, have received attention for the discrepancies in details surrounding them and have prompted calls for change to the inquest system.
An inquest into Scott’s death, which initially was set for Sept. 3, was postponed and has been rescheduled for Sept. 22. The inquest into his death is expected to last at least three days.
In the inquest into Cole’s death, Yant, who has been involved in two other shootings — one of them fatal and also ruled justified — testified he thought he saw a black or silver shiny object in Cole’s right hand.
“I thought he was taking a shooting stance, like a two-handed shooting stance,” Yant said.
Yant said he kicked open the bathroom door and saw Cole over the toilet. Cole then turned toward him and brought his hands together, the detective said.
“His movement alone was enough to make me fear for my life,” regardless of whether Cole had a firearm, Yant said. “He could have had a pen in his hand, I don’t know. I know his movements and his actions.”
A jury of seven, which heard nine hours of testimony Saturday on top of a long day Friday, had to determine whether the shooting was justified, excusable or criminal. The proceedings for a second day were being shown in an overflow room outside the courtroom because of the interest in the case.
During a coroner's inquest on Saturday, Detective Bryan Yant, right, rises from a squat to demonstrate the actions of Trevon Cole as Assistant District Attorney Chris Owens demonstrates how Yant fired his weapon.
Yant’s statement that Cole turned toward the door didn’t match what a medical examiner said happened, Assistant District Attorney Chris Owens said.
Dr. Lisa Gavin, a medical examiner with the Clark County Coroner’s Office, testified Friday that Cole’s body wouldn’t have been in the position it was if he had fully turned toward the door, as Yant claimed.
Yant insisted during testimony Saturday that Cole did turn his body. “He turned towards me, rotated his body,” he said.
But homicide Detective Dan Long testified after Yant that he believes it was possible for Cole to end up in the position he did even if he had turned all the way toward the bathroom door.
Yant also dismissed the suggestion that he accidently fired his weapon while kicking down the door.
“I didn’t accidentally discharge,” he said.
While on the stand, Yant did admit to making mistakes in preparing the search warrant and investigating Cole’s criminal history.
In an affidavit, Yant said that Cole had an extensive criminal history in California and in Texas. A person by the name of Trevon Cole did have such a history, but that person had a different date of birth and weighed significantly less, prosecutors said.
Yant testified he never was able to confirm information he received from Texas but included it anyway. That was “a mistake on my part,” Yant said.
Yant also said he could have checked fingerprint information from California and Texas, which would have shown the two Coles were not the same person.
But he said that didn’t change the probable cause used to justify the search because Cole had sold marijuana to undercover detectives.
“I feel bad,” Yant testified Saturday. “As a police officer, nobody wants to fire their weapon in the line of duty.”
He said he will have to live with the memory of all three times he has had to fire his weapon, as well as the knowledge that Cole died.
“It’s regrettable and unfortunate that his actions led me to respond in the way I did,” he said.
A photograph of a marijuana bong seen in Trevon Cole's residence was displayed Saturday during a coroner's inquest at the Regional Justice Center.
In questioning Yant, Owens suggested that the firing of his rifle and the breaching of the door happened simultaneously, perhaps by accident. He pointed to previous testimony from other detectives who were there that indicated they only heard one “boom,” not a “boom” followed by a gunshot.
Owens asked why Yant fired only once.
Yant responded that he was trained to fire once, evaluate the situation, then fire again if necessary.
The day’s final testimony came from Long, who oversaw Metro’s investigation into the shooting.
He testified that officers found marijuana in and near the toilet and elsewhere in Cole’s apartment. He said detectives also found scales and a bong.
A plastic bag found near the toilet also contained marijuana and had been torn into pieces, Long said. The bag could have been in Cole’s hand, which might have been what Yant saw, Long said.
An analysis of Cole’s cell phone records showed he and an undercover narcotics officer had spoken 68 times from April to June, Long said.
Detectives also looked into claims from Cole’s fiancee that she saw Cole with his hands up when he was shot, he said. They determined there was no way for her to see into the bathroom from the closet or from the floor of the bedroom where she was, he said.
A three-minute delay between the time officers requested medical help and the time Sgt. John Harney — the supervisor of the team of narcotics detectives involved in the shooting — reported that an officer fired his weapon was because the officer who requested medical assistance wasn’t aware of the shooting, Long said.
“Several people didn’t hear or understand that what they heard was a gunshot,” he said.
Narcotics Sgt. John Harney illustrates for the jury movements of Detective Bryan Yant while testifying Saturday, August 21, during a coroner's inquest at the Regional Justice Center. Trevon Cole was shot and killed by Metro Police while serving a search warrant.
Long said Metro cleaned the apartment as a courtesy before the family was allowed back in. “We didn’t want to traumatize anybody,” he said.
Saturday’s first testimony was from Harney, the first detective to enter Cole’s apartment and find Pearce in a closet at the apartment.
Yant’s flashlight wasn’t working at the time he fired the shot. Harney testified Saturday that it probably wasn’t safe to breach a door — as Yant did the bathroom door just before the shooting occurred — if it was pitch black and a person doesn’t have backup.
Conflicting statements have been given as to who was supposed to be Yant’s partner the night the warrant was executed.
Harney testified that immediately after the shooting, Yant described and demonstrated to him what happened in the bathroom when he shot Cole. Harney was in the bedroom when the single shot was fired.
Harney said Yant told him Cole was facing south, away from the door, when Yant entered the bathroom.
But Gavin, the medical examiner, testified on Friday that Cole was facing north, toward the toilet, when he was shot. Prosecutors have said he was flushing marijuana down the toilet as detectives were entering the home. (Coverage of Friday’s inquest proceedings.)
Yant showed Harney the movement he said Cole made, which Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Laurent asked him to demonstrate at the inquest. Harney made a movement that showed him thrusting his body forward, with his hands together in front of him and said that was how Yant showed him the movement Cole made toward him.
Harney testified he heard, but did not see, Yant break down the bathroom door, then he heard a single gunshot. He said he couldn’t recall hearing what specific instructions were yelled to Cole between the door opening and the shot but said there was a pause and there were instructions being yelled consistently throughout the event.
Harney said he never heard the word gun used by officers in the apartment.
Laurent asked Harney a number of questions. Among them, he asked about an affidavit for a search warrant signed by Yant that contained incorrect information. Harney said Yant was given incorrect information by a confidential informant.
Harney said although Cole’s background information was incorrect in the affidavit, that didn’t change the fact that Metro had probable cause to search the apartment because an undercover officer had purchased marijuana from him.
One of those purchases was captured on videotape by Langley Productions as part of a reality television series.
A video, allegedly showing Trevon Cole making an drug sale, is played during a coroner's inquest Friday, August 20, 2010. Cole was shot and killed by Metro Police in June.
The tape was played for the jury on Friday. The Langley crew had planned on filming the execution of the warrant at Cole’s apartment but didn’t because it was busy with footage from another police squad.
Laurent asked Harney if he had instructed a patrol officer stationed outside the apartment, Blane Trip, not to report the shooting over police dispatch radio.
Trip on Friday testified he had been instructed to call dispatch and request medical assistance. A recording of Trip’s conversation over the radio was played in court and he is heard telling the dispatcher that the sergeant would call in on his cell phone with more information.
Harney said he contacted dispatchers about 90 seconds later. He testified that after the shooting and before he called dispatch, he had a brief conversation with Yant in the kitchen of the apartment.
Pearce, Cole’s fiancee, testified Friday that she saw Cole with his hands up before he was shot. Harney, like officers who testified Friday, said the shot occurred before Pearce exited the closet.
Unlike a criminal or civil trial, the inquest process is not adversarial in nature — witnesses aren’t cross-examined, and the District Attorney’s Office is in charge of presenting exhibits and questioning witnesses.
Other attorneys and relatives are permitted to ask questions during the proceedings, but they must be submitted in writing.
Over the two days of testimony, attorneys representing the Cole family, the American Civil Liberties Union and the police officers submitted dozens of questions for the witnesses who took the stand. By the conclusion of proceedings Saturday evening, nearly 1,000 questions had been put on the record.
The biggest change needed at Metro is a new Sheriff.
Comment removed by moderator. Off topic.
Cole probably called Yant some word that I cannot say here and Yant responded by shooting him.
I can't believe it... it is like they are actually "investigating" the murder of an unarmed citizen by Metro. That's strange. Oh, nevermind. I forgot... it's election season.
Yant is gonna go down...mark my words..........." Metro issued a statement saying Gillespie will "discuss upcoming changes within LVMPD." According to the statement, "these changes are being made following the completion of today's coroner's inquest."
Yea the worthless sheriff knows it and thats why he is ready to give a statement promising change.
What is going on with these guys??? I read a letter today from the head of the police protective assoc. defending the costco shooting...look we need the police and yeah they make snap decisions at times...but come on already this is getting out of hand...is this just me, or is metro stressed a little more then usuall these days???
Also just who is responsible for the warrant issue here??? And he lost his life for a bag of weed...a drug that is less harmfull than asprin??? Enough of the madness already!!! Big drug kingpin he turned out to be....UNBELIEVABLE !!! I feel so awfull for this guys family and fiance...
Hey BeSafe...no one doubts that these guys have an enormous burden protecting citizens...but sometimes, like in baseball, a change needs to happen at the top...if this was not the case, then the sheriff would now not be talking about changes at metro...but to repeat another comment, we are in the middle of an election...
Oh damn.... Another POS drug dealer off the streets... For good. Thank you LVMPD for making short work of what would have been a huge financial burden to us taxpayers. You should have done the same thing to everyone in that apartment. They are all useless wastes of life. Eff em.
I'm not going to excuse any of the unforgivable shootings by police in the valley. There are just too many unarmed or shot in the back victims of Metro, but we are all at fault. We want a state where we don't pay taxes, so services, such as law enforcement gets stretched too thin. Until we pay for the police we need, overworked cops will continue to take shortcuts and make poor decisions.
So whats new? Half the states are making pot legal but metros shooting people for it. Really it has nothing to do with anything but the fact tha Vegas cops have been shooting people for a long time and rarely ever (if ever) are held accountable. When ya deal with metro their gonna treat you like a wanted felon and ya better comply.
@Robbdogg.....exactly.even he knows change is needed.
@Besafe......i at no point said metro does not have a tough job.but that doesnt excuse the fact that they do what they want, when they want.especially kill ppl over dime bags of weed
I can only wish for these "people" with only "dime bags", "only a little weed" move in next door to all of you that think it is not a big deal. A loss of life is always a shame however innocent upstanding people are not selling or buying drugs nor are they "hiding" in their apartments in closets or flushing drugs down a toliet.
Another shocking thought is how many shooting occur that dont involve the police. People get shot all the time out here, yet the public and a lot of you are only concerned with the police. if you really cared maybe you should focus let on the police and more on society. There was a triple shooting last night, yet no comments on that article, lol. I guess just like the thugs and drug dealers there are a lot of people that just want to complain about the cops, and the govt. Oh well keep up the good work and dont forget to move to the other side of your body while you lay on the couch and enjoy that blanket of security.
Cambridge, how much ya wanna bet you already have a neighbor 'with only "dime bags", "only a little weed"' that's living no more than 2 or 3 doors away from you?
I also think the vigilante cop will go down. I'm not reading where his "boys" are circling the wagons around him. Maybe there is justice in this town. We shall see.
Why is Metro not using the non lethal weaponry and ordnance technology that is available to law enforcement agencies? It certainly seems warranted in many of these recent police shootings
They didn't report it right a way and had a "Meeting" in the kitchen to get their lies straight! Metro is the worst police department in this state!! Bryan Yant Should Be Charged With MURDER!!!!!
Drug dealers have rights under the constitution of the land that all you seem to forget.
It became Metro's liability by serving an illegal search warrant, using information that is not to the suspect they served it to. If they get off, Metro would have the right to serve "John and Jane Doe" warrants on anybody because they believe that is your name. Had they check the system behind the name for multiple names, they would have found that he is not this kingpin they are looking for, also they had a picture of the subject so they could have made a positive identification on who is the right one because the kingpin has a long history of crime and would have a picture of him with his file. That is simple dectetive procedures.
The officer outside fail police procedure by not calling in a "shots fired" call if he was outside the unit. That puts him in trouble too. If these officers are not fired, this will hurt Metro and promptly set up the backbone for a federal investigation into how Metro works.
Hard digging out of a landslide of lies, gee we really have a lot of trouble with "lights" out there at Metro, lights and siren, bad flashlight on the "ghetto blaster"...
Keep in mind the Darling affair was low balled at $120k, we didn't find out the attorney's fees brought that one up to $200k.
I wonder if they are going to pay a late night visit to any of the other people in the case? Like they did before.
Don't they drug test Nellis people? Why are they combing the neighborhoods with military people looking for pot dealers? Stay on the base.
@vegas-bred,mystermr, and boftx,
and your choice for sheriff is someone with no experience other than patrolman, who can just jump in there and instantly run a department of 5000 employees? really? could you use your brain for just a second and see how stupid that choice would be.
Yant is a proven liar.
@simplyhadenough: I'll take an orangutan with a dartboard over what we have now. 1, the orangutan won't use his position to go after his enemies or attempt to negotiate unfair contracts and 2, statistically, the orangutan will choose the right thing 50% of the time which would be an improvement, so yes, I will take the lowly patrolman.
(1) Yant lied to get a warrent.
(2) Medical examiner testifies that events do not fit Yant's story.
(3) Yant's original "furtive movement" now is "taking a shooting stance".
(4) Yant's "partner and back-up" was not trained to be on such a raid, so he waited outside.
(5) Yant shot Mr. cole in the face 4 seconds after entering the front door of the apartment.
The next question will be that since Yant lied before, is he lying now, too?
But we all know that this was just for show and everyone (except Mr. Cole) will get off scott free. It's Vegas, baby!
FRM-
Add that Yant did not do adequate pre-raid equipment checks and so his flashlight failed. The lack of light has to be a factor in this unjustified shooting.
Look, many of us who are appalled at this case are supporters of law and order in out streets and the police. We expect the police to investigate their own bad apples.
mystermr,
you just did a great job explaining how we got Obama as President. thanks a lot.
Metro,seems they shoot a lot of people. dead no less. death by cop, what's metro %rate compared to the rest of the nation? nasty job indeed,but the overkill....
mystermr,
i'm guessing that if you went into the voting booth and your magic 8-ball quit, you'd be screwed, eh?
Where did he buy the "defective" flashlight? Costco?
What are the Military cops patroling the neighborhoods for?
"Yant's statement that Cole turned toward the door doesn't match what a medical examiner said happened, Assistant District Attorney Chris Owens said."
Add the false swearing to get the warrant, which put the cops in that home illegally, and it's becoming evident Yant is a liar, even under oath. He earned the burning he's got coming.
"In a government of laws, existence of the government will be imperiled if it fails to observe the law scrupulously. Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy. To declare that in the administration of the criminal law the end justifies the means - to declare that the government may commit crimes in order to secure the conviction of a private criminal - would bring terrible retribution." -- Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438 (1928), Justice Brandeis dissenting
Metro is TOAST because of this! In God's eyes, and most of the people posting on the local news websites, anyway. Unfortunately, humans are only involved in law enforcement here. Metro rules law enforcement here in Vegas, and it's been almost decades since an unjustified, or criminal officer-involved shooting has been declared by jurors. There are more holes in Yant's story than in your average golf course. Lady justice would say Yant is CRIMINAL for his actions against Tre'von Cole. BUT this is metro. They're gonna be innocent, yet again. :/
"I thought he was taking a shooting stance, like a two-handed shooting stance," Yant said.
Yant said he kicked open the bathroom door and saw Cole over the toilet. Cole then turned toward him and brought his hands together, the detective said.
"His movement alone was enough to make me fear for my life," regardless of whether Cole had a firearm, Yant said. "He could have had a pen in his hand, I don't know. I know his movements and his actions."
==
Well, it looks like he thought wrong. The prisons are full of people who thought wrong.
=====
4simplyhadenough
@vegas-bred,mystermr, and boftx,
and your choice for sheriff is someone with no experience other than patrolman, who can just jump in there and instantly run a department of 5000 employees? really? could you use your brain for just a second and see how stupid that choice would be.
===
You mean Ms. Crazy Angle?
At this point I would think the jury should come back and say the shooting was criminal in nature. It's obvious that Yant has a problem telling the truth.
I also don't think he went into the house to shoot someone but he was just too scared when his light failed and the place was dark. So, rather than back off and call for back up, he kicked the door in anyway and then shot whoever was in there. He lied to get the warrant and he committed man slaughter because he was scared.
I am waiting with baited breath for this verdict...I bet Mr. Yant is wetting his pants with fear right about now, too. I just wish they would slap handcuffs on him and book him tonight for murder.
Kick the door in, someone in the bathroom and believe me, I would be turning to see what is going on too and what is coming through that door. He didn't give time to even evaluate the situation before he shot...how does he know his life was in danger? Kick the door and shot!
Even his counter parts said the same...so to speak.. (I AM NOT QUOTING IT IS MY OWN OPINION).
The person I would listen to the most in ALL this, would be the medical examiner. She has no reason to lie, and she has spoken and it is WAY off from what Yant is trying to make people believe.
His little movement went to a shooting stance, convenient huh? Why did he say that in his report? Couldn't think of it right away?
Then they had a meeting in the kitchen? Really, you shot a man to death and then meet about it before you call for medical? OMG! That alone should cause them all involved to be brought up on some charges. I mean this man MIGHT (not saying he did, but he could have)of had a chance to live. However, they waited and he could have bled to death. UNREAL!
This entire thing has me wondering what is going on. I mean I am stressed with my job, bills, college for my boys, and life in general but I don't go around shooting people because they are flushing the toilet.
Bryan Yant is a Murderer!!!!!!!
It seems like Officer Yant's version of events has holes like Swiss cheese. He says that Officer Richmond was his partner. Officer Richmond says he didn't even have the proper training to be Yant's partner on the raid. Yant claims Cole was facing south. The medical examiner says Cole was facing north.
But the most disturbing revelation to me is that Yant knowingly put false information on a sworn statement to a court. He KNEW that the information regarding Cole's alleged activities in Texas weren't confirmed, yet he chose to include this information on a sworn statement. Sorry, that's not a "mistake". Apparently Officer Yant doesn't understand anything about oaths, ethics, truth, etc.
I do give credit to the attorneys from the DA's office, though. They appear to be doing their job thus far, even if Metro failed in theirs.
What time is the verdict going to be read?
He will kill again.
This inquest system is stacked in favor of renegade cops like this guy.
Most cops are dedicated and good public servants, but you have this guy who have killed before. He needs to be taken off the street, we would be safer.
I think that there was definite wrongdoing here. Was it criminal (intent)-probably not.
Does he need to be stripped of a badge-yes, and that team needs to n=be investigated for covering it up.
Without conclusively opining as to exactly what happened here or who was at fault (or not at fault), isn't it bad that we as a community fundamentally distrust our primary police force?
Ah, come on. Metro thought he was holding one of those new invisible guns.
Yant shouldn't ever again be trusted with anything deadlier than a box of crayons (with the sharpener removed).
They just gave Metro a Green Light to kill at will!!!!!!
This is disgusting. This cop is nothing more than a thug.
I guess the "people" have spoken...
As much as this cop might be a bad apple...obey the laws of the land and you'll get thru life just fine. Probably never have any interaction with a cop.
Yes, there may be more cops with chips on their shoulders these days...problem is there are far more citizens with chips on their shoulders.
Stop selling drugs. While it's sad this man lost his life, stop selling drugs. This man would not have lost his life. I don't care if it's nickel bags, dime bags or tons...stop selling drugs.
OMG I am SICK!!! How was it unanimous? Did they listen? I am just sick and have lost even the little bit of faith I did have in the system.
I give up on ever seeing justice where METRO is concered that has been proven tonight!
I have nothing else to say on the matter and please citizens of Vegas keep your loved ones at home. They could be next and Office Yant could be back on duty next week!
WTF? JUSTIFIED? Yant is lucky i am not a jury member on this inquest! Cole was guilty of selling weed, and Yant should be guilty of murder.The wrong person received the death sentence.Yant is the definition a pos pig (not intended intended for all cops).They need to send him trucking out of the dept asap
LOL an independent jury made the choice, regular people from society and yet the cop bashers still rant. A loss of life is a shame however when you decide to associate with drugs and thugs bad things can happen.
This is getting really scary.
These clowns are going to think they are invincible.
Nice work jury you let a multiple murderer walk.
WANTED, COURAGEOUS INDIVIDUALS WHO PRESENTLY CARRY A BADGE. MEN AND WOMEN WHO ARE SECURE IN THE THOUGHT THAT THEY DISCHARGE THEIR DUTIES IN THE MANNER THEY SWORE TO WHEN THEY ACCEPTED THEIR BADGE. first, a side note concerning cc summerlin's simplified hornbook lessons. if a defendant in a murder trial testifies affirmatively to an underlying killing, he is still presumed innocent of the murder however one of the elements of the crime of murder, i.e., an intentional homicide committed by the defendant, may no longer be in issue regarding the state's burden of proof as to that element, depending upon whether or not the defendant testifies that he committed the act intentionally. the aspect of intent is complicated, but in those examples when the defendant admits intent, depending upon the jurisdiction, the issue then turns on whether the act was legally justified. the coroner's inquest is not a criminal murder trial, the rules are not the same. my guess is that 99.99% of las vegas' citizens (myself included) do not know the fundamental procedural aspects of a coroner's inquest. believe me, very very very few metro officers are able to accurately articulate the differences (concerning burdens and presumptions ) between a criminal trial and a coroner's inquest, which is understandable because very few police have a law school education and no one reasonably expects such an understanding. the point i am making is that, while most people understand how a criminal trial occurs from start to close, joe average citizen as well as joe above average citizen cannot discuss with hardly any degree of accuracy, the process that occurs at a coroner's inquest. nor can a metro cop until he or she is involved in a homicide and is subsequently prepared for the ordeal. but what we the las vegas community understands is that year in and year out the conduct of individual police officers in the valley is determined to be "justified" by a coroner's inquest. and in the controversial cases, which there has not been a shortage of such cases during the last decade, we constantly read after the jury's "justified" verdict post coroner's hearing, ONE, that the family members of the decedent are essentially mortified and mystified, and TWO, that the jury members determined the conduct of the officer was justified based upon the case that was presented to them (BINGO). time to draw an inference from what we as a community, with so little actual knowledge of the process, are able to conclude based upon what we DO witness year in and year out. CONTINUED
continued from above. whether it's the police union or the sheriff or both or whatever group or groups that influences local police officers as to the desirability of the coroner's inquest, it would seem that since the vast majority of officers support the system that is in place (i.e., the coroner's inquest), those that influence essentially sell the inquest to the police as a definite police officer's "friend." a sales pitch something along the lines of "look, we are committed, with our life and limb, to serving the public's integral safety need, and therefore, when the time comes when we need the public to save our neck, we can only assure ourselves of that pubic reciprocity if we have a coroner's inquest in place. it's what we cops have enjoyed in the valley forever and a day and it has served our previously stated need for public protection and it will continue to do so. thus, i say to you, recently sworn in officer, with a nod and a wink, know that the coroner's inquest is the friend of you and your family, and please do not rock the boat." at first blush it makes perfect sense to endorse this philosophy. who in his or her right mind wants the public's bodyguard to be in fear when daily painting the thin blue line that separates order from chaos? but when very average citizens selling ice cream or buying water bottles are gunned down in the streets by police, it is time to realize that a different variation of chaos exists and that the time to abandon the coroner's inquest arrived long ago. IT MUST BE ABANDONED AT THE BEHEST OF BRAVE AND FORWARD THINKING CITIZENS WHO CLAIM WITHIN THEIR POSSESSIONS, BADGES THAT REPRESENT THE PUBLIC TRUST.
Continued from above.....I say to the deputy district attorneys assigned to the inquests past or present, it is high time to speak out against what you are doing for the reasons that do not need my explanation. I say to any police officer who views herself or himself as courageous, and honorable, that if it is true that you are brave that you are courageous, then you must understand that the coroner's inquest shields those who are not and diminishes your courage to the extent that you do not speak out against it. any police officer that believes he discharges his or her duty conscientiously and does so generally to the best of his or her ability, need not worry about any substitute for the coroner's inquest, and need not worry about being badgered on a witness stand by an adverse attorney. the absolute worse thing the brave have to worry about is admitting to having made a grave mistake, but the public understands, and so too will a jury, the nature and circumstance in which the mistake occurred. but what the public does not need is any single police officer that awakes to a new day with the mind-set that he or she can fire a gun at a citizen with impunity. such a mindset is wholly at odds with the concept of courage and bravery. eradicating individuals within the force with such a cowardly and repugnant notion, we can be certain, will never occur as long as the coroner's inquest exists to safeguard this odd form of publicly sanctioned chaos.
Why are you guys making comments saying you are "sick" and what not? I am sick to my stomach that drug dealers are everywhere in our community. I am sick to my stomach his finacee lied on the stand. Metro admitted their mistakes. The finacee continuted to lie. Metro showed their integrity. A drug dealer was killed. I am sorry for his family, however, he should not have been dealing drugs. He would have been shot eventually in his career choice.
AMEN to that.
AMEN to nonewz...must qualify...
Gillespie needs to go. Metro is running amok. He has clearly lost control. And my vote.
As I said earlier an independent jury made the choice, regular people from society and yet the cop bashers still rant. A loss of life is a shame however when you decide to associate with drugs and thugs bad things can happen.
I see it no differently than the DUI driver that kills himself, if you make bad choices bad things can happen. Once again our tax dollars clean up the messes that these people put themselves in. Kudos to meto for looking into the issues. To bad other drug dealers dont take note and change their ways. Until the next bad guy puts himself and the public in harms way im glad we have cops that do their jobs.
@Icare2000
Just so you don't miss it...I am SICK, SICK, SICK, SICK, SICK, SICK, SICK and tired of METRO getting away with murder!!
I am SICK and tired of people like you waiting until a verdict is read to come in and try and justify that he was a drug dealer. Whatever, if that is a drug dealer and that is all we have to worry about being sold, then I am not concerned.
What I am concerned about is Yant being allowed back on the force and being allowed to KILL AGAIN!!
It's people like YOU that make me sick by saying killing someone is welcomed as long as they are scum in your eyes.
It takes a coward to shoot an unarmed man! COWARD!!
Yeah, he could have been shot, but it didn't have to be in his bathroom, unarmed, in the dark, by an officer that has killed before!
KILL AT WILL METRO! YOU GOT THE GO AHEAD TONIGHT!!
Oh and if you missed it again: I am SICK, SICK, SICK, SICK, SICK, SICK, SICK and tired of METRO getting away with murder!!
EVERYBODY HAS GOT TO DO BETTER - time to try real hard - maybe institute the Kansas City experiment where police presence was lowered and life improved and crime went down. Think about it!
@cambridge
As long as it doesn't happen to you or your family.
I bet the Scott's never thought their son would be shot and killed by a bunch of gun slinging cops that get the go ahead to kill at will.
Let's hope it's not your loved one shot because he is holding chapstick and acts like he is going to point it at a cop in Vegas. God help us...You people NEVER cease to amaze me with your big talk after the fact...something tells me a lot of these people are cops that were waiting to see if their brother was spared as usual!
Dear LV SUN...
A lot of questions on this board can be answered if you post a copy of the instructions the jury received. You will notice in them that it is virtually impossible for the jury to come back with anything other than a justifiable finding if the officer says he was acting reasonably whether or not his testimony is contradicted by the physical evidence. Please post these so readers can see that it is not the system, per se, but how the jury is instructed that needs to be reformed. The instructions are decided different from those given in ANY actual murder case or what needs to establish to allow a finding of justification.
That's the changing that he said he was going to do? He is campaigning after a man was just allowed to walk free from killing a HUMAN!! Are you serious?
VOTE HIM OUT!!! Bye Bye Sheriff!!!
Lovebug i dont think the cop went out to shoot or kill anyone, i think he felt his life was at stake. maybe you should go work for the pd and give people like drug dealers a 2nd chance prior to you shooting in a dark room. im not a cop and would not like that. Better yet why dont you take them into your home and teach them to live a better life and stop dealing, lol. have you heard of repeat offenders or the 3 strikes your out rule? why do people still commit crimes after the 3rd time because they are just that criminals. pot, meth, guns, hookers, crime is crime and maybe we should take a stand as a community rather than sit back and do nothing but complain and rant about the people that provide the blanket of security. dont expect total freedom and security without a price, if so move to narnia or another fairy tale world.
Be very very careful. Yant may be coming to a neighborhood near you soon. Anybody want to predict the amount of the wrongful death suit filed in federal court next week. The over/under is 10 million. With the huge amount of errors in this case, no reason to settle.
"I respect and appreciate the jury's findings and understand that this only addresses the officer's actions in this case. As your sheriff, your continued trust in me and my organization is essential to us keeping Las Vegas a safe place to live," Gillespie said in a statement tonight."
--------------
You can't keep us safe, the biggest fear in Vegas wears a badge! They are called, in case you don't know Sheriff, METRO!!
FIRE YANT!! I DO NOT want to work and pay him any longer!! I DO NOT want to work and pay you anymore!! GET OUT!!!
@Cambridge,
I would agree with you about the 3 strikes but Mr. Cole, the guy shot, HAD NO RECORD! He was a SMALL time pot dealer. POT!! Give me a break!!
Why don't you go to work for the corrupt PD and give them the right way to work, you seem to have it all figured out.
I wouldn't last in METRO I would be a whistle blower and could possibly be shot myself and it be ruled justifiable just because I told on them.
I know about code of a police officer, I know about it very well, Cambridge!
blanket of security, Cambridge?
You mean a blanket of bullets right?
If they provide me with my blanket of security then I would rather live with the small time drug dealers like Cole.
I don't trust METRO!! They are thugs wearing a badge, no better than the people they shoot at will.
Oh and before it's said, I WILL NEVER CALL METRO! Not even to carry my garbage out!!
hey cambridge, did you just move to town today? do you think the valley has witnessed justifiable verdicts from coroner's inquests that relate only to the killing of what you refer to as "crime is crime" "pot, guns, and hookers" citizens? what crime was being committed a few years ago by the guy walking down the street with a basketball or the lady that emerged from her ice cream truck? and what, cambridge, do you say now, before the hearing, regarding the "crime is crime" individual who was buying water bottles at costco and who also happened to be a West Point graduate? let's talk about what neither of us know about that poor man's criminal record, i will hazard a guess that he had nary an entry on his criminal history record. what do you guess? and what do you say about citizens that are literally gunned down by police notwithstanding they are not killed in the commission of a crime? no community will forever tolerate cowards that are enlisted to do the job of the courageous. the coroner's inquest will eventually go the way of the dodo bird and the sooner the better.
@Tanker1975
Well, we were wrong in thinking the process could work. I'm not surprised, but VERY disappointed.
If you want to do something, send a letter to this man. If enough do it, it may make a difference.
Thomas E. Perez
Assistant Attorney General Civil Rights Division
950 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington DC 20530
Phone (202) 514-4609
Fax (202)514-0293
Oh and another thing Cambridge, speeding is a crime, slow down, don't run a stop sign, or roll past the line...you could be shot and it would be OK because CRIME IS CRIME!! You said it!
This decision was made two months ago.
The Costco decision has been made for weeks now.
The "Justifiable" ruling forms are already signed and in a stack, LVMPD just tells the Coroner the name and dates to fill in.
How did she see his hands when she was in a closet?
One less miscreant to worry about.
I am forty-seven and have never had Metro crash into my home.
Good Call on the verdict, let these anti-law folks try and do this job.
Put as much effort into the solution and you do into hating and the world will be a better place.
GEE.... What a surprising outcome from the coroners inquest! I guess the family of Erik Scott can anticipate the same outcome too!
On the other hand, I don't think Yant will be responding to any calls in predominantly black neighborhoods anytime soon...
@Lovebug - thank your for clarifying for @Cambridge what was really at stake here - the bust of a small time pot dealer, someone who was shot dead while holding a tube of LIP BALM in his hand, for heaven's sake.
Yants is a trigger happy murderer - this was his THIRD on-the-job shooting and his SECOND fatality.
He is clearly a rogue cop and a very dangerous man.
Aye yi yi...what a chip on your shoulder Lovebug. Relax.. Obey the laws of the land and you'll do just fine. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you involve yourself in the sale of drugs, there is a chance you might not live to see tomorrow. However tragic this death was, I keep going back to the idea...STOP SELLING DRUGS. Stop engaging in illegal behavior. When a cop knocks on your door, don't go running into the bathroom. Once again, common sense behavior from Trevon and he would be alive.
Funny how the "thugs" testified to the mistakes made and took responsibilty. Funny how none of you have ever had a flashlight or other item stop working at the wrong time. Funny how none of you can do the job of a police officer but sure know how it should be done. As long as criminals are present, and we ask the police to step between them and us, bad things are going to happen. Until any of you walk in the shoes of a cop, stop your bitchin'. I did not see any of them lie or come up with a story. I did see a panel of citizens determine this was justified. A heavy price to pay, yes, but predictable in the criminal world. Thank you, Metro, for being between us and them.
On a second note we need to remember that police are "Expert Witnesses" who have been thoroughly trained on every aspect of giving testimony and they are not cross examined by an attorney representing the deceased in the coroners inquest proceedings. If they were, the verdicts might come out a lot different. I find it convenient that none of the other officers saw anything and that Yant happened to be alone when he kicked open the bathroom door... where was his backup?
As I always say loss of life is a shame, however if society follows the rules people tend to stay out of the hands of the police. That includes the terrible costco incident, the sign said no guns. Right wrong or indiferent if cole did not sell drugs, scott didnt carry a gun into costco, or that DUI person that kills a family didnt drink a lot of bad things could be avoided. I dont hold the police, politicians, or the govt responsible for my actions i hold myself accountable. This was a jury, yes a jury not of cops or drug dealers of people just like everyone else. Regardless of the verdict it seems fair. I find it hard to believe that those of you who dont agree (which is your right) would find solice in any other city or state. People are people.
His movement alone was enough to make me fear for my life," regardless of whether Cole had a firearm, Yant said. "He could have had a pen in his hand, I don't know. I know his movements and his actions."
Say its not so,,, any type of movement around metro is a deadly one...If they are that scared and fire on anything and everyone that moves,, then they should not be armed... Anymore the stupidest thing that is a crime in vegas will get you the death penalty if you move to quick around metro....
Long said Metro cleaned the apartment as a courtesy before the family was allowed back in. "We didn't want to traumatize anybody," he said.
Didnt what??? Well if that is the case then why are you fools shooting at people that are not endangering themselves,, the public,, or pointing a firearm at an officer...This is so special of metro to do such a gracious thing after killing someone or was it to cover up something that wasnt to be known...
I am more afraid of metro than any gangster,, ooooppsss,, metro is a gang..lol..Anyways I guess its easier to shoot someone for selling some weed than catching a child molester that will ruin someones life...Metro is way out of control and this proves it even more ...Good job on keepimg the publics trust gangsters ,, i mean metro...
I really hope that the thrill of being a "movie star" for a reality show didn't play in the mind of Yant in expediting a warrant. Many inexcusable acts on the part of the police in this action. Unchecked equipment, firing in bad light, contradictory physical vs. verbal evidence, very bad. Amazing verdict.
yant has no business being a police officer. he is a total idiot, who can not even admit when he makes a mistake. This is exactly the type of person who is no different than a criminal, except he has a badge. a massive protest should be launched at city hall. gillespie needs to reach back and pull his head out. This is a disgrace.
Geez it was dark, my flashlight wasn't working so I shot first. BS. Goodbye to this man. This sounds like a keystone cop movie, not a professionally trained police officer. he should be fired just for lying. Even the prosecutor did not believe him. How can he be on the force?
I am not a criminal, and I do not want this man on my police force. Gillespie, you had better fire him, else you lose my vote.
Oh Manlaw and TomD both of you..
Don't think you know so much about my life. Don't assume things people that could surprise the hell out of YOU!!
I don't break the law, my kids don't break the law, my family abides by the law set forth in this country, however, I do not justify cops killing people because they THINK they see something.
I don't wish ill things on people, however, maybe a few of you cop supporters need to have a bit of reality thrown at you. Let you see what it feels like for the families of these people that lose their loved ones to cops that don't give a crap about human life.
If he were a big time meth dealer, cocaine dealer or whatever, but not pot. Please! Are you kidding me, I am almost willing to put my last dollar that each of you have at least tried it in your life. I bet you are glad METRO wasn't out of control then.
pot is no big deal , neither is alcohol. alcohol is legal and no one gets hurt or dies from stuff like that.
Cops knocked..Trevon ran and hid in bathroom..cops break down door. Girlfriend hiding in closet. "police" is yelled. No one comes out. Girlfriend is in a darkened closet. Trevon is in a darkened bathroom.
Get a clue and stop this crap argument that if you have a pen in your hand Metro is going to shoot at you. Once the cops knocked...ANSWER THE DOOR! Everything else beyond that the cops have no clue what you are doing. Going for a gun in the closet. A gun in the bathroom. A knife.
Obey the laws, don't sell drugs and then run from cops. At that point cops have no clue what your actions will be. Don't put them in a position to shoot you.
You make a good point Go-Rebels:
Most criminals are the first to admit they made a mistake.
You hear it everyday in courtrooms:
I am sorry Judge, I made a mistake and I need help. I did what they said I did but I know with the right kind of work I can make myself better.
Give me drug treatment, give me probation and let me prove that I will not make the same mistakes again.
You hear it everyday!! A true criminal has no problem admitting they made a mistake, it's their way of getting out of trouble faster.
Great point Go-Rebels!!
@Cambridge:
Pot is less dangerous than taking an aspirin.
Maybe they should outlaw aspirin but someone could get shot for having it in their medicine cabinets in their bathrooms.
@TomD1228
Eric Scott didn't run from the cops, he stopped, tried to put his guns down and what happened TomD? He is D-E-A-D!
You and your obey the laws. Are you kidding me? I obey them and I am afraid of Metro. I wouldn't want to open my door to them.
I might as well open my door to a murderer or a small time pot dealer.
I don't think Cole was dangerous. I mean there wasn't even a gun in his house. He didn't have a record... so yeah maybe he was the most dangerous person alive.
You keep opening your door to METRO and you keep sending in those donations but don't expect me to listen to what you have to say when you say nothing but obey the laws. Give me a break... ERIC SCOTT was obeying the law when he went to COSTCO...but again, he is DEAD today!
i reccomend that if your able you go on a 'ride a long" with the cops, i did and the perspectitive is crazy. the only catch is you have to do a background check which may eliminate a lot of you. anyone can go and it taught me a lot. for one the cops are non stop having to deal with the crooks who sell drugs and break the laws, they slow speeders down that crash and kill people etc etc. i cant imagine anyone with any brain cells not havingf a change of heart after 10 hours of seeing the 99% that the media doesnt cover and the public doesnt hear about.
as far as crooks admitting guilt and saying sorry apparently it does not work since over 80% of people in prisons are repeat offenders! To all goodnight, stay safe!
Yant will kill again, unless Gillespie says "get the hell outta here, and don't let the door hit ya in the butt on the way out!" The same will happen to Gillespie, come november. Gillespie will NOT get re-elected. Yes, the jury, which is made up of citizens of Las Vegas, has spoken. Well, in November, the citizens of Las Vegas, will speak again. They will NOT re-elected Sheriff Doug Gillespie. It does not matter what happens with the Erik Scott inquest. Even if they surprisingly, against-all-odds say that the shooting death of Erik was criminal, it won't change a thing. This motley crew of a so-called police force will get a new leader. Hopefully he will be one who will enact a new-found sense of goodness and justice at Metro, which the citizens can grow proud of. No more officer involved shootings that the public will seriously debate, and God knows they need to get rid of any officers who are similiar to Yant. His story was so full of holes, it was like a gold course!
Here's a simple question. How much were these jurors paid for this "justified" verdict????
Lovebug...not assuming anything. I'd rather see you vent your anger at the idiot drunk driver in Summerlin that killed a bicyclist than allowing yourself to become so enraged over a situation that occurred where the guy brought trouble on himself.
Trevon had a baby on the way, a girlfriend living with him...yeah, I'm sympathetic and mad as hell that he put himself into a dangerous, ILLEGAL way of life. Yes, his family is hurting. At the same time, STOP SELLING DRUGS and he would not have been shot.
The "it's only a little pot" argument is assinine. When you can get your politicians to legalize it, then make your argument. Until then, selling drugs is illegal and the cops will be looking for you.
Chunky says:
It doesn't matter what he may have had in his hand or how he reacted; this criminal brought all this onto HIMSELF. He sold drugs (and obviously wasn't savvy enough to not see a setup), reacted poorly to the police and paid the ultimate price for it. To bad he died in the process but the cops didn't start the chain of events in his life that led to this end. Mr. Cole created this problem!
Chunky doesn't generally trust the police himself, but why didn't Mr. Cole just obey the law and keep his life clean and straight? He'd be home watching TV right now or whatever LAW ABIDING citizens do instead of selling dope.
That's what Chunky thinks!
Lovebug. If you fear Metro to that extent...my suggestion would be to try another city. Afraid to open your door? Your'e on the edge of the sanity cliff. Don't jump off.
As far as Erik Scott.. Let's wait for the inquest. Too early to tell.
Costco sign said no guns. He had 2 on him. At least 1 visible. Obey the laws, obey store policy and you'll breeze thru life without any problems.
Cambridge said:
"as far as crooks admitting guilt and saying sorry apparently it does not work since over 80% of people in prisons are repeat offenders!"
-------------
Yep and so is Yant, a repeat killer with a badge!!
Also I don't have to do a ride a long to know what it's like inside a police car and I have never been arrested, Cambridge; and none of my family, either. I also don't need this to know how a police officer is supposed to act or how stressful the job is. I guess you did so you can do what you do now, tell us to obey the laws. That's all we are asking METRO to do is obey the laws. Riding in a police car on a ride a long doesn't make you an expert, but I guess you thought it did. I guess it's a good thing you weren't shot by accident, because it would have been justified because you volunteered to get in that car.
TomD,
Don't start with if you are afraid or if this or that maybe you should move. Maybe you should move! Maybe it's people like you that are about to jump.
I ANGRY!! VERY ANGRY!! If you can't handle that then I sugguest don't respond to me, or read my post. I don't care one way or the other. I don't like working and paying my taxes to badge wearing killers.
I would rather support the inmates in prison, at least they are paying for their crimes.
Don't tell me to clam down, don't tell me to not jump, don't tell me nothing! You have NO RIGHT!! I live in Vegas, I have a right to be mad at anything I feel like it.
It's not a joke, it's not play time either, a man is dead and I am sure another will be in a few years by the same cop if he is left on the force.
You keep being happy with your METRO, I will keep being ANGRY!!!
I strongly urge the families of Erik Scott and Trevon Cole to contact the Justice Department Civil Rights Division. These events sound eerily similar to what was going on in the LAPD during 90s and early 2000s with the Rampart Precinct. Yant is a dirty cop. His fellow officers know it as does the community and everybody. It is what it is with him.
Oh and it's not to early to tell, I mean a man with no gun, flushing pot was killed and it was justified, so will Scott's. Scott had guns, in a store that said no guns, sooooo JUSTIFIED!!
It's so sad for him and his family. I hope you are ready to pay your taxes for two HUGE payouts to two different families soon! I am tired of paying them myself. But if it makes you happy then please by all means pay my part, too!
"As far as Erik Scott.. Let's wait for the inquest. Too early to tell."
Only a fool can't see the whitewash on the wall...
SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK Just as SICK as lovebug!!!
That was for those of you who can't figure it out! You say the fiance lied and the officers didn't? Whoa up there cowboy... Yant DID lie, the physical evidence by an impartial coroner proves that. The bad warrant, the sloppy entry, the lack of teamwork, all of that proves that lies were told, and MAJOR mistakes were made!
Why did they even have this inquest? The burden of proof is different than if in a criminal trial? Okay, here is the chance for Gillespie to PROVE he means what he says. Oh wait, it was METRO homicide investigating a METRO cop... different burden, same outcome... let's be realistic. I have been reading these articles all day and just KNEW they would not find this justified. WOW was I ever wrong.
Here is what I think really happened... Yant is a woefully inept detective who cannot even ensure his equipment is operating correctly during a very important drug bust. He failed to convince Tre'Von to sell him any drug harder than pot, he failed to involve Cole in the sale of firearms, yet he used those activities by a person with a similar name to get his search warrant approved. Now, Cole is a pretty big kid and Yant forgot his partner. They say 6 officers entered this 2 bedroom apartment, in teams of two. They did a door to door search, which would be one door per team right? Well, here is Yant, sanz partner, in the dark, scared s**tless by a big guy approaching him backwards brandishing chapstick! FIRE AWAY he is in fear for his life! Criminal? I doubt Yant planned on killing Cole, so probably not, excusable? maybe.. Yant was after all using defective equipment against a pretty big guy in the dark Justified? NO FRICKIN WAY!!!
Now before anyone on either side freaks out.. let me just say... I don't use, sell, possess, or condone drugs... even pot. I also do not believe that what would have been a first offense, probably misdemeanor controlled substance sales charge is a capital offense.
SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK
A fundamental problem confronting attempts to change the institutional process we know as the coroner's inquest is the unwitting support it is given by people within the community who cannot differntiate between purposeful support of plainly necessary law enforcement with blanket endorsement of abuse of government sanctioned power. It is confusion fathered by fear. Law abiding citizens fear, quite understandably, the danger and uncertainty they confront everyday. But they incorrectly believe that speaking out against any practice supported by the police is analagous to speaking out against the police that exist as the only buffer between them and the day to day dangers and uncertainties that will forever lurk. But the dangers and uncertainties that we as a society desire to minimize come in limitless variations. Most are easy to identify. Perhaps the easiest to identify are the "thugs" that some of the comments above reference. For example, days ago a 95 year old woman was accosted in a grocery store parking lot and as a result she died. There's your thug. Very easy. But be very careful in limiting the description of a thug to the easy concerns such as the people who assault old women. The absolute worse thugs are those with absolute power. We must not tolerate, at any cost, either of the foregoing examples of a thug, particularly the latter, nor any in between. Two wrongs never equate into any single right.
"Costco sign said no guns"
Absolutely not true.
TomD don't tell me who you would rather I vent my anger at. Who do you think you are in my life? I mean we are the Las Vegas Sun's message board, you are not my friend, doctor, husband, or family. So please mind your business and let me deal with what I am angry with please.
I have a right to be angry, I have seen way to many inquest in this city within the last decade alone. How many more do we have to see before Metro is calmed down and given some time for their killings?
So again, please, allow me to be angry, as you are angry at Cole for hurting his family.
A bit off subject but... Costco does not have, or at least, did not have a sign saying NO FIREARMS ALLOWED. As such, they did not have an immediate right to claim Erik was in the wrong.
lovebug... stay angry, stay vigilant, and stay afraid... especially if Yant is allowed back on duty and you live in the Metro area. This is an incompetent man with whom you are suppose to trust your life and liberty... GOD HELP US ALL
I am angry at Tre'Von also... he had a beautiful fiance, was going to college, and had a baby on the way. There had to be a better way for him to continue forward in his life.. but he sure didn't deserve to die over less than 2 ounces of pot and a tube of chapstick!
Thou Shalt not Kill!
Justification by a jury of men does not exhonorate you before God.
God's Wrath: "Vengeance Is Mine, I Will Repay," Says the Lord
Admit your guilt before man and seek your redemption, or live in fear of eternal death.
This is for everyone in Metro, if you know the truth, you also are guilty.
@logicshouldrule
There are no signs at COSTCO that says no guns? I mean I was going off what TomD said. I don't know because, thankfully, I have never looked that closely because in all the years I have shopped at COSTCO I never worried about METRO killing someone there.
That's what I get for going off what TomD said about the sign, he is know it all and supports all killers in METRO as long as WE obey the laws. Then tells people to move, or don't jump or what to be angry at because he is only angry at Cole for hurting his family.
This just does not ad up. Something is missing from the story here.
Yant's gotta be dirty.
Air Force MP's?
No partner on a 6 man entry team?
Head shot?
Broken flashlight?
lies to get a warrant?
Sure looks like Yant did everything he could to set this up to look like an accident. Somebody wanted Cole dead.
I do shop at Costco regularly. I do own a gun, and have the legal right to carry it, not concealed. I have NEVER carried my gun to Costco but I do take notice of businesses that have signs stating "NO FIREARMS" for several reasons, and probably silly reasons at that as I never really carry my gun around town. One business that does have a sign? HARLEY DAVIDSON on Eastern. Sort of ironic that a motorcycle shop, full of more valuable stock than Costco, has the intelligence to ensure the safety of its patrons by posting the sign when Costco just has an internal rule, and it is a rule at Costco, just not a posted rule. Costco CANNOT justify the reaction to Erik's weapon since they failed to post the "NO FIREARMS" sign. Sorry all you gun hating, METRO protecting folks, but I read up on ALL of these laws when I thought I wanted a concealed weapons permit. I felt it paid to be informed, to know my fundamental rights as a CCW permit owner, and I can see it truly would, especially in this town!
Lovebug should be angry over his/her ignorance. Blame the cops, blame the sheriff. Never blame the criminal. Action gets reaction, right or wrong. Be angry if you wish, but it's a waste of time. The majority of citizens never have contact with the police. The majority of those that do, have no issues. If Cole did not sell drugs, or run into a dark room, he would be before a judge. I'm angry and sick that criminals have the right to roam the streets, armed, as they sell drugs and victimize people. They have no rules, while police have so many you wouldn't understand. It truley is a war on the streets. But Lovebug won't fight. Too busy complaining about the fighters. Get over it.
Comment removed by moderator. Comment contained material the Sun doesn't have the rights to.
Oh and I am blaming the criminal (and just as much a criminal as Cole, in my eyes) Manlaw...I am blaming Yant, the guy that pulled the trigger three times in 9 years. Two of which are D-E-A-D!
That is not ignorance, that is a fact a blind man could see clearly.
I deal in reality and politely give Sheriff Gillespie and Metro's rank and file officers the following public relations/political advice:
(1) When some fearful, over stressed Metro officer shoots a white tourist on the Strip or near some other high end casino like the Palms, it will be all over for high volume tourism in Las Vegas. The cable news channels will eat up a story that tourists are at risk of being killed by out of control Metro cops. Every person emotionally invested in the two recent shootings will "churn" the story, giving interviews to CNN and MSNBC and making it worse and worse for Las Vegas' main economic engine. It doesn't matter if Metro cops are out of control or not. Revenue from tourism is going to dramatically plunge when that shooting happens.
(2) Sheriff Gillespie and his advisors also had better take a serious look at what Pat Tillman's family is doing in terms of their public relations campaign against U.S. General McChrystal and his chain of command: A motion picture which is a hit and a book on the best seller list, all trashing McChrystal and friends. In this internet driven, blogospheric world, it is not inconceivable that there could be a sophisticated, well organized public relations campaign against Metro, run from outside Las Vegas, telling tourists they are at risk of being shot by crazed, nervous cops. Such a public relations campaign, if well run, will be fairly effective even if Metro hasn't shot a tourist yet. The casino chains will be upset, but unable to do anything about it. (Remember the effect of Obama's off hand comment about it being inappropriate to hold conventions in Las Vegas?)
My point to Sheriff Gillespie and the rest of Metro is this: I am an old white person. I have no problem with you. I don't fit your adversaries' demographic. However, because I am old and wise in the ways of the world I am telling you that you are sailing into a whirlpool which you cannot control.
To get out of the whirlpool Metro officers are going to end up having to stomache some cops losing their jobs at the very least. If you are very unlucky you will end up with a whole new set of irritating rules like those the LAPD has been dealing with, and griping about, for the last 17+ years.
Ask any LAPD cop who has been on the force for 18+ years if, in retrospect. they would have preferred Chief Darryl Gates to immediately fire the four cops involved in beating Rodney King BEFORE the riots, before the two trials, before the Christopher Commission, and before all of the new "rules of engagement" were forced down LAPD's throat by the LA business community who were sick of seeing their chain stores burned down. Those changes were forced on the LAPD because of the economic damage to powerful businesses the four LAPD cops' conduct caused.
Those older LAPD cops will candidly tell you "Yes our work environment would be better now if Darryl Gates had not been so stubborn back then".
Seriously, did anyone expect anything else than justified? The inquest is a joke, it always has been...and trust me as a former employee, I know it first hand. I can only imagine how angry Cole's family must be. Rightfully so. And you "detective "Y" you are disgrace to humanity.
Oh I am also fighting Manlaw, I am fighting hard to see the changes be made in METRO!! It's going to be screams from the public loud and clear when we change the sheriff in this city. It's also going to be screams of the people that get the DOJ in Vegas investigating Metro and the way they investgate Metro.
The screams are going to be heard, and I think it will be soon. You don't have to be a cop, sheriff or you to want change, you just have to be vocal and if it's in a newspaper, message board, out on the street, or on T.V you want to be heard.
It may be a waste of time to you, but to me wasting my time shutting up, is worse. I WILL REMAIN ANGRY UNTIL CHANGE IS MADE!
You call it waste of time, I call it about time.
Hopefully, Yant will move on to other duties that don't require the use of a firearm like counting the sheets in a toliet paper roll.
Long said Metro cleaned the apartment as a courtesy before the family was allowed back in. "We didn't want to traumatize anybody," he said.
are u f'g kidding me ??? they cleaned up a crime scene ??? this is about as bad as it gets...they cleaned up alright...every last shred of evidence there was .... its really a shame and very scary ...
WOW.... am stuned by the extra info since my last post...I do have a question of the difference between the cops story and the ME about how mr cole was possibly positioned when he was shot...the fact that he made multiple sales to an undercover suffiencient prob cause I dont know, im not an attorney.. its easy to sit here and play armchair QB...and no I would not be sheriff...couldnt pay me enough...damned if you do and well you know the rest
Lovebug, you are angry and sickened by the actions today... and I agree with you, 100%. Here is the thing... the jurists have spoken but only at the Coroner's Inquest. Remember, there is still criminal liability to be looked at. This verdict does not mean that METRO cannot find reason to charge Yant with a crime. These should be two seperate investigations, not at all tied together since the burden of proof is so different. Unlikely I am sure, but still possible. This could be negligent homicide, maybe the Sheriff will really look at the Coroner's report and see all of the discrepancies. Only time will tell. I don't believe that even Detective Yant had a plan to kill Tre'Von... like I said earlier, he got scared, it was dark and his equipment malfunctioned, he forgot his partner, and Tre'von was a big guy. He must have been kneeling while flushing his pot for the shot to have occured the way it did, and the glow of a nightlight on a baggie could have freaked Yant out. The negligence would come in with the poorly written affidavit for warrant, the poorly maintained equipment, the failure to follow search and seizure policy by maintaining contact with a partner... and then shooting a man who has his back to you with a fist full of chapstick... We all know how deadly that waxy chapstick can be...I say that Yant needs to be charged with Negligent Homicide at the very least! C'MON DOUG, DO THE RIGHT THING BEFORE ELECTION DAY!!!
i just got through watching a histoy story about moonshiners and now this story??? funny....and again im no lawyer, but how can this kid be allowed to break the law over and over again??? how is that leagal??
WHAT?!? Justified?!? No F@#$@$@#$@#G WAY!
I haven't even read the comments yet, but this is unbelievable. We MUST get rid of the sheriff ASAP!
All that is necessary for evil to win is for good people to do nothing. If you want to do something, if you really care and want to make our community better, here is a way to do it. Write a letter, make a phone call, express your outrage. Send your letters to this man. If you don't believe me check out the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division website. How do you think those investigations started, by people writing letters and complaining about a wrong that needed to be addressed.
Thomas E. Perez
Assistant Attorney General Civil Rights Division
950 Pennsylvanis Ave NW
Washington DC 20530
phone(202)514-4609
fax:(202)514-0293
If you truly care and want to do something for the Cole family and get them justice, write to Mr. Perez.
hey mauk....how deadly chapstick can be...im rolling on the floor great stuff!!!
Judging from the photo that shows detective Bryan Yant demonstrating how Trevon Cole held out his hands, what he called a "furtive movement", and later a "shooting stance" looks to me more like an "I surrender, go ahead and put the handcuffs on me" reaction.
Bang! Cop justified murder!
When Erik Scott was shot outside the Costco store he most likely was pulling his guns out to lay them down on the ground to comply with police orders.
Bang! Murder by cop: Justified. (I bet).
When Arizona law enforcement officers surrounded Arizona fugitives and accused murderers, John McCluskey and Casslyn Welch, McCluskey put his gun down and Welch pulled a gun out and once she realized she was out gunned also put her gun down.
Convicted felon, escapee and his accomplice, accused murderers, armed and dangerous fugitives from justice were taken into custody without any shots fired.
Police did not shoot the dangerous Arizona fugitives.
Officer justified?
Thomas E. Perez
Assistant Attorney General Civil Rights Division
950 Pennsylvanis Ave NW
Washington DC 20530
phone(202)514-4609
fax:(202)514-0293
If you truly care and want to do something for the Cole family and get them justice, write to Mr. Perez.
@Maukflauk,
I understand what you are saying, I really do know it's two different things. However, if the inquest process was fixed and done another way, we may not have to go through two investigations where METRO and the Sheriff is conducting the investigation.
I am tired of this justified verdicts. I am tired that their hands are tied and that's all they can come to in a decision. I am angry it takes people being killed for no reason other than a cop is trigger happy.
I just feel like, with everything else, we are going to be let down with any charges being filed against Yant. It will surprise me to NO END if it does happen, for sure.
I am angry, it has happened over and over and over again. When does it stop? When does the process change? It's going to take angry people, and whatever else to get it changed. Being quiet as METRO and some people want, doesn't make change happen.
There is NO WAY Cole was standing, he was not a threat, that apartment wasn't that big and where the closet was, and the other two cops, if he yelled freeze, or don't move or something, the other cops would have been there.
There is way to much wrong with his shooting. I usually don't even say anything but after this one happened and also Scott's I decided it was time I opened my mouth.
It will take a lot more than the people on this board telling me to shut-up to make me shut-up now.
I also know the people killed, most of them, are criminals and need to be put in front of a judge, but the way it stands right now, some of the cops in METRO are acting as the Judge, Jury and Executioner. I am not defending the criminals that are shot for their crimes they commit, if they break the law arrest them, don't kill them. Take them court and let the judge decide what is the best punishment.
I am with you DOUG DO THE RIGHT THING, for once!
To the Sun,
Please post the full transcript of this inquest. Let us see the evidence that led the jury to declare this a "justifiable" homicide.
Everything that has been reported leads almost all of us who have read the stories to think this is a case of manslaughter at the very least.
As it stands right now, I am shocked that this could be called "justifiable".
@Lovebug. Do something with that anger, scream with rage, and then write. Write to the DOJ, the County Commissioners. Tell them to fix the system. If you want justice, look at an earlier post of mine and write him. Check out this web site. How do you think those investigations started. Be part of the solution.
http://www.justice.gov/crt/
@Tanker1975
I have every intentions of writing that letter, it will be written tomorrow after I get home from church and mailed on Monday morning before I got to work to continue to pay Yant's pay while he is on paid vacation pending his investigation, too.
So between you and me we at least know two letters are going to be written.
So here we go again. All of the police haters come on down. Lets defend the drug dealer now folks, after all Marijuana doesn't kill anyone does it? Well it killed Mr. Cole in the end. I don't see anyone making comments about the surveillance tape and Cole making a drug deal, ohhh I'm sorry thats ok. Everybody wants to put blame on someone or something, its the Sheriff, it's Metro, It's Yant. Well people its time to wake up a little. Cole, had he not sold Marijuana would have never had Metro knocking on his door, but of course he's not to blame is he....lol what a joke. The Sheriff has no more control over the Inquest then you or I. The Inquest was decided by 7 persons picked from the Juror pool so if there is a problem talk to them.
Its like blaming the rape victim because of the way she was dressed. Cole doesn't sell Marijuana, (and don't hand me it's only pot excuse) Cole doesn't die. Not one person mentioned that the Air force was also looking at a person selling marijuana to service men. Who knows how much Cole sold but at the END of the day it's illegal plain and simple.
People sit here and say Yant murdered Cole, well maybe those people would be better off reading the statute and understanding what murder is defined as...but that would destroy any argument they have
Check out this link if you don't think a letter will matter.
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/Augus...
Forget about the recession being bad for Las Vegas, the world is learning that if you come to Vegas, there is a fair chance you may leave in a body bag after being shot by the out-of-control Metro police death squads. Fire all of those cowboy, thug cops, replace Gillespie with someone from outside of Metro, and get the remaining cops properly trained before unleashing them on the unsuspecting public.
@lancealot
The statute would destroy your argument, too.
Just because he had a badge, doesn't mean the same statute doesn't apply to him.
YES COLE WAS A CRIMINAL!! Did he deserve to die for it with nothing but a bagging being flushed, squatted down, with chapstick in his hand?
So just as you said "here we go with all the police haters..." I say, here we go with all the police supporters that don't look past that support to see something needs to change.
What made Yant, or any other officer that killed someone, or wounded, a judge, jury and executioner? What gave that right? The chapstick, the icecream lady screaming, the guy at COSTCO that had a right to have a gun, the basketball, the guy with his hands in the air on his knees, the one that had a baseball bat and dropped it, the guy where his gun was 35 feet from him when shot a second time, the ones shot in the back, or the one running from cops in handcuffs? I mean I am sure we can go on and on and on...
@lancelot. Please explain to me how the scientific evidence presented by the medical examiner on the angle of entry of the bullet, ie. a down ward angle and Yant's version of events don't match. Yant testified that Cole was standing when Yant shot. Cole was 6 foot 2 so for a bullet to be going down Yant must be 8 feet tall. Funny, in the tv video he doesn't look that tall. The medical examiner testified that in order to fall the way Cole did, he could not have been standing. Explain please. Or is the medical examine lying about the scientific evidence?
@lovebug. I think a lot more, and you may want to sent one to Representive John Conyers (D MI). He is the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and he was important in getting the DOJ investigating the Detroit PD and the shooting of the 7 year old girl while the reality tv show was riding along.
@Lovebug, feel free to pass that DOJ address out to everybody you know. The more the better, and tell them to check out the Civil Rights Division website at the DOJ. Then hold on, it may be a very bumpy ride.
@Tanker1975
I am writing them down as you post them. I will also make some phone calls on Monday, too. I think there are more people we could write. I am just going to write a form letter and I am going to mail it to each person every week. If anything, they will at least read them and write back to tell me to stop sending them... :)
Oh I am ready for this ride and I feel it should have been done years ago, myself. But as of right now it has gotten to be unreal with amount of police shootings. I mean we have more in a year then most officers in their entire careers in some states see in that time and in their lifetimes.
18 shootings in less than 8 months!!In the five that have died, how many had a gun, or really deserved to die? Does anyone not see anything wrong with that? I mean we are Las Vegas, not New York, or even Texas and we know how Texas is about their criminals.
NRS on Homicide
200.010 and on...
http://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-200.h...
Look for homicide and you tell me if Yant doesn't fall under these definitions?
See, told you Lancelot that it would destroy your argument, too.
@lobo69. At least Gillespie is getting what every politican wants before an election. People will recognize his name. Just not sure it is the kind he wants. Remember folks a vote for none of the above is not a vote. You need to make you decision for the name and vote. Feel free to post the info on DOJ where ever you can.
@Lovebug, trust me they won't tell you to stop. Senator Patrick Leahy (D VT) is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee as well. Suggest you include in your letters info about the Richard Travis Brown Case (Nov 2001) and this case. Both are kills by Yant.
So it's 9pm and the police are at your door. Baby mama's running to hide in the closet. You run to the bathroom to try and flush your drugs.
WHY DO YOU HAVE A CHAPSTICK TUBE IN YOUR HAND?
If you study the photos of the police and attorney showing how Yant's weapon was held, you see two illustrated as a handgun and one as a rifle.
Hmmm....?
Which was Yant's weapon, a handgun or assault rifle?
Unless he carried both, somebody is lying.
And how is someone who is sitting sideways in the bathroom with his arms straight out forward, as they testified, a threat?
The police allowed Mr. Cole to continue to sell drugs because they didn't nail him the first time. Sure, they wait and try to catch a bigger fish, but nevertheless they allowed the law to be broken which means they are liable and just as guilty.
It is the same as letting a drunk driver go so you can catch him a second time.
At the moment the first sale of drugs took place the handcuffs should have gone around Mr.Cole's wrists and no one would have been endangered or killed by the police.
And where do they get these jurors from, retired police officers?
The DAs office who is on the cops side should not be running these hearings, the should be run by citizens only.
What stinks is dishonest cops and government workers.
Roger Clemens will do time for lying to the government, to a currupt Congress, who by the way should not have their nose in baseball, but this cop lied to a judge and the courts and gets off justified.
The civil lawsuits against against Metro, City of Las Vegas and Clark County needs to prevail.
It's time for a new Sheriff, Mayor and County Commission Chairman.
Gerry Spense would get all of these government abusers locked up.
Folks are getting confused . . . Murder and Homicide are two different things.
Homicide is simply the killing of one human being by another. No gray area there. It is Justifiable Homicide, Excusable Homicide or Unjustifiable Homicide.
Murder for the most part requires premeditation or to occur during an act that a person would reasonably know could lead to another person's death such as during a robbery.
I am confused as to why the Inquest keeps reaching verdicts of Justifiable. If he didn't have a gun and led the officer to believe he did through an action, then shouldn't the verdict be Excusable Homicide, meaning a reasonable person would have done the same thing but the suspect's ability to hurt the officer did not actually exist. I guess like pointing a toy gun at a cop.
The Officer certainly does not have to wait until he is shot to react, hence the furtive movement defense, but if he is wrong, even if it is understandable and others would have done the same, it is Excusable not Justifiable isn't it? I wouldn't expect anyone to wait to be attacked. If my wife hears a noise and goes downstairs some night and someone jumps out of the shadows and quickly points anything in her direction she's got a green light from me to start throwing anything in reach, including bullets, in his direction cause that some scary ####. If the lights come on and it's Santa, "oh damn well."
Police are paid to deal with this fear better than a normal person but it still has to be pretty damn scary. I guess kind of like a wild tiger or something. If you start jumping around, he's going to swipe your head off your shoulders and not for dinner either but because he's just as scared of you as you are of him. Most of us just instinctively don't move around quickly in the presence Police because we understand they just might not understand what the hell we are doing and hurt us. You don't have to be a drug dealer to know that. As well this person who died knew it was the Police or I would like to think he would have been in the closet with his pregnant girl ready to defend her not off hiding for arguments sake, in another room. The girl lying did nothing to help either as it just erodes her boyfriend's credibility further.
At any rate three shootings by the same copper does sound like a guy that should be riding a desk by now and in some much needed counseling for PTSD. Even if both previous shoots were good and the officer is some kind of hero, Metro probably shouldn't have let him kick down doors anymore after the first two. I understand the need for this type of intervention by the Police and am glad to hear the Swat Team will be doing these searches for now anyway. At least they know how to work as a team and their flashlights work.
In addition to writing to the DOJ Civil Rights Division, you can call the FBI as well. Their second investigative priority is investigating corruption in law enforcement and with public officials. The Feds don't trust local police...ever!
@henderson, you started off in the right direction but tailed off a bit. murder is a homicide (the killing of a human by another) which is not justified, excused, or mitigated. in the first two examples, a justified homicide and an excused homicide, there is no crime. the third example, when the homicide is not justified and not excused, but is mitigated, then a crime is committed but the culpability (and punishment) is lessened compared to murder. examples of justified homicide - when the prison warden throws the switch in a death penalty case, or when a person kills another person with the reasonable belief that it is done in defense of his life or the life of another (which is, according to the coroner's inquest jury, what occurred when yant took the life of cole). examples of excusable homicide -- a two year old picks up a gun and pulls the trigger killing whomever happens to be standing nearby, or the more common example, when a person is insane. excusable homicide occurs when the killer for whatever reason doesn't have the mental capacity to comprehend his act. justified homicide and excused homicide, no crime. mitigated homicide, a definite crime occurs but consideration is given to the circumstances such that the homicide is not punished as a murder.
It's easy to see why the police union and Sheriff are so adamant about keeping the current inquest process in place. A officer offered testimony that contradicted testimony from the medical examiner, contradicted another officer's testimony, admitted he hadn't rehearsed the raid or checked off on his personal tactical equipment before the raid. He admitted that he put information on a sworn statement that he knew shouldn't have been written on the statement. Despite all this, Yant got a paid vacation and goes back to duty where he'll be allowed to shoot and kill somebody else.
The outcome of this inquest matched my prediction before it began, but really it only serves to show the corruption and inefficacy of the current process.
"Yant's statement that Cole turned toward the door didn't match what a medical examiner said happened, Assistant District Attorney Chris Owens said."
This entire process was a sham. This cop lied under oath and his rbber stamp all "white" jury just disregarded the testimony of the coroner. Just another young black man off the street. Another sad day in Clark County.
Yeah transparent alright. It will be interesting to see how they give Metro the thumbs up on the COSTCO shooting.
I hope that when the emotional tide of this ROTTEN TO THE CORE episode abates, in the lull between now and the next "Coroner's Inquest", that the rightly enraged citizenry of the LV valley put's their RIGHTS where their RAGE is...
there are some VERY INTELLIGENT and insightful commenters here;
GET INVOLVED! ACT. CALL. EMAIL. WRITE. TALK. SPREAD THE WORD.
Collectively, we can make a difference.
There are SO MANY THINGS that surround this case that DO NOT SQUARE with simple COMMON SENSE, that you would have to be WILLFULLY IGNORANT not to see a PROBLEM with LVMPD.
Voting out Doug Gillespie is a start, but it's NOT ENOUGH.
This has all gone TOO FAR...
I cannot FATHOM that the entirety of the "Doug Gillespie Reign" as King of LVMPD, taken as a whole, is not the funny fodder of many other Law Enforcement Agencies near and far. It is a "CIRCUS CIRCUS"... an honest-to-God, Under the Big Top, 3-Ring Circus. NO ACCOUNTABILITY HERE.
No Law Enforcement Agency should be allowed to "Police their own" in such cases... in many other jurisdictions, in a TRUE, HONEST EFFORT at transparency and fairness, "another agency" would be deffered to as the investigating body.
"Coroner's Inquest", folks...THAT IS YOUR CULPRIT right there... and METRO would DEARLY LOVE to keep that process in place. IF YOU WANT THINGS TO CHANGE, THAT HAS TO CHANGE.
I was equally as disappointed in Sheriff Gillespie's post-verdict comments as I was in the verdict itself. He ought not have bothered. He just MADE IT WORSE...astoundingly so.
POT.
American's need a national "referendum" on the marijuana issue. When in one city in America you can see rows of shops lining the streets selling "Medicinal Marijuana", and in the next city/state you can get set up by bad apples from Law Enforcement for execution for selling a relatively tiny amount of the stuff to a narco, we OBVIOUSLY HAVE A PROBLEM.
Legalize it already!!!
The majority of U.S. Citizens want it LEGALIZED. Others have a vested interest in seeing that it's not...
WHO'S RIGHT???
Williams, who leads a group called the League of Action, on Friday led a small group of protestors outside the courthouse and said they planned to protest at the sheriff's office on Monday.
+++++
Well, I hope they don't get shot.
On Aug 6th I was held at gunpoint by Metro in front of my house. I wasn't who they were looking for but through the whole ordeal I was repeatedly told I would be shot, could be shot and it should be justified. The officers reminded me that Internal Affairs complaints would go no where, and one extremely violent and nasty officer told me I better shut up because all police shootings are justified and mine would be too.
And you wonder why innocent people get shot? The police go out each day with the knowledge that they can shoot someone, and it is ok, and they will not have to pay a penalty for it so go ahead officer's, use deadly force if you feel like it, the coroner has your back
Bryan Yant is a Murderer!!!!!!! So is OJ., So what?????
Trevon Cole was dealing very small amounts of marijuana to willing adults. The local Albertson's causes more human problems from the alcohol it sells.
For all we know, he was trying to make a little extra money because his girlfriend was pregnant. Why else would an idiot put a Craigslist ad out there for selling weed?
I'm a conservative white republican who fully supports the police. Trevon Cole's family should take this to the civil rights division. This shooting was completely unjustified. Also, poor police procedures led to an unarmed man being shot in the face in his own home.
If I ever see Officer Yant I'm going to jail because I'm going to spit at him.
All that is necessary for evil to win is for good people to do nothing. If you want to do something, if you really care and want to make our community better, here is a way to do it. Write a letter, make a phone call, express your outrage. Send your letters to this man. If you don't believe me check out the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division website. How do you think those investigations started, by people writing letters and complaining about a wrong that needed to be addressed. Thomas E. Perez Assistant Attorney General Civil Rights Division 950 Pennsylvanis Ave NW Washington DC 20530 phone(202)514-4609 fax:(202)514-0293 If you truly care and want to do something for the Cole family and get them justice, write to Mr. Perez.
I wonder if they ever asked Yant who trained him and then checked to see if he was, in fact, trained to shoot ONCE then "evaluate the situation"?
If that is the case then why do all the other Metro shootings involve multiple rounds being fired? Lots of "evaluate of the situation" going on between shots at the COSTCO shooting?
Sounds like he accidentally shot him and then made up a story.
Arrogance murders.
vegasiscrapguy...
Or a chest to pin it on???
"If I ever see Officer Yant I'm going to jail because I'm going to spit at him." - Oshikuru
No, you could be on your way to the morgue in a body bag with Officer Yant saying that he thought you were shooting bullets out of your mouth and he thought his life was in danger with the clear liquid coming at him. He may even say that you standing in a shooting stance when you spat at him.
On another note...
This... "I think today it's evidenced that we are transparent, that we are willing to admit mistakes, when in fact they are made," he said. "And I think the officers from my organization that testified today did a very good job of sending that message very clearly to the community."
The only message sent to be is you lie, you shoot an unarmed man in his home, and you wear a badge you get away with murder. I'm shocked you would say this to a community is very angry and confused how this is allowed to continue in 2010.
GET OUT OF OFFICE!! you don't even know how to speak to people!
and this...."Gillespie said people should consider Metro's efforts to make improvements before judging the department or his success as sheriff.:
I can't stop laughing to make a comment on this statement! This has to the the funniest thing I have read to date.
AND THIS TOO.....The board will determine if Yant will face any disciplinary action, Gillespie said.
He will back, in uniform, with his gun in a month at the most...there will be nothing done to him but a pat on the back and way to go good ole boy. See you at the next inquest! Right now enjoy your paid vacation and let us get this swept under the rug!
All that is necessary for evil to win is for good people to do nothing. If you want to do something, if you really care and want to make our community better, here is a way to do it. Write a letter, make a phone call, express your outrage. Send your letters to this man. If you don't believe me check out the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division website. On Aug 11, 2010, the Civil Rights Division charged two former police officers in Tuba City Arizona with civil rights violations in the beating of a suspect by one officer and his supervisor for not stopping him. If they care about civil rights in Tuba City Arizona, what do you think they may do in this case? How do you think those investigations started, by people writing letters and complaining about a wrong that needed to be addressed. Thomas E. Perez Assistant Attorney General Civil Rights Division 950 Pennsylvanis Ave NW Washington DC 20530 phone(202)514-4609 fax:(202)514-0293 If you truly care and want to do something for the Cole family and get them justice, write to Mr. Perez.
I really thin a lot of you have personal issues. This is one case out of so many in the valley. You conviction is strong yet contradicts sanity. If you have such strong convictions about a cop shooting a person breaking the law why do you not have the same for cops saving people. Why are you not calling the cops for every turd on the street. I think you bashers are ignorant and should be ashamed of yourselves. This is America where you can make a contribution and make a change and yet I doubt you do. When you a person breaking into your home you call the cops and hope for them to get there. For all of you "heroes" that wont call metro I hope you aim straight and shoot many bullets just as any other human in fear for their safety. You also the other option of letting a "small time criminal" steal your property and rape your family, no big deal right. this guy was a small time dealer, is that like a little pregnant, the sign says no firearms, is that like saying don't back up severe tire damage? when you make bad choices bad things can happen. Be accountable for your actions. I cant wait for the bashers to get stopped by the cops, if their posts are any reflection and actions during a traffic stop then they also should be prepared to be held accountable for their behavior. ACT LIKE A HUMAN AND BE TREATED LIKE ONE!! act like a piece of s**t and join the s**t pile.
Now that the inquest is over there verdict did not relieve the Sheriff or the DA from holding yant accountable for falsifying the request for the warrant that still needs to be addressed his testimony is evidence to the fact that he lied to get it and any prosecuting attorney would have said the following "If you lied then then how are we to believe that your not lying now".
And why if you use the excuse that you go in not knowing what could be behind that door, then reason would have it to arrange another drug buy and make the arrest where you know that there are no doors and you know what's behind them don't you think! The judge that signed off on this has been duped and that judge should have asked are there children in the residence and if the officers reply was I don't think so the the judge should have said YOU DON'T THINK SO you don't need to think you need to know and it should have been denied when this could have been done without potential harm to other residents. With that said I don't have a problem that another drug dealer is dead its to much of this the end justifies the means rationale.
How much in campaign contributions does Gilespee get from the reality TV company?
Isn't the issue for the judge issuing the search warrant whether there was probable cause to believe that there was criminal activities going on in the apartment and not whether there were children living there?
I would issue the search warrant if the police presented evidence that a Christian minister with zero criminal history was selling drugs from his house where several children lived.
I don't believe that this guy was shot when he had both hands in the air. It might have been an accidental shooting but that is the price criminals pay when they voluntarily become criminals.
Cambridge, next time you are driving over the speed limit or you have a couple of drinks and hit the road I hope the cops shoot you for breaking the law.
Doing those things are more of a public safety hazard than selling small quantities of weed to adults.
The bart cop in bay area is going to jail.......
sorry not much difference between that case and this case.........both shot an unarmed man.
BRING IN THE FEDS!!
Yant said he fired once and then 'evaluated the situation' as he has been trained.
Too bad Yant was never trained to EVALUTE the situation before firing his weapon!
Not to mention the fact - he enters a dark apartment with no batteries in his flashlight? Did he not use his training to check the status of his equipment BEFORE hitting the door?
This all comes down to the HICK mentality, and sub-standard training that permeates throughout METRO - This was not a SWAT event and Metro made it to be solely for the purpose of the TV show and the Air Force "visitors" (Did the Nellis base commander know these folks were present during this incident?) I think the story about Cole Maybe selling weed to Airmen was to cover their GS-8 rear ends! Last time I checked the Air force has a strict urinalysis program.
There were 68 phone calls between Cole and the under-cover cops in the months before. How about considering a 69th phone call? "Cole, this is the cops; we are out front...come to the door with NOTHING in your hand" Does it really matter if he flushes a few grams of weed down the crapper? They already had 3 cases on him.
Sheriff Gillespie operates in a 1970's Hick-a-Billy mode - he needs to trade his cowboy boots, spurs and badge for golf shoes and a rocking chair. This is going to cost the County tax payer $3 million - The Costco another $3 million and the list of fatal accidents another $ 9 million or so. Do the math!
Thanks for the transparency DOUG but we cannot AFFORD to re-elect you!
BTW - Cole would have faced 366 days in prison - hardly worth dying over that.
Owens asked why Yant fired only once.
Yant responded that he was trained to fire once, evaluate the situation, then fire again if necessary.
+++++
So do Yant and the officers involved in the Scott murder get the same training? B/c it doesn't seem like they followed their training in the Scott murder when they shot him seven times in quick succession with five of them hitting Mr. Scott in the back.
Or maybe I missed something. Or not.
Beware GESTAPO 911.
Well guess it's civil suit and settlement time. How much is Yants going to cost taxpayers over his career. Not all of his bothers and behind him. Keep up the public pressure to move him along to another career. One without a gun.
The cops use dash cams. They are accompanied by TV crews doing reality undercover shows which is bull&^@# by itself. It's time for Metro to use tamperprove cameras on their guns.
We live in a Decadent Society when the Senators and Congressmen who owe a duty to the electorate does nothing about the travesty and injustice.
Let's just keep paying 500 to 1G a day $150,000 to cops to murder pot smokers. OMG this is law enforcement today, now Gilespie will send out SWAT. Kill all the pot smokers.
And after we pay for the lawsuit, this jackass cop will only have cost us 1/2 million per year for his fine service.
what a joke. i hate metro. i hope yant gets some karma of some kind. not saying dead, just some sort of karma that he has to pay for this incident such as a major civil lawsuit, something to ruin his life. i hope metro gets the feds crawling up their butts.
"Justification by a jury of men does not exhonorate you before God...blah-blah..."
NewBee -- you and your god are irrelevant here.
"Beware of the fish people, they are the true enemy." -- Frank Zappa, speech to a pro-choice rally in Los Angeles around 1989-90
Lying in an affidavit to get a warrant should be enough to get Yant fired, but then he murdered someone in cold blood and now the sheriff wants us to believe the department is "transparent." This murder is no different than ones for which the perpetrator sits on death row. The feds really need to get involved with this department and it's so-called transparent processes. Please don't spit at Yant, all this man did was hold lip balm!
Cambridge, you are saying this guy was shot because he flushed a dime bag of weed down the toilet? And that's ok with you? And yet I bet you are the biggest flag waver, yelling about the constitution all day long, but on killing an unarmed citizen because he had weed, it's all good. I think you need to get on some meds.
How many people does one have to kill before they are a serial killer?
doubledown_deadender...
Damn straight. On all counts.
Justified...move along now. Nothing to see here.
Xie it is not just flushing a dime bag, its not a one time deal. The guy was a drug dealer that simple. As far as costing tax payers dollars what about all the money we spend keeping scum in prison. The 3 strikes your out rule should be just that - 3 strikes and then the death penalty. On a different topic what about all the tax dollars wasted on illegals - a proven fact over 1 million a month from UMC alone. The problem is not the cops the problem is that society is grown to think that breaking the law is common practice and that its ok. Society thinks small time dealers, DUI drivers, and others who break the law are ok. I know known of which deserve death but where do we draw the line. How many lives can a small time dealer effect? Some of you say what a great guy cole was and how he has a kid on the way, wow sounds great to me! What a great place to raise a child in a home where drugs are sold. Where our tax dollars are used in the form of govt handouts. It just amazes me how the focus is so off base and how there is no accountability for the people in our society who break the law.
lancelot:
{{So here we go again. All of the police haters come on down. Lets defend the drug dealer now folks, after all Marijuana doesn't kill anyone does it? Well it killed Mr. Cole in the end.}}
+++++
No, Yant killed Mr. Cole. No one on this board is a "police hater." What I don't like is a bad apple in authority carrying a lethal weapon. Every profession has people in it that don't belong. Yant is one of those people. He is unsuited for police work. Get him out.
<I might as well open my door to a murderer or a small time pot dealer>
Oh, lovebug - you're full of crap.
FACT:
There is no single group in the community which violates more laws, terrorizes, brutalizes and kills more citizens as a matter of routine than those employed by Metro.
Those making peaceful resolution impossible, make violent resolution inevitable.
Regardless of perceived authority, those "ramming" their way into your residence automatically impose the use of lethal force upon themselves -- never fear exercising your right, duty and obligation to thwart such threats knowing it is better to be judged by twelve than carried by six.
: {
After reading ALL the posts this morning - I've come to one conclusion; Lovebug NEEDS to chill and it wouldn't hurt to stop drinking. Period. Whether it's alcohol or coffee - needs to stop. AND...if the tone of "the letters" Lovebug is going to write on Monday have the same attitude as he/she's posts - no one will read them after the first paragraph. They border on "ranting".
PS This Officer Yant has discharged his gun 3 times in his career, with 2 out of three being shot dead. 98% of police never discharge their guns (and yes that even in includes Metro). Plus he didn't do thorough research on executing a warrant. There is a problem with this officer. Put him on desk duty until further notice.
Come late September Sheriff Gillespie will be served up a big plate of "transparency" crow pie. How plainly obvious, er uh, "transparent" is it that the good old boy coroner's inquest institutionalizes department sanctioning of yahoo mentality like Yant's. How transparent is it that the Sheriff in particular and to a lesser extent, any Metro officer like him, by not acknowledging the inadequacies of the coroner's inquest, and not admitting it serves to protect police whose conduct cannot be trusted, are too cowardly to come forward and serve as the ultimate examples (the d.a.'s office is even more culpable) of citizens who desire justice over a worthless veil. My advice Mr. Gillespie, if it's respect you desire, is that you commence writing your post Scott inquest statement today and that its content embody the truth about what the coroner's inquest really is. Apparently you do not see how transparently problematic clinging to an anachronism like the coroner's inquest is. Continue to do so and your legacy will be forever linked to something an enlightened Las Vegas citizenry ultimately exposed by way of a series of senseless killings as one of the more corrupt institutions this valley has ever known.
One less drug-dealing criminal on the streets...job well done Metro. Where can I make a donation of ammunition for future use on other thugs who don't deserve to free members of society?
Sandy, you are wrong. The police haters are running amok. Example A, sigtwenty about an hour before you.
Det Munch and Tom D, exactly!
Metro has ordered a new rubber stamp for the COSTCO ambush. They wore out the last one and the lines are not crisp like they should be.
The lastest study says the U.S. would save 77 Billion dollars every year if we STOPPED THE WAR ON DRUGS, we would double or triple that if we DE-CRIMINALIZED all drugs. Mexico is about to do just that to finally put an end to the drug cartel crime and they will be coming over the border because this is where it is illegal and that makes it PROFITABLE. When we outlawed booze we created the Al Copones of the world and when we ended prohibition we ended their profit machine (illegality)
I'll tell you what's transparent: the failure of the inquest process to hold officers accountable.
As Tanker notes, everyone that is disturbed by the current situation in Las Vegas should contact the US Attorney General office at:
Thomas E. Perez Assistant Attorney General Civil Rights Division 950 Pennsylvanis Ave NW Washington DC 20530 phone(202)514-4609 fax:(202)514-0293
Our mayor needs to step up and ask the FBI to investigate Trevon's death and what's plainly clear, the improper information Metro / Yant used to acquire the warrant and the subsequent sloppy raid. How the jury justified Trevon's death knowing full well the officer submitted inaccurate information for the warrant is beyond me. That's like letting a drunk driver get away with vehicular homicide because it was the cars fault.
Metro must make much needed changes to how and when warrants are served via dynamic entry. There is simply no reason doors should be broken down unless the warrant is for a violent crime, professional departments only use dynamic entry when absolutely necessary, like hostage situations. Blasting up apartments and residential neighborhoods is a recipe for disaster, an enormous liability Las Vegas can not afford.
In Atlanta a botched raid killed an innocent 92 year old woman, the officers provided falsified data to acquire the warrant. Afterwards they planted marijuana on her, to cover their crime. Those officers are now in prison and the city of Atlanta last week agreed to pay her family 4.9 Million Dollars.
Lastly, we need to take a long hard look at judges who sign warrants when suspects could be arrested at the point of sale. Where is it written that we go into residential neighborhoods, guns blazing, rounding up non-violent criminals? If our judges are not questioning the over use and abuse of dynamic entries, they should be!
Note: Visitors to Vegas ... leave the lip balm at home, it's considered a deadly weapon in Vegas!
"We murdered a black man in his home. Clearly that shows our system is not broken."
Sheriff Douglas Gillespie, Saturday, Aug. 21, 2010.
Why is a guy that is frantically flushing pot holding a lip balm? That defies logic and belief.
I see no transperancy only a cover up. Metro cops are no better than the corrupt departments in New Orleans, Chicago, and Detroit. Gillespie needs to go. Yant needs to be prosecuted. Bring in The Feds! Our new tourist slogan will be: When you get shot by cops in Vegas it stays in Vegas. I hope the cable talking heads start talking about how many people are killed by Metro. That will be good for our economy.
@Det_Munch
I guess it's a good thing I don't drink anything but water with some crystal light in it.
I don't drink (never have), I don't do drugs (never have), and I don't go around killing people that is holding lip balm.
If it's a rant you see GOOD!! That's what needs to be done and if more people got angry at the system in Nevada, maybe more will be done to fix it!
As I said, I am ANGRY!! Deal with it! I have to deal with cops killing over and over and nothing done about it.
You don't worry about my letters that are going to be written, in fact, it's already written and addressed to about 7 people. What you need to worry about is minding your own business and stop worrying about what Lovebug is doing!
How do you know I am full of crap, do you know me? I don't think so, I think I struck a nerve and what I am saying is true and rightfully I am upset. People are being killed and people are defending it like it's normal. Wait, it is normal in Vegas. Unless you know me, and really know me, then please don't assume I am full of crap. You would be very surprised!
My advice being as my post bother you so much, please pass over them and don't read them.
@getalife
I am not a cop hater, I don't hate, first of all. I am SICK of METRO killing at will and getting away with it.
HUGE DIFFERENCE!!
@ doubledown_deadender
"There were 68 phone calls between Cole and the under-cover cops in the months before. How about considering a 69th phone call? "Cole, this is the cops; we are out front...come to the door with NOTHING in your hand" Does it really matter if he flushes a few grams of weed down the crapper? They already had 3 cases on him."
Best comment so far. Metro's needless rush to violence is going to cost taxpayers a fortune.
It's time for Metro to lighten up on the weed man.
Looking at the history of Marijuana you'll find that it was deemed illegal under an agenda by corrupt ignorant politicians and law enforcement.
Another reason to rid ourselves of lifetime politicians and get back the constitutional republic this country was founded on. The forefathers of this country were aware and afraid of a tyrannical government. Among the rights we used to have were freedom of speech, right to bears arms and freedom from warrantless searches.
Metro, wise up before going one toke over the line.
@egot. Just check out the website for the Department of Justice. How about the Minneapolis cop who is facing federal charges for beating up a kid? Yep, Attorney General. How about the deputy sheriff in Chactow County OK who will spend 18 months in a federal prison for beating up some inmates? Yep, right again, Attorney General. How about the two police officers in Tuba City Arizona, who have been indicited for violating Civil rights of a suspect, one for beating him, and his supervisor for not stopping it? Right again, the Attorney General. How about the two New Orleans cops who are facing life in a federal prison, for you guessed it, civil rights violations. One more time, Attorney General. All of these have been announced since July 29, 2010. How do you think the Attorney General found out about those cases? Why don't you let us know how the tooth fairy and Santa Claus work out for you. To paraphrase the theme from Cops, what you gonna go when the feds come for you?
If you don't believe me follow the link.
http://www.justice.gov/crt/
The reality TV company should be sued by Metro's victims, they encouraged this situation for ratings as they gave people big donations to their re-election campaign.
I wonder how many Metro PD buy their pot from dealers like this one. Don't say they don't; they do.
The Medical Examiner stated that Mr. Cole had THC (active ingredient in pot) in his system at the time he was shot in the face by Officer Yant. By the same token, was Yant tested for steroids (roid rage)and/or other drugs? Seems to me that if you are involved in a killing, you should be routinely tested for drugs, but I'll bet that no such tests have ever taken place on a Metro employee.
At least some people now know what Yant looks like.
Was any person who has lived in this valley for very long surprised by this verdict? I've lived here for over fifty years and every shooting Metro or the Sheriff's Dept. has been involved in has been justified. That's an amazing record. I have no doubt's that the Costco murder will be justified too. Any bets against? Nah, nobody is that stupid!
A lot of idiots on this site sticking up for a punk drug dealer.
Nice town we live in when people think a 22 yr. old pusher won't keep on until he becomes a much bigger threat to HONEST citizens!
Marijuana isn't really a drug these days. Geez! It's lost it's "dangerous drug" label years ago. Many places are trying to legalize it, and they should. Think of the illegal aliens that won't be flooding over here to sell it. The drug is what keeps them slithering across our borders. Focus on cocaine, heroin, meth, those types of REAL drugs. You don't kill someone for dealing marijuana. Geez. Metro sucks, especially Gillespie and Yant.
Time after time the suspect makes a furtive movement or appeared to reach for his waistband as if to draw a gun (rarely is a gun found so what was he reaching for. In this case the only other witness is dead so only one side of the story can be heard so we will never know what really happened.
@pmmart: Cole dealt a small amount of pot. He should have been arrested and punished for it. He was killed for it. Yant lied under oath, filed a false sworn statement to a court, killed someone and abused the powers entrusted to him by the people of Las Vegas. He should be have been punished for it. Yant is a bigger threat to society than Cole ever was......
@pmmart, No actually most of us are sticking up for his right to be alive. Seems that was taken from him by a reckless cop who didn't know his job. The cop also took away his daughter's right to know her father. That's ok, because I think the tax payers of Clark County will pay dearly for Yant's actions. Over/under is 10 million. Too many errors to settle out of court, and in a civil trial, all the errors add to the punative damages. Civil trial only requires a majority of the evidence, burden of proof is much less. Look at OJ, innocent on criminal trial, but has huge judgement due to civil trial.
On the Erik Scott case, i heard the news media say that there were NO signs in the Costco parking lot that said "NO FIREARMS". The signs simply aren't in that Particular Costco parking lot, but the signs are in other locations.
And people wonder why cops are hated. If you depend on the cops to protect you, you are a fool. If the cops aren't committing the crime then they show up too late to protect anyone. I'm a law abiding citizen and son of LVFD Captain and have been around the arrogant local cops all my life. A lot of the local cops think they are God when they put on the uniform and treat civilians with disrespect and again with the arrogance that they are above the law. And they wonder why they are disliked. I would like to spit in the eye of both Yant and the Sheriff. If your in trouble call the LVFD, they will Help you. They deserve every cent they earn for putting their lives on the line.
Remember the case a few months back, where the guy in Henderson (7 Hills?) was selling to an undercover copper...right outside his house, SEVERAL BUYS took place, as I recall. (cocaine?)
But yet, instead of just arresting this guy outside during one of those previous "buys", which would have been a cake walk, and THEN SEARCHING the house, they did another one of these "knock-knock" bust down the door search warrants...and a cop got shot. As I recall, a woman and a toddler were also inside the home.
Why does Metro, (and I am sure other departments)
do this "the Hard Way", putting their own, and others live's in danger?
im not a cop hater, im a metro pd hater. i have hated them since my first encounter with them on a simple traffic stop back in 2000.
to the son of a lvfd captain, he puts it perfectly. metro cops are arrogant scumbuckets.
if this yant jerk is not canned from metro for his lack of preparation and his negligence that shows how irresponsible and stupid the department really is.
who, especially in this day and age of techology and media, not prepare and double check their work? all cops no matter what kind of warrant they serve are up for an unknown situation regarding safety and unknown conditions. i understand that. but apparently yant is too stupid to prepare properly. he didnt check his investigative work, he didnt check is equipment properly.
in my experiences, before you haul someone to jail for a warrant we always double checked everything possible before hauling the suspect to the jail for processing. an extra 20 minutes could have saved coles life.
and seriously, why the heck are our cops knocking down on doors for a small time pot dealing daddy to be that is selling to provide for his family (most likley) because times are rough.
yant has been down this road 2 times before. he has become an expert at shooting suspects compared to most cops out there. seems like a lot of our shootings have two things in common. young punk cops and/or cops with previous instances of killing or shooting suspects.
whatever or however our cops on the street get or have these arrogant aggresive attitudes needs to stop. that adds to the reasons for their shootings and abuse. i for one, will reccommend if you get a cop that shows any sign of being abusive in any way (pending you dont throw attitude to the cop first) needs to call 9-11 and ask for a supervisor to show on scene. use your cellphones voice recorder on if you have that feature and make sure your memory card is ready to save it spacewise.
IA isnt a total joke, they assisted me and informed me that i was right and they were wrong for giving me a ticket for a situation that i wasnt even involved in. as for the other issue i called about i never got a response. so from now on if i ever have a metro cop pull me over i will first observe their mentality and if they show signs of being a scumbag arrogant typlical metro cop i will inform them that i am recording this interaction for my safety and if they do not like it i will tell them to call over a super and i will call 911 to request one on scene, and that i will remain on scene until a super shows up and i will communicate with a super. ill even ask another citizen to pull over or standby just as a witness.
i have never been afraid of police until i have dealt with metro. i have dealt with nlv and henderson a few times and have nothing bad at all to say about them, and they even think metro cops are arrogant punks with poor attitudes.
If Sheriff Gillespie states that his department is transparent and trustworthy, then it must be so.
i wouldnt trust metro to investigate anything internally.. time for the feds to make a visit to metro.
CINDERELLADREAM, obviously you don't get it. The study that shows stopping the war on drugs saving 77 billion dollars per year is due to OUR WASTE of that money putting people in jail, more than any country on earth, letting cops pretend pot smokers need to be killed, etc.
TRY TO UNDERSTAND if a real drug addict needs $200 per day , he has to STEAL $2,000. per day since he will only get 10 cents on the dollar. And there are lots of EXTRA people involved in the drug trade such as those disposing of the $2,000. per day EVERY DAY for the addict AND BTW, WE COULD JUST GIVE HIM HIS DRUGS AT A WHOLE COST OF $1 dollar a day.
And if he dies , SO WHAT, as it is now the innocent people pay the price. It is not the drugs that kill, it is the MONEY due to the fact they are illegal. Look back at prohibition, DO YOU SEE PEOPLE STILL BOOTLEGGING BOOZE? no , because there is no profit in it.
I don't care if Trevon sold marijuana every hour of every day for the past ten years. It is not an excuse to murder him!
Hey Chunky and others:
Selling marijuana is not a capital offense that warrants the death penalty..Marijuana is used for medicinal purposes these days and is nothing compared to harder drugs(meth,,coke,,heroin,,etc..) that when caught trying to flush does not give a metro cop the right to take someones life... Also I believe it was stated that he was shot at a downwards motion in the back.. How does that happen if you supposedly are facing someone with your hands up..
I think the feds should take this investigation into metro and see why you can get shot for nothing really whatsoever..............
shooting like this happens all over the country not just in lvmpd,
I will admit I'm surprised at the verdict. I figured at best it would be excusable, not justified. However, in reading back through the articles I've taken note of several things that in my mind may have allowed jurors to reach the verdict they did. Some of these things I believed were reasons why the verdict would not be justified.
1. Cole was a drug dealer, perhaps not "big time", but still s drug dealer. Dealing drugs, even pot, is a crime.
2. The search warrant was obtained using incorrect information. That being said, probable cause still existed which would have allowed Metro to obtain a search warrant; Cole sold drugs to undercover cops. No the search warrant wasn't perfect and that imperfection should have been and was presented to the jury for their consideration. That information would allow them to determine whether they believed Yant was credible or not.
3. Since Yant swore out an affidavit that was flawed, he is subject to potential criminal charges for that and certainly terminations from the department, but the inaccuracies in and of themselves aren't enough to reach a criminal verdict.
4. Yant's version of events didn't agree with the Medical Examiner. Had there been major discrepancies, Yant saying he was standing and the ME saying he was lying on the floor, I would then have said Yant was probably lying. There will be those who say any discrepancy is enough to hang him, but no two witnesses will testify to seeing the exact same thing. One of the witnesses had time to evaluate the evidence, the other seconds to make a decision. The question I would ask is this; Was Yant's testimony identical to the statement he made the night of the shooting? I believe it was since the DA spent a great deal of time pointing out discrepancies and trying to get Yant to admit that perhaps he had an accidental discharge.
5. Cole's girlfriend testified at the inquest that she saw it all, his hands raised and the shot being fired. During two separate interviews within hours or perhaps days after the shooting she said she didn't see anything because she didn't come out of the closet until after the shot was fired. In looking at the floor plan, if she was in the closet, there is absolutely no way that she could have seen anything.
(continued)
6. Most of the other officers testified they didn't hear any commands. I'm not really surprised; each officer was focused on what their assignment was.
7. Yant apparently didn't have a backup officer. Most likely a policy violation and nothing to do with the shooting.
8. Cole's furative move. Whether kneeling or standing, since this is one of the discrepancies, if Cole had his hands in the position that Yant described, which none of us can disprove, it would have been possible for him to have had a gun. I seen handguns that are small enough to be covered by someone hand, especially someone the size of Cole. We know now there wasn't a gun, but it stands to reason when the cops execute a search warrant they will be on "high alert" because they don't know for sure whether there are weapons or not.
I would also point out that in this inquest the DA's office was very aggressive and tried to point out discrepancies that existed in everyone's testimony. They asked very pointed questions. I was of the opinion they also believed there were problems. All in all I was impressed with how they handled themselves.
But at the end of the day, the inquest jury who is made up of common ordinary citizens like most of us, evaluated the testimony and evidence presented and reached what they believed to be a just verdict. No, we won't all of us agree with it or even accept it. But they did what they believed was right.
Remember when OJ was on trial for murder. I believe the vast majority was appalled at the verdict. But that was a decision we the people had to live with because that is the legal system we want to live under.
(continued)
Could there be changes made to the process which would make it better. Perhaps, but consider in many jurisdictions when an officer is involved in a shooting either the DA makes the decision on his/her own whether it was justified or if criminal charges should be filed, while in others they present the case to a grand jury. In both of these instances everything is done behind closed doors, all you hear is the decision. At least in this process everything is disclosed in the end.
I don't know if the process itself should be changed or how the investigation is handled. Metro being the largest law enforcement agency in Nevada certainly has the expertise to investigate homicides. I can't think of another agency within the state or local governments who would be qualified. In some states officer involved shootings are investigated by the State Bureau of Investigation, should it be the same in Nevada? Should Metro enter into some type of arrangement with LAPD or Phoenix to do OIS investigations involving Metro and Metro will do theirs? And even if there were that arrangement, would the citizens of Las Vegas trust that investigation?
Perhaps the leadership needs to be changed? I'm not intending to get into a political debate, but I don't think it will matter who the Sheriff is. The officers who are involved in the shootings are the rank and file workers who are out there dealing with the "bad guys". They are the ones making the decision to shoot or not shoot. The Sheriff and his administration they evaluate what happened to make sure no policies were violated, and if they were they hopefully deal with them. A new or different Sheriff won't cause the criminals to leave Las Vegas or stop their criminal ways.
Finally, there will be those that "jump me" for my comments. Before you do, please take the time to read them and reflect on them. I've waited almost 24 hours to write them, so hopefully I've kept my emotions out of them and I hope you do the same.
Really and in those places you this happens all the time,, do they have a coroners inquest with all of the cases being justified?????????????
@VoiceofReason
I just have one question for you:
How you compare a cop who has a badge, to OJ?
Other than that, I really don't have anything to comment on. You have your opinions and others have theirs. Whatever they may be they are still your opinions.
metro is testing really soon if you would like to change how metro works just apply and work thru the ranks and lest see if you can make a better job
asleep in nyc few years back a guy got shot 46 time or more by nypd officers, and it was justified, and we had few other cases similar to it
@Lovebug - I'm not comparing OJ the person with anyone.
Law enforcement, a job to die for, "man dies after stun":
http://detnews.com/article/20100822/METR...
It is transparent to me that after 25 years in Las Vegas and never once seeing anything but "justified" that Metro is killing us and getting away with it.
@Voice. The only thing that I can really disagree with you about is the differences between the Medical Examiner's testimony and Yant's testimony. If the trajectory of the entry wound was downward, and she testified that he couldn't have fallen the way he did if he was standing, how do you explain Yant's claim that Cole was standing when he fired. We can all agree that Cole was big, 6foot 2inches, 300 pounds. For the bullet to enter at that angle, either Yant is 8 foot tall, which he isn't, or he held the rifle over his head, which he didn't claim, or he is not telling the truth about Cole's position when he fired. I find the last answer to be the most likely, especially given the errors on the warrant, his poor preperation and execution of the raid. I don't think that the jury really understood the forensic evidence, and without a "defense attorney" to stress the important, they put more credence on Yant's claim that he feared for his life. Did it ever come out in the inquest that Yant had ever seen Cole prior to the raid?
@Tanker - what does standing mean? Fully upright position? Stooped over the toilet?
I don't recall the ME testifying to a specific position that she believe Cole was in.
To my knowledge the jury wasn't questioned about why they reached the decision they did and I'm not willing to speculate about what they focused on or what they didn't.
I don't know if it did or not, and I don't even know the answer to that question. I'm assuming if any of the drug deals went down in public places he may have.
I was horrified watching Channel 8 Sunday evening when their news anchor attempted to intro this story.
Horrified that this anchor who demonstrates he obviously spends more time in front of a mirror applying makeup, lip stick and eyeliner instead of spending time to understand the story.
Biased. Brain dead. Amateurs.
I was going to write, "where is the public outrage?" But it looks like it's brewing.
I want to Back the Badge by asking them nicely to stop killing us!
Next up: West Point grad shot at Costco with Mayor's son representing dead guy's family.
TNT's got nothin' on LV Metro - We Know Drama!
@VoiceofReason
It stated in another paper that the ME said on the stand that it was at a downward angle in which he was shot. It also quoted the DA asking Yant if he could explain that and he said he could not. I am sure you can find that article.
The ME stated that with the downward angle and also the way his body was that there was no way he could have been standing, or facing the door when he was shot.
That is why we keep asking, if he held his gun over his head or if Yant is a REALLY tall man.
I have to say I believe the ME with this. That is why I said to you the other day that he was down at the toilet flushing his baggie of weed. That he was not standing. I didn't have a way to prove it at the time, but now it has been printed in the newspaper.
However, Yant stated that he stood up and took a shooting stance at him. I don't think he could do that if he were stooping over the toilet. The ME also stated that he was not facing the door when he was shot, too.
I did have all this quoted but it was removed because the Sun doesn't own the rights. I didn't post the entire article but it was removed, and I do understand why.
@Tanker1975
It came out that Cole made him do his job. I find that a horrible statement, myself. Well, actually I find the entire thing horrible.
There is so much here, if anything, he needs to be fired. He never needs to be allowed to even carry a gun as a citizen, in my opinion.
My question is this, the other two officers said that there was not a distinction between the kick and gunshot. So, does that mean as soon as he kicked the door in that he shot?
If that's the case, then within the kick and the door opening Cole didn't have time to react, to begin with.
They said it took three minutes for them to call for medical because no one understood anyone had been shot, because no one heard the shot over the door being kicked in.
So many lies...so many stories...and the ONE person I truly believe in all this is the ME.
With her testimony alone he should be charged with something.
There have been several articles on this site about cops saving lives and even not shooting someone they could have. There is never more than five comments on those articles. And yet, a low life drug dealer is killed because an officer feared for his life, and now everyone has an opinion. If Metro was out of control, we would have a shooting a day and a lot of beat up bad guys!
This inquest showed the true integrity of Metro. The only one to lie on the stand was the finacee of Cole. Everyone else gave clear, honest accounts of what happened. I am proud of Metro and I am proud we have a honest police force.
If the same discrepancies between the testimony of the Medical Examiner and the defendant in a "civilian" trial would the civilian suspect be walking the streets a free man?
If not, it tends to support the position that the Coroner's Inquest is not an equitable system.
+++++
Las Vegas defense attorneys should take note that their clients should fear for their lives upon seeing the infamous "furtive movement."
+++++
Isn't a characteristic of a "police state" that the average citizen fears the police?
+++++
Beware GESTAPO 911.
"we would have a shooting a day and a lot of beat up bad guys!"
We did there for a while until the COSTCO shooting and then it all stopped. I wonder why?
Correct me if I am wrong, but there were, 5 shootings in 8 days?
There was mention that there is video of a drug deal that metro did with the victim (COPS?). There was also supposed to be a camera crew riding along when they raided the apartment. This is probably what the problem is. Recently in Detroit the show 'The First 48' was filming and a similar incident happened only a 7 year old girl was shot and killed by an overzealous cop during the raid. IMO these cops are over excited to prove themselves for TV. Although I am an avid viewer of these shows, I wonder how they are influencing regular law enforcement?
@Tanker
This Review Journal photo shows the dead body. Being shot with an assault rifle I doubt if Mr. Cole was standing when shot as the photo clearly shows. A standing person's body would not have laid this way after being shot in the head at close range with a high-powered rifle.
The web address uses bad taste as it reflects what you mention about horrible statement.
Note, nothing is in the toilet. A new roll was being prepared to be used.
I consider this murder, in my opinion, because malice is needed to make it murder and Yant was malice in everything he did here, from lying to a judge to not following procedures, not following up on suspect profile, he broke down not one but two doors in a private home where someone is expected to be free in their movements.
The police had plenty of opportunity to capture him elsewhere and was in constant contact with Mr. Cole for over two months. This is a clear case of malice, in my opinion, which a civil lawsuit ought to prove if one is brought.
Remember OJ was cleared for criminal murder, but lost in the civil case.
Like I said before, the logical answer is that Mr. Cole put his arms out, hands together to show the sign he was ready to surrender and be handcuffed.
http://www.lvrj.com/news/officer--shooti...
4th photo down from left side. Click to enlarge. NOT A PRETTY PICTURE.
Just write a large check and have it be over with. And no more cop shows.
Any cop who fires his weapon should automatically be charged with manslaughter or attempted manslaughter. The DA should NOT be the office to prosecute this charge, but rather an attorney appointed by an all civilian review board.
This cr@p MUST stop immediately!
To all the little brains and small thinkers out there ranting about things they know nothing about: Mr. Cole is solely responsible for the consequences of HIS actions. He brought all of this upon himself. Everything else about this story is irrelvant, as are 99% of the comments posted on this site. Personal responsiblity is all that is in play here. Simple boolean logic applied to all the previous decisions this man made in his life...if, then, else. If he chose to deal drugs/marijuana, then...well, you know. If he chose to be an insurance salesman, then, well, he could very well still be alive, else this tragic end...
Quit the blame game...take responsiblity for YOUR OWN actions. You are the victim of only one thing: your own decisions and your own choices...
Quit whining...you've chewed the flavor out of this gum.
The problem with a coroners inquest is that the jurors are local people who live and work in Las Vegas and once they're on the jury, they know that their names , place they live, family names and other personal information is made availabe to METRO. Might as well put a target on your back if you convict one of their police officers.
I think that in the METRO police academy, when they have the new recruites run, they sing cadence like the military only the words are " I feared for my life" to prepare them for the coroners inquest.
Once again Gillespie is running his mouth.
This isn't over not by a long shot!
Vote this yahoo cowboy sheriff out of office.
Then get rid of the other yahoo's that don't
belong in metro.
Surprise, surprise. Stacking the deck still works.
Why doesn't DA Roger call a grand jury?
@Lovebug - nobody can explain with 100% certainty exactly what happened or how it happened.
I agree, that Cole could not have been in a fully upright standing position. Is that what Yant meant when he said Cole stood up? Yant testified when he first saw Cole he was squatted in front of the toilet flushing pot and then he stood up. Is it possible that Cole was in the process of standing up and was somewhere between a squatting position and a fully upright position when the shot was fired?
As for the shooting stance, or better yet the "furative" move is possible when moving from a squatting to standing position. Did Yant ever say Cole was fully facing him or was it that he was turning toward him?
Being between a squatting position and fully standing position would explain the downward trajectory. The entry wound was the left cheek which according to the diagram would be consistant with Cole turning to look at the door. I don't recall where they said the exit wound was, but I believe they said the right side of the neck which would be consistant with what I've just described.
It is unbelievable how many sympathizers there are for the criminal element.
Cliffharrison, really, "Like I said before, the logical answer is that Mr. Cole put his arms out, hands together to show the sign he was ready to surrender and be handcuffed." Dude put down whatever you are drinking. This Vic was a drug dealer.
I am so glad the "lord of the flies" mentality has erupted in Vegas.
Maybe all the Metro haters can go live on an island where only the outlaws enforce laws and there are no police.
ls1, You are unbelievable, the thoughts in your head are simply unbelievable.
btw, I am for the legalization of pot, but until it happens it is still a CRIME.
getalife, there are different needs to various uses of force and manpower for various crimes.
for example, you dont bring out a swat team for a damn small time pot dealer, but you do bring a swat team for a drug lord.
no one here is defending the actions of the dead guy here, but the use of force for the situation at hand and all the major discrepancies and lies and mistakes metro made for this particular case basically led to this guys death.
remember folks, Yant is back on duty. make sure you say to him "dont shoot im unarmed!" as you should say to all metro cops when they approach you, even for a simple traffic violation.
if you really wanna see how poorly metro treats the general public, go drive a cab! they treat cabbies like they are kiddie rapists and they shot their dog and stole their wife!
never have i met in my life anywhere i have lived such an abusive police force. granted, i understand that dirtbags should be shot at but when warranted. whats next, metro going to start thinking a steering wheel is a gun?
dont let these people fool you. there is no trust for our police anymore until they actually admit wrong doing, not these little mistakes to try to look good. i hope Coles family sues the hell out of metro and makes an example of them and that Yants career is over and his pension and other retirement is stripped from him.
metro is nothing more than pathetic excuse for law enforcement. they are a disgrace to LE as a whole. any other LE agency across the world should ban any cop that ever was a part of metro from applying for any kind of transfer.
All that is necessary for evil to win is for good people to do nothing. If you want to do something, if you really care and want to make our community better, here is a way to do it. Write a letter, make a phone call, and express your outrage. Send your letters to this man Thomas E. Perez Assistant Attorney General Civil Rights Division 950 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington DC 20530 phone(202)514-4609 fax:(202)514-0293 If you truly care and want to do something for the Cole family and get them justice, write to Mr. Perez.
Just check out the website for the Department of Justice. How about the Minneapolis cop who is facing federal charges for beating up a kid? Yep, Attorney General. How about the deputy sheriff in Choctaw County OK who will spend 18 months in a federal prison for beating up some inmates? Yep, right again, Attorney General. How about the two police officers in Tuba City Arizona, who have been indicted for violating Civil rights of a suspect, one for beating him, and his supervisor for not stopping it? Right again, the Attorney General. How about the two New Orleans cops who are facing life in a federal prison, for you guessed it, civil rights violations. One more time, Attorney General. All of these have been announced since July 29, 2010. How do you think the Attorney General found out about those cases? To paraphrase the theme from Cops, what you gonna go when the feds come for you?
If you don't believe me follow the link.
http://www.justice.gov/crt/
@Getalife
While you are smoking your pot and hiding behind a fictionist name you wrongfully claim I am one who "sympathizers there are for the criminal element" and "This Vic was a drug dealer."
Now unless I woke up in Nazi Berlin this morning, Mr. Needalife, we have in this country what is called Due Process of Law. The news media and cops do not convict a suspect, the courts do.
Mr. Cole was not convicted of being a drug dealer as you claim he was, only the news media and the police said he was, not the courts.
And if he WAS a drug dealer as Yant claims, then Yant is just as guilty because he continued to let a known criminal drug dealer operate for several months after he was aware of the fact of the crimes Cole was said to have made.
We don't execute people for crimes without a court hearing or trial. Nazis do. Police States do.
If you look at the photo of Yant in court testifying how Cole held out his hands, wrists together, fists closed, palm down there is only one conclusion that any logical person could make. That is Yant's testimony, not mine, and he was photographed showing the court how Cole placed out his hands.
The court photo of Cole's position after being shot dead by Yant and the corner's testimony raises more questions than Yant answers. That Yant repeatedly lied shows his contempt for justice.
I'm not a "metro hater". I strongly support honest LEOs. Many of my best friends and family are law enforcement officers, some on elite squads. They are not executioners. Nor do they work for a Police State. They believe in justice and due process of law and obeying policy.
If you believe we ought to execute people without a trial, due process of law, and judgment by the courts then YOU have a criminal mind. One far worst than any low-life street pot dealer.
If we want to execute pot dealers, then we do that through legislation by making it lawful--otherwise it's a Nazi action and Nazi behavior can not be tolerated in America.
And finally, these comments are the reflection and feelings, the emotions and thoughts, the opinions and ideas of our community members. And until such time the Nazi flag is raised up on top of City Hall, we have a united right to speak our minds of division--no matter how divided we are--it's call Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Expression.
Have a nice patrol!
Detective Brian Yant may not be criminally liable for the killing of Trevon Bertwane Cole, but he is morally guilty. His sloppy "detective work" shows he has no business being employed going forward by LVMPD.
The family of Trevon Bertwane Cole will probably seek civil action against LVMPD and will be awarded appropriately. I only hope that Detective Brian Yant is the first one held financially responsible and any judgement first is satisfied by him personally.
@VoiceofReason
You asked:
Did Yant ever say Cole was fully facing him or was it that he was turning toward him?
----->
The answer to this question is yes.
----->
Then you asked:
Is it possible that Cole was in the process of standing up and was somewhere between a squatting position and a fully upright position when the shot was fired?
----->
Yes, I am sure it is possible, however, with the way Yant explained it on the stand... He stood all the way up, faced him and made a shooting stance.
Not trying to be smart with this question at all but: If he were squatting, how could he get in a shooting stance; not facing Yant as Yant said?
I still say the ME would know about how things happen because they do this all the time with recreating and understanding body positions. She can also tell by the way he fell, and also the direction of the bullet when it entered into Mr. Cole.
Brian Yant, is a punk with a badge.
@getalife: "It is unbelievable how many sympathizers there are for the criminal element."
Funny, I was thinking the same thing. It shocks me how many people are willing to overlook criminal behavior when the perp happens to be wearing a Metro badge.
Look Cole was a small time pot dealer. Most of the people criticizing Metro acknowledged that he was doing something wrong and should have been punished for the crime he committed. What amazes me it that Yant knowingly filed a false sworn statement to a court, lied under oath (unless the medical examiner and Officer Richmond were lying) and killed someone an unarmed person in the dark because he didn't bring an operable flashlight to the pre-planned raid. And yet somehow people see fit to defend someone that has committed far more heinous crimes that selling $800 worth of pot.
How does a city fire its sheriff?
@Celeritas. It's called the Novemember Election. The Sheriff, the DA, and a number of the county commissioners are up for reelection.
Who's worse, a guy that posts an add on Craig's lists offering to sell a little pot or a cop who unnecessarily approves a violent raid on a non-violent unarmed mans home with no criminal record? Knowingly submitting warrant paperwork that hadn't been properly verified. Then conducting the raid without a partner all the while going through a dark house blind because his flashlight wasn't working. If that wasn't a recipe for disaster, what would be?
Considering the facts, the jury taking Yants word over the testimony of the medical examiner absolutely dumbfounds me. Seems Yant would have made a lot more money selling used cars then he'll ever make working law enforcement. What a salesman the guy is. Trevon was no saint in this matter, but Yant's conduct of the investigation was not only immoral, it was unethical and inhumane. Ending in the needless death of a young man which will end up costing tax payers a fortune.
@Lovebug - while I'm not an expert marksman, I have received some firearms training with rifles, shotguns, and handguns. Part of that training is to be able to shoot from a prone position, kneeling position, squatting position, and standing position, except shotguns aren't shot from the squatting position. The recoil from the shotgun would knock you on your butt and you would no longer be effective.
Not my question, Tanker1975, thanks anyway.
@Celeritas. He is an elected offical. The only way he can be "fired" is by not reelecting him or a recall election which would not happen before the November elections.