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By Jackie Valley (contact) 
Monday, July 12, 2010 | 4:24 p.m.
Shooting location
Metro Police on Monday said a man fatally shot by officers at a Costco store in Summerlin had pointed a gun at an officer before three officers fired their weapons, killing the man.
Police identified the three officers in the Saturday shooting as Officer William Mosher, 38, who has been with the department since June 2005; Officer Joshua Stark, 28, with the department since September 2008; and Officer Thomas Mendiola, 23, with the department since March 2009.
All officers are part of the Northwest Area Command Patrol Division. The Clark County Coroner's Office has identified the man killed as Erik Scott, 38, of Las Vegas.
Authorities said a Costco employee called 911 to report a man acting erratically in the store, damaging merchandise and carrying a pistol in his waistband. An officer approached the man, identified as Scott, then noticed the pistol and gave him verbal commands to lay on the ground, police said.
After Scott pointed the pistol at an officer, the officers fired at him, striking him multiple times, police said. He died at University Medical Center a short time later.
The officers who fired their weapons were placed on administrative leave during the investigation, which is standard procedure for officer-involved shootings.
Metro Police on Monday said witness accounts match the officers' description of events, but a lawyer representing Scott's family denied police reports Monday that the man had pulled out a handgun and pointed it at police.
Attorney Ross Goodman, a criminal defense lawyer and son of Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, said Scott had a concealed weapon permit.
"He did not pull a handgun," Goodman said. "All the witnesses we've heard from have said he did not make any threatening gestures, and didn't do anything that could be construed as acting in a threatening manner."
Goodman said he expects that surveillance videos and a coroner's inquest will show that the shooting near the entrance of Costco was neither justifiable nor excusable. Only one officer has been found to have acted improperly since 1976.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Post the Costco Security video!
Doe anyone care to make a bet that the video will be lost or damaged since the video is in Metro's hands? Or will they claim that that particular camera was temporarily out of service?
Another Las Vegas newspaper interviewed four separate eyewitnesses to the killing and, while all four of them match each other, not one of the four eyewitness accounts corroborates the Metro PD version of events.
If he had a CCW, then the gun should have been completely concealed.
this is sad. Couldn't they have used a taser?
I want to see the videos from Costco's cameras. If they are not posted you will know something is up with this. The most senior officer involved shot someone to death a few years ago and was cleared in the shooting, I just read today on the Review-Journal.
Post the security video
Instead of grieving for someone who chose to bring 2 handguns to Costco where I shop with my kids, obviously a dangerous place where you need your CCW permit,family and low life attorney are already planning the lawsuit to enrich themselves. Very sad. They should be figuring out why an intelligent man like Erik brought 2 guns into a place like Costco then went beserk to the point where Metro had to be forced to ensure none of the public would be hurt by this person"s erratic and reckless actions. Thank you Metro for protecting us from all dangerous elements in our society which come in all colors, shapes and forms. Attorney on behalf of the family should apoligize to the public for Erik's reckless actions, thank metro for protecting the public from harm as this was obviously out of character for him.
Umm, the Metro PD opened fire on an innocent person in a crowded area and failed to follow basic tactics taught at police academies across the countries. Sadly, the Metro PD cops were a greater threat to those at Costco than Erik Scott ever was.
Roll the videotape. This should get real interesting.
Given the huge difference between eyewitness accounts given to local newspaper and the revisions in the story provided by the Metro PD, an outside law enforcement agency such as the FBI should be called into investigate.
Does anyone else besides me to seem to think that [twinsdad] just might work for Metro?
TwInsdad, plenty of people carry permitted weapons into Costco -- and every other place you visit in Las Vegas. You just don't know it. And you don't have all the facts. I wouldn't be so quick to toe anyone's line just yet.
There is no law against carrying a firearm openly in Las Vegas, or two, or three, or ten. Most cops carry two firearms, a primary and a back up. Part of the CCW training is to always carry your firearms (where legal) because you never know when you may need it.
Metro was endangering the public by unloading a hail of bullets, for questionable reasons, in a crowded shopping area.
Metro also has a long history of covering up for themselves and people in power in this town.
None of the eye witness accounts that I have read about back up the constantly morphing story of Metro. They have little credibility.
Metro should not be allowed to self investigate this crime. The FBI should be brought in before they have a chance to destroy evidence.
The security video will be shown during the coroner's inquest. If you want to see it, go to the inquest.
Whoa, 2 days later he's now pointing the pistol at the cops. Give the victim another week, Metro should have him killing JFK.
Somehow I bet the videotape from inside the store would already have been released if it backed up Metro PD's claim that Scott was going "bezerk" inside the store.
Get the FBI involved ASAP.
Interesting that there are plenty of witnesses as to what happen outside, but not one witness about the damaging of goods in the store. For sure if that happened there had to be witnesses.
I was at that Costco last week. It is typically very crowded as it draws people from a large section of Vegas. This guy was probably drunk or on drugs. I can't wait to see the blood testing. Or he was a JA who did not like to listen to authority. People typically are not getting killed at Costco...When the police say drop to the floor....you drop to the floor....It was just a really poor judgement mistake by this young 38 year old man. I am sad that his mistake cost him his life. Police are here to protect us.....Thanks!
POST!! POST!! POST!! The video!
midnight,
get a clue. You live in las vegas. People don't go postal, they go Metro.
Drunk on drugs. Where do you get that other than your imagination.
There are too many discrepancies here. I will attend the inquest. I have a right to know who the bad guys are. Metro, or the west point graduate.
This does not pass the smell test.
Metro, we the citizens who pay your salaries, want the truth.
Get it??????????????????????????
Midnight, the police didn't tell him "to drop to the floor". First, the incident occurred outside, not inside, so there was no "floor" to drop to--only ground. Second, confirmed eyewitness accounts make it pretty clear that different Metro PD officers were telling Scott to take contradictory actions. Third, all of they eyewitnesses interviewed by the media thus far contradict the Metro PD version of events. Fourth, the Metro PD violated the basic tactics taught at the police academy for disarming a civilian. Fifth, the Metro PD opened fire on an innocent person in a crowded shopping area when they could have confronted him by his car. Finally, the Metro PD's story seems to change by the day.
It looks like Metro PD made the mistake and it cost one innocent life. They're lucky they didn't take other innocent lives given their decision to fire upon an innocent person in front of a crowded store.
1. Metro PD should immediately release the footage of Scott inside the store.
2. The FBI should handle this investigation.
Let's see the video!
Post it! (Like that is even going to happen.)
I think we have lost all trust in our police.
There is no way metro will admit to any wrong doing..Firing three officers is not gonna happen..This, I will admit is going to be a very interesting case because of all the publicity and witnesses..But I've seen it all before..This will be whitewashed..And the beat will go on..
SummerlinCC. You know it all.
"Metro PD opened fire on an innocent person in a crowded area and failed to follow basic tactics taught at police academies across the countries".
What is the correct tactic to disable a man with a gun who is not listening to verbal commands. Should Metro have waited until the man shot at them or an innocent person? Metro did a great job. Everyone keeps talking about this man having a CCW permit. CCW holders know not to present their firearms, especially if given commands from a police officer. This man's gun was out of concealment and then directed towards officers which is why they took the appropriate action. People jump to conclusions too early, this is not a safe city and a lot of people just snap for whatever reason. Good or bad.
I can't believe that there are people posting on here that actually believe that these police officer's just blew this man away for the hell of it. You all act like they are executioners. The man had a gun and apparently didn't use enough common sense to put his hands in the air far away from his gun. I think it's horrible that he lost his life, but you can't blame the police officers for this man's lack of common sense. He had gun in a crowded place, where obviously someone thought there was enough of a threat to call the police. I'm all about the freedom to own and carry a gun, but you have to use sound judgment when you do so. What if this man, who was carrying 2 guns, did start shooting... you would all then be calling these police officer's cowards for not stopping this man when they knew he had a gun. This was a no win situation. I don't think we should all sit back and judge these officers, as you don't know what you would have done had you been in this same situation.
vegaswho, I have a little bit of experience in this area, which is one of the reasons why Metro PD's reported actions disturb me so much.
Proper procedure for disarming a civilian that does not have a weapon in their hand-
1.) have the suspect stop and raise hands into the air;
2.) have the suspect slowly move to the ground on thier knees;
3.) have the suspect cross his knees behind him;
4) have one officer cover the suspect with a weapon, while another officer disarms the suspect.
The proper tactic is not to have one officer order a suspect to "drop" his weapon while having another officer give a contradictory order not to move.
According to four separate confirmed eyewitnesses, Scott had a firearm on him, but it was not in his hands when he was approached by police outside Costco (check out today's LVRJ article). Two different eyewitness heard an officer tell Scott to drop his weapon.
The absolute last thing the cop should have done was to have ordered Scott to "drop" his weapon, because in order to do so, it requires him to touch his weapon. According to reports, Scott had his weapon in his waistband. You don't ever want to do anything that puts a weapon into the hands of a suspect--and giving the order to disarm required Scott to do just that.
Comment removed by moderator. Comment contained copyrighted text the Sun doesn't have the rights to.
Comment removed by moderator. Comment contained copyrighted text the Sun doesn't have the rights to.
Oh yeah, and there is another thing called a TASER, which also would have been proper procedure.
SummerlinCC
You don't face a deadly situation involving a deadly weapon with a taser. You people watch too many movies. Why was metro yelling drop it, drop it? The man had the wepaon in his hand and made a movement towards the officers. Your procedures are somewhat correct, that is what metro was trying to do, but the man disobeyed the orders. You really think 3 different officers would shoot at a suspect because they thought he was carrying a concealed wepaon. Give me a break, officers face that on a daily basis. This man was a threat to everyone invovled and metro acted correctly. Great job to the police invovled.
I bet the gun was in his waistband, but his belt buckle made a "furtive movement".
"Only one officer has been found to have acted improperly since 1976."
Think about it. They're never gonna change as long as they have zero accountability.
Vote out Gillespie.
Roger too.
ok here is how it goes
1. Officers gave him different commands....key one "drop it".
2. Of all the commands he should have listened to, that was probably not the one. Cause when he went to drop it, well....we all know what happened.
3. The video will not help anyone as it will show him "trying to drop it" One side will say he was following commands the other will say he was going for gun
4. Truth is, this poor guy was not going for anything, too many people I know, know him. He got himself into a situation that NO concealed weapons training class, nor military training could help him with. He just listened to the wrong command (of several) from Metro. (who by the way blew this as well..."put your hands up, "drop it", "get down on the floor"....pick a number any number???
5. Sooooo.. he is carrying gun(s) legally, he will be proven to be upstanding person, Metro will have there witnesses.......AND GUESS WHAT
5. The city will settle out of court for a substantial amount of money and officers will not be found to act improperly.
that is what will happen....so save the taxpayers money and make it happen.
Its obvious what happened. A store employee either saw a gun or was told that Scott had a gun and they told him that he could not have a gun in the store(yes you can legally have a gun in costco) Scott responded that he had a concealed weapons permit and went on shopping. The employee ( probably had asst manager training at burgerking) didn't like his authority questioned and called the cops and reported the incident. He had to make the story worth responding to so he said that Scott was acting strangley and banishing a gun. The call goes out about a crazy guy with a gun at costco and its lights and sirens and a chopper overhead. The police are prepared for a crazy guy with a gun and the adrenaline is flowing and they know their life could be on the line. The cops got their guns out and they're scared because of what could happen and the costco employee startes yelling there's the guy. Like the guy in the woods after dark with a gun and startes shooting at every sound because he's scarred, larry shoots first followed by moe and curley. The crimminal in this case is the costco employee whoe filed a false police report to 911 which resulted in the death of a innnocent man. He should be charged as well as sued and costco is also liable and can be sued if this person was a person of authority such as a manager or security.
vegaswho, based on the information that I have (you can wait to see if it's correct or not), Metro PD told a Costco employee (specifically a female employee that was checking receipts at the front door as people exit to make sure they paid) to let Scott exit the store without checking his receipt. This was done in an effort to get Scott out of the store.
At the time Scott exited the store, he didn't have the gun in his hand nor was it visible to onlookers. However, Metro PD was well aware that Scott was carrying a weapon. I believe that one of the officers yelled at Scott to drop his weapon, not because Scott had his weapon drawn, but simply because the officer was told that Scott had a weapon on his person.
At that point, Scott attempted to comply with the orders he was receiving from law enforcement and went to disarm himself. Unfortunately, Scott's attempt to comply was mistakenly thought to be an aggressive act by one of the responding officers. He opened fire. The other two officers reacted to the sound of gunfire by also discharging their weapons.
Look, I don't think Metro knowingly executed an innocent person, but I do think at least one officer violated procedures and made a huge mistake. Of the three cops, only Bill Mosher, a USMC vet with several years of law enforcement experience, had any experience dealing with this type of situation. The other two officers are basically inexperienced rookies.
Regardless of what happened, I do think the FBI needs to get involved for multiple reasons.
Given the broad difference between Metro PD's official line and the statements made by witnesses to the LV Review-Journal, the credibility of the entire department is on the line. Nobody will ever trust the dept. again.
It also won't be helpful if suspects carrying weapons feel that they are going to be shot regardless of whether they follow police commands or not. It will only lead to more suspects shooting at cops in the future instead of listening to commands.
Most important, Metro PD needs to figure out what went wrong to make sure it doesn't happen in the future. Even if the responding officers perceived Scott as a threat, I think it's becoming obvious he wasn't a real threat. If Scott had not been told to drop a weapon that was located in his pants, he would never have moved his hand there and the other officers would never have felt threatened.
Attempting to brush this incident under the rug will only lead to the deaths of more innocent civilians and cops in my view.
SummerlinCC,
Look at what you are saying. "Metro police ordered the man to drop his weapon, when he didn't even have a weapon in his hand". A police officer would never order a man to drop a weapon if he didn't have a weapon in his hands, regardaless if the call came out that he had a weapon. Second, an officer would simply advise the man to come here and keep his hands where he can see them, then do a quick pat down to check for weapons to make sure the scene is safe. I don't know what your deal is with police or your relationship with the suspect, but you seem to have no clue about police work. Keep your fictional thoughts and beliefs of what happened to yourself. Police are here to protect you, me, and the citizens of our city. Do you personally know the other officers involved in the situation? Then why would you trash these other officers. You really have no clue!!!
This is such a shame !!! metro has brought all this scrutiny on themselves...one shooting after the other...every other place in the country you hear about even the most intense hostage situations where people have come away unscathed ...not here...why ?? because the officers who are so young and inexperienced are guided by senior officers who are just plain loose cannons ...wow...what a crying shame...not to mention very scary & unsettling...the mother who called for help for her bi polar 100 pound teenage son... a CHILD ... head shot ..done ...the 100 pound ice cream lady who they riddled with bullets as she sat on the curb...in front of her children no less....i mean come on now ...i know i know they were all threats....metro better re-train their "boys" before its too late....the publics trust & respect are waning...even the rapport is gone...you can't even get a smile or a nod out of these guys...its all about intimidation...its no longer protect & serve.........
I seem to have stumbled into a cop haters anonymous meeting. Surely you can't ALL have criminal records?
Nothing to worry about. There's going to be a Coroner's Inquest.
Giving my best Nostradamus impression, here's a future headline:
"Coroner's Inquest clears officers. Shooting ruled justifiable."
The Sun should have a rubber stamp made. It's been the same result every time in the thirty-five years that I've lived here.
And what a cherry job! Sit and listen to witnesses recount how Metro killed someone in cold blood, and then return your " justifiable" verdict...Sweet!
"Only one officer has been found to have acted improperly since 1976."
Can you believe this? The Sun should investigate the Coroner's process. Metro is almost perfect. For 34 years, Metro has been perfect? Give me a break.
Nobody is perfect = no one in Metro can be perfect
From today's LRVJ:
'Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie said Monday that investigators have been trying to obtain the video: "We have not recovered any video at this point."'
So wait, there were cameras throughout the store, but days after the killing, we still either can't find or obtain the video?
Yeah, right.
vegaswho, law enforcement is charged with protecting the community. In this case, they endangered the community and killed an innocent person. As far as I'm concerned, the community has not only the right, but the obligation to speak up.
Laws pertain to those in government as well as civilians. When those in charge of enforcing the laws begin to break the laws, we're all in trouble.
And by the way, if Metro PD acted properly and this was a clean shoot, they should welcome an outside FBI investigation. So why get upset about it?
Why not view an FBI investigation as a way to clear Metro PD?
SummerlinCC,
in that same article the RJ interviewed two witnesses that stated officers told him to "get on the ground", which he did not do. The witnesses also stated they observed him reaching for his weapon. It seems that you have personal emotions in this case. You make all your claims based on what you have heard from other people, or as you stated in one post, people you know who knew him. By the way, getting video footage can take a few days. Some corporations require a subpeona or warrant.
The only persons whom claim he reached for a gun, and pointed a gun, were the Metro cops.
They always get away with what they do.
However, this time they shot a white guy, who graduated from West Point, got an MBA from Duke, and worked for a respected medical products company (Boston Scientific).
This time they killed a guy in an affluent part of town, who's family and friends have money, and are respected members of the community.
This time the cover up won't be so easy.
This time they shot one of the grown ups.
@vegaswho,
"A police officer would never order a man to drop a weapon if he didn't have a weapon in his hands, regardaless if the call came out that he had a weapon."
Police officers screw up. I don't know whether they screwed up here, but to say that they would "never" do something is to attribute perfect adherence to policy and common sense to all cops, which is clearly not the case.
"Second, an officer would simply advise the man to come here and keep his hands where he can see them, then do a quick pat down to check for weapons to make sure the scene is safe."
If the officers were calmly approaching the situation with more than a couple years of experience under their belt (even the veteran of this group is barely more than a rookie), that is exactly what I would expect them to do. Alternatively, I would expect them to disarm the suspect using the procedure SummerlinCC outlined above. But just because that's what is expected does not mean that is what happened. Do you understand the difference?
LV_N8tive, yes I realize it can take time to get a video. But for some reason it didn't take Metro PD public relations time to issue an official statement that Scott was going "bezerk" in the store to justify the shooting...even though they hadn't yet gotten their hands on a copy of the video from inside the store. You're correct, I thought Metro PD had reviewed the evidence before releasing their press statement. My bad.
Allen...well summarized and well stated...as I have for over 50 years, I fear the 'state' more than I do the 'public'...too much evidence to support my fears...sad, but true...
SummerlinCC,
I'll bet you that Capt. Neville was paraphrasing the details of the call given by the person who called 911. The police department is in a pickle here. Everyone wants to know immediately what happened. Can you imagine the backlash ifetros statement was "we'll let you know in a few days to a week, when the investigation is complete, what happened"? You people would lose your minds.
By the way, this is a direct quote from one of your earlier posts;
"So wait, there were cameras throughout the store, but days after the killing, we still either can't find or obtain the video?
Yeah, right."
seems to me you obviously don't know that it could take a few days to get the video.
Allen,
Yes I understand the difference. My point is, is the police invovled didn't approach the situation like I stated because the man did remove his weapon from concealment, which is why the the police were forced to use deadly force. There have been witnessness who claimed that they did see the man brandishing a weapon.
SummerlinCC
Metro isn't going to release video footage of the incident to the public. They're still investigating the incident. Regardless of what happened, someone was killed, you have to respect the family's privacy at this time. Would you want a video released to the public of one of your family members invovled?
Anyone have information on the coroner's inquest? WHEN, WHERE, etc? I would like to attend this also.
Something is not right here.An officer taps him on the shoulder,IDs himself then an educated ex military man ,knowlegeable about weapons pulls his gun out and points it at a metro officer? The poor guy was either nuts or some part of this story is fiction.
Extremely disappointed no cell-phone videos of this incident have surfaced upon Youtube.
Look people --
The law enforcement agencies you've hired aren't video capturing their lethal acts as a means of protecting you, the public -- sometimes our enforcers of law need assistance in having their moments & memories accurately recalled -- prop yourself up against something solid-n-safe and keep the image still with your video capturing device.
Most cell-phones today have a video capture mode -- get the manual out, play around with it, learn to use it, become proficient and if you should happen upon drawn pistols realize a "Kodak moment" is taking place, perhaps one worth capturing -- pretend it's a rock-star moment with "firework" potential.
Make it YOUR "Zapruder" moment!
Always have a video capture device attached to your travels.
Capture truth - and justice can be served without reservation.
BTW: Any video recording of this event in law enforcement custody which doesn't substantiate their claims will never surface.
: {
good job coppers!
LV_N8tive, in many instances stores are willing to immediately turn over their tapes--that obviously is not the case here. Understandable given Costco's apparent liability. However, given that Metro PD issued an official statement on what happened in the store, I was under the impression that Metro PD had the tapes in hand. As it turns out, the statement was issued without that evidence having been reviewed.
And I understand that Cpt. Neville may have based his comment solely on the 911 call rather than on what actually happened in the store.
But Cpt. Neville shouldn't be issuing official statement without having first confirmed the facts. Giving official statements based solely on the 911 call from the Costco employee (which now appears to contained falsehoods) was not the right move. Nevilee simply should have said "we received information that the suspect was acting strangely from an unidentified 911 caller" or even better, "This incident is under active investigation and we can't provide more information until we have reviewed the evidence."
There are manuals and procedures on everything from disarming a civilian to dealing with the media written by folks that have been there, done that.
In this case they should be followed closely.
I know first hand what it's like to be shot at by a bad guy. But I also know how important it is to be able to rely on proper training when it happens.
@vegaswho,
Your basic premise is that the police did nothing wrong. From that premise, you conclude that they had to shoot him. I'm arguing that there's a possibility that they screwed up and gave conflicting orders, based on other witnesses who said that he didn't have anything in his hands when he came out.
Why are the officer's mug shots included with this story?
Where's the link to a copy of the police reports hiding?
: {
Why AREN'T the officer's mug shots included with this story?
Where's the link to a copy of the police reports hiding?
: {
A good friend of mine is friends with one of these officers. He said the man never pulled his gun out. The man was told by one officer to drop the weapon cause the 911 called stated the man was waving it around. Another officer, Mosher shot first and the others unloaded because they just reacted badly. The one i know is very upset about this but knows nothing will happen to them because "they are always justified". It's about time the FBI investigates.
Federal Bureau of Investigations
John Lawrence Bailey Memorial Building
1787 West Lake Mead Boulevard
Las Vegas, Nevada 89106-2135
Lasvegas@ic.fbi.gov
(702)385-1281
Call, email or go on in and demand Justice!!!
Also the Sun is removing my comments and censoring my first amendment right to free speech. Please dont do that, your making me feel like were not in a free country anymore but a militarized police state.
We made a couple of phone calls to get answers to questions that have been raised here. First off, the coroner's inquest hasn't been scheduled yet.
As for the tapes, Metro spokeswoman Barbara Morgan just told me that if tapes of the incident are recovered, the first time they would be shown would be during the coroner's inquest. They wouldn't be made public before that.
She said Metro investigators haven't yet seen any tapes from Costco and are working with Costco to see if tapes of the incident are available. "If the system was working and there are tapes, then the first time they would be seen would be at the inquest," Morgan said.
Also on the tapes, Morgan said: "Initially, Costco had an issue, they couldn't pull them up. I don't know if they had a glitch in their system -- they're trying to work it out now. They're somewhere off-site where they have them. We definitely want to see the tapes. We're 99.9 percent sure it's going to support us, but we definitely want those tapes. We're trying real hard to get them."
Rebel...I am not in the habit of defending Mr. Sun...but, you seem smart enough to understand that removing your comments is in no way a violation of your right to free speech...c'mon Reb, stating that kinda leads me to not believe the rest of your 'story'...
i know they have every right to remove my comments. at the same time i wasnt using any foul language or derogatory remarks either. i just want the truth to be heard, thats all
How sad that any incident involving the police brings out the idiots who don't even have the intelligence to await the results of an investigation, but, instead immediately have to express their hatred for the police either openly or in a concealed manner, by making such idiotic comments.
You ignorant jerks should wait for the results of an investigation. And, you ignorant jerks should realize that it is thanks to police officers - who after all are human beings and who risk it all, just so you jerks can enjoy peaceful lives and sleep at night. If you are not intelligent enough to think intelligently, keep your comments to yourselves.
ps. Also, get a life!
IncognitoRebel - Great Information Thanks!
The 911 tape needs to be released now along with the name of the Cosco Employee that made the initial 911 call. 911 tapes are normally available within a day or two, so release it if there is nothing to hide!
IncognitoRebel, I guess we'll all be able to find out if your story is true once the 911 tapes are released. The information contained on the 911 tapes has not been released, so only an inside source would know whether or not the 911 caller said Scott was waving his weapon around. If that turns out to be on the 911 tapes, it will go a long way to verifying your post about how it went down.
Great post.
Thanks Tim for the update.
Does anyone else find that just a bit shady? Costco had a glitch in their video system, and they're trying to pull it up now?
Please... that's hokey. Offsite video solution? Sounds like they use an outsite vendor to provide the video solution. If that's the case there should be no reason why it's not available.
You know that Asset Management utilizes those security videos and provides the all the time to metro when they are prosecuting shoplifters and the like.
I don't believe for one second that they had a hard time pulling up the videos. Something is not right about this.
Scott was a 1994 graduate of West Point, had an MBA from Duke and was a respected member of the business community here in Las Vegas. He had a permit to carry his concealed weapon. Witnesses say he was not acting "erratically" inside the Costco store. Apparently he was given conflicting commands by the police before getting shot by all three.
Metro killed the wrong guy this time. Costco and Metro will be forking over millions before this is done. I agree it is time to bring in the FBI and look at the overall pattern of killings by Metro police over the past several years. What does Metro have to be afraid of (except speeding and crashing in their own vehicles)?
A lesson to all you John Wayne macho types who want to carry guns in public.
Not a good decision with the Las Vegas Gestapo out there.
We shall wait til evidence such as videotapes come out (if any) but this story had several loose ends right from the start. For example, Erik Scott seems to have been told by one officer to hold hands up while another told him to drop the weapon. In this scenario, one can imagine Erik being confused and following one order at a time since he is not an octopus and only has two hands. Also, it seem the officers may have been a little trigger-happy. But before conclusions lets see what evidence comes out. Lets delve into this as it is critical everyone acted in good spirits, in this tragic event. May God bless the victim's family in this difficult times.
The Leson Learned... Don't roll to a public place (especially in Summerlin) with your Gat and act a fool.
If they somehow find a way to have "lost" the video on this it will end up costing our taxpayers millions more. Their is no way they could lose this video unless the police makes them lose it cause they know they will be shown as murderers in this case and cant have that. With todays technology i cant believe no one captured this incident on their video phone. Either way, we as the citizens and the one's that pay the police departments salaries, must demand a truthfull investigation of this matter. Contact the local FBI office and demand answers.
Federal Bureau of Investigations
John Lawrence Bailey Memorial Building
1787 West Lake Mead Boulevard
Las Vegas, Nevada 89106-2135
Lasvegas@ic.fbi.gov
(702)385-1281
I live in Texas and did business with and knew Eric Scott very well and he was a complete gentlemen and professional at all times. Period..I can tell each and every one of you posting here that he would never, never ever pull a gun on a police officer. From what I hear, Vegas is experiencing a major surge in crime. God bless him for carrying a licensed handgun, you would be a fool not to in your city. I know I would and I do. And when I read he was destroying merchandise in the store and brandishing a weapon I fell out of my chair. That's the biggest bunch of BS I have ever heard. This reported story is about as big of a cover up I have ever heard. If your police dept in Vegas gets away with this crock of S***t story you people have a serious problem there. He was as upstanding of a man as you get. period. The police were obviously inexperienced and lacked judgment by virtue of their age. This needs to be corrected in your city. They took the life of a rightious man here. Eric was killed wronfully and the police should pay the price. This can't be overlooked. Let me tell you something about Eric, he would intervene on your behalf if you or one of your family were to be attacked or be victimized by a criminal in his presence. I'm glad I live in Texas where men like Eric are respected. LETS SEE THE TAPES........Rest in peace Eric. We will not let them trash your name. Wise up people.
Get the tapes SUN Reporters!
Our brave police officers killed a West Point graduate. Something is wrong here.
@bape702
I work in IT as well. I'm fully aware that a local store wouldn't have access to the media directly (if they're following best practices), the article even made mention of it.
Perhaps it's that the communication is being passed along through several people.
I just found it strange that they said "Initially, Costco had an issue, they couldn't pull them up".
If they were to lose it or not have the video that would further present doubt into the situation. It's not really a matter of how hard it is to pull up the video and then burn it to DVD for the authorities. It's a matter of making sure that the media exists that the recordings exist which is what was being brought into question in the update from Tim in the comments.
Being in IT, things take time, but I would find it very hard to believe that a company like Costco who provides video related to shoplifters to the authorities all the time could lose this video... if they were to (which I doubt they did) just saying.
I guess if the cops had mot responded quickly and the gunman shot and killed some customers and employees (Remember Albertson's on West Sahara a few years back) maybe some of the anti cop posters here would then blame the cops for not stopping him. If one has a CCW, remember the second "C" stands for CONCEALED! In these cases, the "witnesses" aren't necissarily credible. A few days ago in my town, a 15 year old gang banger in a stolen car tried to run down the cops after a pursiit and the cops rightly killed him. Now the "witnesses" in the neighborhood (fellow gang bangers) are all screaming that the cops were wrong. The law abiding public is sick of the criminals getting away to commit more crimes. If people would behave, the cops wouldn't need to shoot at them. I'd rather see the gunmen taken out than employees and customers, especially if I was one of those customers.
Bakersfield, you're right. All those middle age "gang bangers" shopping at Costco with theirs kids on Saturday morning that witnessed the shooting and never saw a gun in Scott's hands must be trying to stick it to the cops....
LVMD 2020 - The Leson Learned... Don't roll to a public place (especially in Summerlin) with your Gat and act a fool.
Exactly, LVMPD rolled to Summerlin with their gats AND acted like fools!
Dallas2010 wrote: "If your police dept in Vegas gets away with this crock of S***t story you people have a serious problem there."
Umm, yeah, we do (have a serious problem). Unfortunately for us, this is the way our police department has been doing business for decades. But up until Saturday, they haven't killed such a fine, upstanding citizen like Erik Scott.
The tape. Where is the tape? You can't make this go away by not producing the tape. Not this killing, not this time. What are you hiding? The truth??
There is something that I don't understand about the whole situation. Erik Scott had a CCW. All CCW holders are taught how to react if/when they come in contaact with police. Some of you say the police gave conflicting commands, and Erik Scott didn't understand them so he went towards his gun to drop it. The guy has a Masters degree and is a West Point graduate, and has a CCW. I think the man had enough intelligence to not go for his gun unless he had a reason to. Why would the police order him to drop his weapon if he did not actually have a weapon in his hand? The reason those commands were given was because he was either going for his weapon or already had his weapon in hand. I am sorry for the family's loss, he seems like he was a good person, but that doesn't mean that metro was wrong. There are witnesses that say they saw Scott with his gun in hand. Stop speculating so much and wait for the coroners inquest.
This is the third time posting this so if it gets removed by staff again, no big surprise.
My unnamed friend works at that Costco and was on duty the day of the shooting; police "encouraged" them not to speak to the media or anyone else about the events that unfolded. Those surveillance tapes were confiscated by Metro for a selfish reason. When the tapes are made public and if they remain unaltered, the VICTIMS family will sue and win millions from Clark County.
Dallas 2010 - Thanks for sharing that with us, I find it interesting that you can see this for clearly what it is from a thousand miles away and yet some people here in Las Vegas think it's buisness as usual. Unfortunately some people just don't get it until it strikes home and then they want to cry on our shoulders for being so naive.
I assume the guy that got killed was white as the DOJ is not all over this.
Dallas2010, I hear you. My instinct is to believe your story in this situation.
May we find the truth soon.
Bakersfield, I don't know why you are emphasizing that CCW means "Concealed" because it is not illegal to openly carry your concealable weapon. The only law is against full or partial concealment of the weapon without a permit. If Mr. Scott had his weapon concealed and it showed in the store, there was no law broken.
A bigger issue than that is: whose bright idea was it to evacuate the entire building through one exit with Metro waiting outside, guns drawn? When the officers confronted Mr. Scott and fired, there were dozens still in the building and many more surrounding the exit, some people a few feet away from the deceased. Was it necessary to confront him there in the middle of a crowd when he was peaceably exiting with the rest of the customers?
Will someone tell me how Metro officers make such unimpeachable witnesses in a shooting that they are involved in? Were they not amped up with adrenaline not knowing what kind of "man with a gun" situation they were facing? Training does not mean that they are infallible witnesses or participants.
Many decisions went into escalating this event into the tragedy it is. It is not "anti-cop" or "pro-crime" to want to examine this critically and figure out where this could have been handled differently, possibly sparing the life of a young man.
Nationally syndicated libertarian-conservative talk show host Neal Boortz heard on 670am here in Las Vegas said: "..he loved it when police saved the taxpayers money and killed a "P.O.*" like this guy...maybe he didn't know he was a West Pointer, big deal...so looks like we have a big division in the teaparty talk radio nut bar crowd.
Of course when it was the unarmed black student athlete getting killed - the teabag patriots did complain (except for the Waco killer guy over at brand x paper)
The video will not be posted until it has been edited. When the Costco lawyers and the Metro damage control dept. get through "enhancing" the image, it will depict Erik Scott sledgehammering the merchandise, shooting himself with multiple shots to the back, zipping his weapon back in the holster, and tampering with the video just to make the cops look bad...
Subsequently, it will be determined that he was behind at least fifty other police shootings...
Serve and protect?
tapes, like on board cameras on vehicles can work both ways, and sometimes are not that conclusive as well. Some one should call 670 am and ask them if they agree with his calling the dead guy a "po*" Why is he commenting on this he's in Atlanta, I thought he was a right to carry libertarian.
Vegaswho, read IncongitoRebel's post on why the officer possibly told Scott to "drop it" when he didn't have a weapon in his hand.
Newsflash: Police are human. They make mistakes. They are not infallible.
Dozens of witnesses agree that Scott did NOT have a weapon in his hand at the time he was confronted. Even after the shooting, the weapon was still found INSIDE a ZIPPERED HOLSTER. That is just one of the reasons why Metro PD's original story about him pointing a weapon at the cops is so insane. They might as well have accused Scott of killing JFK. It would be just as plausible.
If the cops screwed up (and it appeared the did), they could be charged with manslaughter and be sent to jail. They have every reason to figure out a way to make this into a clean shoot.
Rather than wait for the video's premiere at the Coroner's Inquest, I would rely on my local paper to get a copy of the video and the 911 tape using the Freedom of Information Act and then share their findings with their readers. Maybe that's asking too much and investigative journalism is truly dead.
Metro isn't the only law enforcement agency not to be held accountable.
Welcome to the age of GESTAPO 911.
SummerlinCC,
The funny thing is that your understanding of how to confront someone with a weapon is accurate. That is all based on the best case scenario it doesnt apply to all encounters.
The problem lies in the fact that you were not there. I have read the witness accounts and dont see metro reporting different stories, but supposed witnesses. You say they could have confronted him at his car, no sorry WRONG you dont let him get access to or near a vehicle. Everyone here has their theories and that is fine, we all like to speculate about what happened.
There seems to be this feeling that all the officers were out to get him, end of story. What the uninformed dont know is the suspect dictates what happens, not the officers. If the suspect is compliant then things go well. Someone mentioned "why didnt they use a taser"? Which is a joke as any encounter with a person with a gun equals the officer using a gun. I tend to agree that there are stories out there but none of us were there and we dont know, we all must wait and see the video. My question has been no one has considered that Costco Security thought there was enough of a problem to evacuate the store, so something happened.
I find it hard to believe that costco and their attorney's haven't poured over each frame of the tapes and are not working on a way to save tens of millions in lawsuite money. The police could of had a warrant with in hours to get the tapes if they haven't already got them. If costco employees and the police acted properly, why not release the tapes now and silence all the people who think the police are corrupt and wrong in this case. Goodman should be able to gets a look at the tapes immediately thru discovery. I think that all the tapes in the store need to be looked at and compared so as to set a time period for the damaging of merchandise and shooting and make sure that no frames were accidently erased.
lvstrip, I should have an "understanding" of how to confront someone with a weapon. I was trained to do so and still remember that training. Oh, and I've also had the experience of getting shot at by a bad guy.
But let's take a look at your other comment: "I have read the witness accounts and dont see metro reporting different stories"
Have you been reading Metro PD stories from the start? Go back and watch the video clips and read the statements that came out of Metro PD. At first Metro PD's story went something like this -
'Scott was "kind of going somewhat bezerk", acting "erratically" and "damaging merchandise" in the store. Scott came out of the store was confronted by Metro PD at which point he was told to "get down", but he instead drew his weapon and "pointed" it at police."
Now let's look at where we stand today.
1. A newspaper interviews a 72 year old that was shopping near Scott. He and his wife directly contradict the Metro PD spokesperson, saying Scott was trying to see if sports drink bottles fit into a backpack and did not appear to be acting strangely at all. It later comes out that Metro PD made an official statement about Scott's behavior inside the store before they had even obtained a copy of the video tape inside the store, much less viewed the evidence in an effort to justify the killing.
2. A newspaper interviews four separate confirmed eyewitnesses that say they heard different cops yelling different commands at the same time, including one that orders Scott to "drop it". Four separate eyewitness interviews by the paper produce the same story. None of them match Metro PD's story that Scott was carrying his gun. Metro PD responds by saying that they hadn't heard those eyewitness accounts despite "investigating" the incident.
3. Metro PD continues to maintain that Scott drew and pointed his weapon at officers. Unfortunately, for Metro PD it turns out that Scott's gun was found in a zippered holster. Kind of tough to point a gun at someone when it's in a zippered holster, don't you think?
4. Metro PD denies using excessive force, yet three officers fired and put seven bullets into him.
This has all the making of a huge "color of law" problem for Metro PD--excessive force, fabrication of events, etc. Have no doubt that an outside law enforcement agency will be brought into scrutinized Metro PD's actions. The lies are just too blatant and there are too many witnesses that are upstanding members of the Summerlin community and are shocked by what happened.
Metro PD public affairs tried to spin this story from the start. They failed. Metro PD better start re-reading and learning their own internal procedures really quickly, because this time there will be others looking at every step: evidence chain of custody, training, you name it.
OK guys...here it is plain and simple:
1) Mr. Scott being a "good man" or a "West Point grad" was and is irrelevant in any way except in his obituary. To the police, who were just DOING THEIR JOBS, he was a criminal until proven otherwise. Leading to
2) Mr. Scott was given commands MULTIPLE TIMES to "Get Down", and instead chose to go for "something" at his waist -- which the officers responding KNEW he was armed. That being said -- and the fact that Mr. Scott was NOT complying with Costco's posted No Firearms policy, which he was told -- should have been a heads up to the "smart, college Army-serving grad" that they were after HIM. He should have become like an obedient little child at that point.
3) The COSTCO shoppers that day deserved to shop safely and were protected by the police and employees of the warehouse. Mr. Scott instead chose to destroy/conceal merchandise, threaten management, use profanity, and blatantly disregard posted rules of the store. Not to mention he was carrying ANOTHER handgun. Do you REALLY need to be that armed when shopping at Costco? Sams Club, maybe...
4) Note that the "family" has retained an attorney before Mr. Scott's body was even cold. Shows you what they REALLY care about, and it is NOT Mr. Scott. Expect them to try and sue COSTCO somehow as well -- even though they were just FOLLOWING THE LAW and protecting their employees and members.
Kudos to the Summerlin COSTCO employees, especially the manager who assessed the situation and made the call. Also to the LVMPD officers who made a possibly bad situation into a controlled one. This is a lesson to all parents and people who know firearm lovers: You DO have a right to carry, but you DO NOT have a right to endanger others with your arrogance and indifference to the law.
So basically if you go to Summerlin Costco: Remember, you are a "criminal unless proven otherwise".
angel2x, something tells me your future in retail may not be too bright...
Angel2k please.. please you reveal yourself to be either a cop, a cop's family member or a just a plain stooge.
These Cops AT MINIMUM screwed-up BIG TIME and worse, are trying to cover their butts with a cover-up and disinformation campaign.
No doubt, the actions of the victim were blown out of proportion by 1 or more STUPID, MORON Costco employees who made the cops think they were going to be confronted by a gun wielding maniac. Then, regardless, a total lack of common sense and restraint by the police was CRIMINAL!
This incident should SICKEN any thinking person. There is absolutely no excuse for this to have happened!
The only thing that will vindicate the cops is video from inside and outside that 100% corroborates their story. All I've read so far are witness statements that completely contradict the police account.
I am not a cop hater or anarchist- far from it. But I do not tolerate criminal negligence by police. I especially abhor orchestrated cover-ups of police misconduct. It appears we are witnessing both here. I'm outraged!
Jaun has five bucks there is someone out there that has part of this on recorded on their cell phone video. I don't blame them for keeping quite, but if your reading this go to the FBI no one else with that video.
angel: it appears to me, a rabid pro-law enforcement type, that the police were doing "more" than thier job. They were judge, jury, and executioner without the possibility of appeal.
Numero uno the 5-0 aint cowboys even though they think they are, this aint the wild west and we aint having shoot outs in the streets no more. I say apply the Golden rule for these cowboys(Shooter William "john wayne" Mosher,38; Shooter Joshua Stark, 28; and Shooter Thomas Mendiola, 23).However we know they will get verdicts similar to Johannes Mehserle (Mehserle is the Oakland 5-0 who was the shooter in the killing of another innocent civilian and the tapes were released check'em out at (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmJukcFzE... ) the court decided he was "not guilty" ?
Two children on duty (Stark & Mendiola) who I'm willing to bet are just back from the great wars overseas in need of employment sign up for Metro of course. I think are vets all deserve about 7 years off with pay after what they have done for this country, but thats not the reality and they have to work to pay bills. Most likely metro has a preferential hiring system for veterans, so its where we want these guys working apparently with fire arms and people post combat.PTSD is real are we in denial of this I do not know why we avoid the issue as a group but we do, probably because the answer is regulated marijuana for their mental treatment.Regardless its real and its growing in our society every day.So lets find a better job for our vets.There will be more Scotts walking around with weapons because they live in NV its legal and it makes them feel good so good for them. There will be more shooters like the young children that were acting as cops @ 23 & 28 yrs old, are we serious these kids are going to enforce laws on this society.I happen to be older than they are and i'm too young still to enforce the law of the land on my peers and my elders. Just because I can work as 5-0 does not make me a Real Police Officer nor does it mean I should be one.
Vet.Scott with a piece on his hip totally legal anywhere in his case with permits.Heres the real bad guy in the scenario in my opinion the John Wayne who basically works the system like a game.Apparently he has sent some other people on to the next world. On one hand Mr. Wayne has earned his retirement with pay,benefits, plus a ceremony for bravery cause historically thats how we do it around here. On the other hand we can use him as the tipping point reason why we need to reevaluate who can be a potential candidate for real POLICE and not 5-0 for hire.
The 5-0 used to be called police officers they commanded respect and had dignity, they were a smaller but more selective group often much older.
Lets Review:
More 5-0 = More 5-0 sooting citizens (Scott was a citizen and a veteran not a criminal)
Less 5-0 = More $$$ money $$$ for you and me & this is the good part
LESS FUNDING FOR 5-0/JAILS/COURTS/& LAWYERS
LS 1 and Cognastics get it good work gentlemen I enjoyed your posts.
Angela2k can live out her life how she put it in this post I have pasted below, the last line at the bottom. Angela if you would have served as Mr. Scott had served and lived the way he lived you would be like him Honest,Brave & Proud. He is not a criminal and the police do not have the right or the duty to assume anyone is a criminal without cause which did not exist in this case. You are a follower who believes we need infinite law enforcement good for you. Think about Scots' family before you write next time. Not the families of the killers on paid leave ! Boomshackalacka.
2) Mr. Scott was given commands MULTIPLE TIMES to "Get Down", and instead chose to go for "something" at his waist -- which the officers responding KNEW he was armed. That being said -- and the fact that Mr. Scott was NOT complying with Costco's posted No Firearms policy, which he was told -- should have been a heads up to the "smart, college Army-serving grad" that they were after HIM. He should have become like an obedient little child at that point
Sounds like a typical idiot who made one stupid mistake. Kind of like a drunk driver...except a drunk shopper with a lethal weapon. Those are stupid mistakes that take lives. This story sounds like a guy out on a binge decides he needs more booze....Costco....did he even have a memebership?....stumbles into the store....stumbles over merchandise....and the rest of the story is a predictable ending....
Those of you concerned that the police caused this, do not know where the responsibility lies....it lies on the ground dead from poor decision of the poor young man who should have stayed home and slept it off.....drunk driving...or in this can drunk shopping with a gun....is deadly.....the young man is 100% to blame....RIP.
Video will show a stumbling drunk entering the store... showing off with a gun in his hand....
We the people have the right to carry weapons. Police officers do not, it is a privilege that comes with their responsibility as a police officer.
It is not a crime or against the law to walk around with handguns. Everyone has the right to protect themselves.
It is not the job of Police officers to protect anyone, they have no legal duty to do so, Supreme Court has ruled:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/28/politi...
Crime would mostly go away if everyone took responsibility for themselves and carried a gun.
Yeah, midnight a successful businessman who is a health nut goes into a Costco with his girlfriend on a weekend morning. Must have been drunk. It all makes sense now...
The girlfriend is an unreliable witness. Let the video decide, not all these so called eyewitnesses, if it shows him destroying property and "brandishing" his weapon then he and he alone is responsible for what happened to him.
I hope the Costco employee that lied on the 911 call about a crazy guy waving a gun around, and "destroying" store property is happy that a good guy with a CCW permit who would have protected "THEM" in a life-or-death situation is now dead.
Metro needs some better training that situation is murder any way u look at it. Bunch of Semi-Rookie cops getting itchy trigger fingers.
video likely will provide compelling images. but i am also interested as to what was going on prior to Metro's arrival. having read the news articles and the commentary here and in the other stories, i've noted wide disparity as to what precipitated the request for the police presence. from crazed customer to upstanding gentleman. but i have deep suspicions that concern an alarming element of society, particularly in las vegas, namely "security" (extremely ironic misnomer) personnel that are dreadful wannabe cops whose wannabe eagerness for action too often finds them "putting their shovel in where there isn't any." within their ranks is a high percentage of individuals not qualified, for one reason or another, for employment with a police agency. costco captain americas saving john q. public from the evildoers of society (other shoppers) by creating an emergency that does not exist. if i am correct about the source of the spin that commenced a godawful incident that spun out of control, then i truly hope the family's atttorney (for the decedent) makes costco pay dearly, which in the end can never be enough.
RE: Lastword and Midnight' comments. Apparently you are reading the newspaper reports as I am from the culprits (Police and Costco employees) who know good and well they are in hot water and will be held liable for their actions. Unless you have a kangaroo court system there in Vegas who will let these policemen off the hook. I am the first to come to a policeman's defense, but in this case I am not becuase I know the victim well...Very well... You did not know Eric as I did,I know his demeanor, personality, associations, friends etc.etc. This was a man who is straight up a true gentlemen, professional, law abiding, absolutely no criminal record who was out shopping with his girlfriend who happens to have a liscense to carry a concealed weapon. God Bless him for that. Apparently the Costco employee who called 911 fabricated and sensationalized a story to the 911 dispatcher becuase Eric set him straight regarding his right to carry this weapon. The police on the otherhand overeacted and killed a innocent man straight up. The policemen apparently have about as much experience as a night watchman in a parking lot. Unfortunately they screwed up people. It's that simple. Eric Scott I would trust with my life and he was as honest and good as they come. I am telling everyone posting here, this was a stand up guy who was gunned down by inexperienced, over anxious cops who need to be prosecuted along with the Costco employee who generated a false 911 report. This is all BS what I'm reading in your press. Believe me when I tell you, Eric got killed for no reason..the truth will come out if your legal system works in LV. Thank you.
Just read this article by an ex Nevada Supreme Court Justice of 18 years and 6 years as Cheif Justice. This will tell you all you need to know about our lovely police officers.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/1996/sep...
P.S. this was written in September of 1996
It is illegal to be intoxicated while CCW. It is simple to leave the weapon in the trunk. Who wants to go groceries shopping drunk? I just wondered how people knew he was carrying.
additionally for everyone saying get the FBI involved. I'm not sure if it's applicable, but it definitely does seem like something that has happened before.
New Orleans officers could face the death penalty based on an event that happened during Katrina, and the FBI did that investigation of those local officers.
Mitzy, yes the FBI is the lead federal agency for investigating these type of abuses
http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/civilrights/co...
It's a federal crime for local law enforcement to have killed someone through the of excessive force.
I"m assuming that the family's attorney has already been in touch with the FBI, but others may do so by contacting:
Assistant Attorney General
Civil Rights Division
Criminal Section
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, Northwest
Washington, DC 20530
or contacting the local office at:
Lasvegas@ic.fbi.gov
or calling
(702) 385-1281
There are so many comments I couldn't read them all. His CCW permit is not an issue here. I don't know if anyone pointed - out that it is legal to carry a gun in Las Vegas in plain site. This is referred to as "open carry". Anyone that is not a convicted felon can do so. Costco and any other business is required to post a notice at the entrances indicating that guns are not allowed. In absence of that notice you may legally walk in with it. Metro may detain you and request to examine the gun to see if it reported stolen. If not they have to hand it back. You may not carry a gun concealed or not on government, school or public utility property.
Quick question (maybe for Tim Richardson). Metro PD said that one of the shooting cops joined Metro PD in March of 2009. Yet public records show the was just administered his oath in December 2009-
http://recorder.co.clark.nv.us/OnCoreWeb...
Do you happen to know if the officer was working in a different capacity other than as a cop in Metro PD?
In the worst case scenario, it appears Metro PD was lying about his years of service. In the best case scenario, it appears Metro PD provided the media with years of employment instead of years of service as a cop to make it sound he had more time on the job than he really did.
or (and I pray this is the case), was there just a administrative backlog to record his oath?
i wouldnt be calling the local chapter of fbi, call washington and have out of state feds investigate metro...and my out of state look at least 2 time zones east. the feds in vegas are probably paid off as well
CC, regardless this guy has not been with metro very long.
his oath may be upon academy graduation? regardless, hes barely been with that so called police department a year. another cowboy
"Nationally syndicated libertarian-conservative talk show host Neal Boortz heard on 670am here in Las Vegas said: "..he loved it when police saved the taxpayers money and killed a "P.O.*" like this guy"
What an idiot, thank god no one listens to AM!
"angel2k = Cop
and the fact that Mr. Scott was NOT complying with Costco's posted No Firearms policy."
WRONG! Get your facts straight before opening your mouth. I have shopped and carried numerous times in that Cosco and there are NO signs posted against concealed carry.
nonewz, completely agree with you here...
"midnight"
Video will show a stumbling drunk entering the store... showing off with a gun in his hand....
I assume you are referring to the LVMPD cops however I did not know they were drinking too.
If this was a righteous shooting then release the 911 call and the name of the Cosco employee that called it in along with the video of the "incident" NOW.
@sigtwenty, I just received clarification. The cop in question entered the academy in March of '09 and took his oath last December. Two of the shooters are barely old enough to shave.
the sign, regardless if it exists or not means NOTHING!
its private property, and all costco can do is say "please leave". all metro can do is be called to enforce it if needed.
if this guy reached for his gun, grabbed it he yes, should have been taken down.
taken down by a gun, who knows if thats the right way to do it.
i think it all comes down to poor tactical training by metro. if there were that many officers at costco they should have approached with caution, and had at least 2 officers with tasers at the ready. if the person started to put a finger on his gun then he should have been tasered. the problem here is that metro cops seem to be trained with the ideas of "see gun, no matter what, shoot".
just because you see a gun does not mean you should shoot. guns dont kill people, people with motives use weapons to kill people.
also, where was this guys gun on his person? did metro ask for ID and the guy decided to reach around to get his wallet, tapped his gun in the process somehow and they killed this poor bastard?
there are way too many variables to mention and until we have a quality and reliable statement and video to match to show everything that happened its hard to blame metro, but considering metros track record of very questionable shootings id think they are probably hiding something.
i for one, never have trusted metro, and never will. our police department is a disgrace to law enforcement as a whole. for shame.
train these cops, set better age requirements, and follow complaints fully.
After reading in the paper about the corruption in the new orleans police department and how the feds finally came in and charged several officers with killing innocent people and using throw down guns(planted guns at the scene), I'm wondering about the second gun that was found in the ambulence on the way to the hospital. There doesn't seem to be any controversy that after eric scott was shot and laying on the ground dead, the police put his knee in his back and handcuffed him. He was then left to lie on the ground with nobody touching the body or making any effort to check for vital signs or preform cpr. He was then thrown like a sack of potatos onto the gurney and put in the ambulence. So who found this so called second gun and why were they seaching the body of a dead man in the amulence? where they looking for money in his pockets? You don't leave a body laying on the ground handcuffed and bleading for some period of time and then all of a sudden start looking to preform vital sign checks in the ambulence.
If there was a second gun? why didn't it fall out when eric was roughly thrown in the gurney, he was strapped down and loaded up and it shouldn't have been found until he was removed from the gurney at the hospital. In clark county, persons with a concealed weapons permit have to register each and every gun with metro that they carry as a concealed weapon. It wouldn't make any sense to go to the trouble of taking the class and obtaining aconcealed weapons permit and registering only one of the two guns that were found. Why haven't the police said how many guns eric had registered and if the second gun was registered to him. If I was a betting man which I am, my money would be that the second gun wasn't registered and it was probably just like the cheap illegal guns that police find and sometimes forget to turn in just in case they might come in handy some time in the future. About thirty years ago my father was real ill and I took him to the doctor and before we left the house, I saw him put a $100 bill in his wallet because he didn't want to go anywhere without money. At the doctors office it was determined that he needed to go the hospital right away and they called a ambulence, I followed the ambulence to the hospital and they lead him away to a room. Two weeks later upon sheckout from the hospital and while he was recieving his personal items back, there was no $100 bill and the hospital stated that there was no money on him during checkin. So who was seaching the body during transport and why?
ls 1, sounds plausible. I also bet there is something fishy about this whole thing. Very incongruous and illogical. The writers of LV papers better one up their skills and write better stuff than what's currently coming out, much of which seems to be written for writing sake and not much else.
I live in a small town in the nortwest and there was a stabing death at a local bar. this happed about a year ago and while relating the story of the eric scott killing to the bartender that was working during the killing. He said that the police were demanding the video survalance tapes with in ten minutes of their arrival on the scene. Why does a small town police force have enough sence to get the tapes right away and metro is putting out comments like if there are tapes and when they receive them several days after the fact. Metro, get a clue, send your very best detective to the front door of costco where ther killing took place and look up, if there are cameras there, there are tapes. Are you telling me that metro doesn't have the resources to look at the tapes without costco processing or editing them first. what gives costco the right to withhold evidence in a killing.
Jaun finds it odd the head sheriff Gillespie hasn't weighed in on this. Frankly I haven't heard anything from the gal running against him.
Opps Jaun heard this guy has friends in High places, jaun says these cops are in big trouble !
Apparently from another poster and also an aquantence that works at Costco, the police supposedly got all the in store video almost immediatly. Can anyone else back this up??? This would be HUGE HUGE HUGE if in fact they grabbed the tapes right away. If anyone knows anyone who works at this costco and was there on that dreadful day could you please call him/her and find out as much info as possible.
Also i believe that all of us as a community should make it a point to show up in support of Erik Scott at all court precedings to show the judge and everyone else that the community is very seriously watching this closely. If we can get enough people together i can get us all t shirts made with something to show our support for Mr. Scott and his family. By showing up in force this will be the only way to make serious changes to this police force. Lets show them that We the People are fed up and demand change!!!
Read the law....
http://www.lvmpd.com/permits/firearms_co...
People shouldn't be allowed to have guns in public, period.
angel2k- you can bet money if I witness one of my friends or family members gunned down for no reason, I'm going to get a lawyer, and I'm going to sue the crap out of everyone that had anything to do with the incident. Metro, Costco, the security guard. you name it.
sevenhills - i read it and nowhere in there would make carrying a concealed weapon into Costco illegal unless Costco has something posted at each public entrance saying that firearms are prohibited. Also you should read up on the constitution and the reasoning behind the 2nd amendment. There is a very good reason why people should carry guns in public.
Incognito: I was just sharing that link, not saying pro/con. I thought it was interesting because of some of the comments here.
My personal opinion, and that of every other civilized country in this world, is the public should NOT be allowed to carry a tool that's sole purpose is to easily kill by the simple pull of a trigger.
Going back to the 2nd amendment is a stupid argument, what other laws from 200+ years ago do you want to live by? Its called evolution, something America hasn't grasped yet.
It's Bushs' fault!!
Either way, really doesn't matter whether Costco had a store policy on guns. It's just a corporate policy, not a law.
The relevant question is whether or not the Metro PD used excessive force in killing Scott. If Metro PD did use excessive force, then they violated state (manslaughter) and federal (color of law) statutes.
Metro PD is in a jam. They have to figure out a way to justify their personnel firing 7 rounds into an innocent man and not have it considered to be "excessive force".
Presuming that all three officers were carrying standard issue semi-automatic pistols that fires a single round per trigger squeeze, this means that at least one of their officers more than double-tap his weapon.
I don't see any way that Metro PD can possibly claim this is a justifiable shooting, yet they've pretty much made that determination before their "investigation" is complete.
Not a cop, just a realist. You train the cops to do their jobs -- they do them correctly and everyone is miffed. NOW it comes out that on a 911 call RECORDED (to dispute your consipiracy-theorists out here...)that he WAS told to "get down". Multiple people NOW coming forward to corroborate police and Costco reactions. The truth will set you free, NOT your handguns! gentleman in question was also observed 'acting strangely" at another grocery store in town...go figure.
@angel2k, the cops didn't do their job. They failed to assess the situation, used excessive force, and put dozens of other people at risk in the process.
Nobody ever disputed that Scott was told to "Get Down". The problem is that at the same time eyewitnesses say he was also told to "Drop it" by another officer. And yet another officer told him to "Stop". You can't "get down," "stop" and "drop it" all a the same time. There are written procedures on how to disarm a civilian and they weren't followed. Scott was apparently killed precisely because he was following orders to disarm from a police officer that didn't know what he was doing.
Summerlin CC, my point exactly. He was perhaps killed cause he was trying follow the incongruous multi-tasking orders from excited inexperienced rookies. Such is my fear. And Erik's family suffers from that.
It gets better. Channel 8 has confirmed that police are experiencing "technical" problems trying to view the Costco videotape and have sent it to forensics.
The question is what can we do as a community to show our support for Erik? I am a veteran myself and would like to show my support as well, any idea's.
Angela2k you keep reading the groups opinion on an issue that you can not understand, I believe it is because you are confused by such passion for something that you think was justified or by the book and all that good stuff. The truth is what people are talking about here on this forum is the TRUTH, you mentioned the truth setting you free. Perhaps you and O.J. have a different understanding of truth, the 5-0 are civil servants. When our employees (the 5-0)behave poorly we are embarrassed as a society all local government in some respect should fell shame. I believe the people writing here today sense strongly that the legal process as it relates to this case will have a more favorable outcome for the 5-0. They should get charged with murder and sit in jail forever like bad little boys.When which can not be soon enough the mayor,sheriff,& governor of NV are all African American & Hispanic. We will see who is released for good behavior and early parole, even better who gets tossed in the real jail and not solitary. But Angela2k you do not know anything about preferential treatment would you? You live in a dream world. Some of wish for reality to arrive your content because this dream world is working out quite well, for you any way.The position of a police officer is a respected profession check out my earlier post, we are talking about 5-0 on this forum.
Check this out
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=...
Some times we (humans) make mistakes but 7 times and in front of everyone and in broad day light and the cameras and this is the worst part he was a Vet who had protected us. He was right to stay strapped but why did he not return fire once hit ? Once they pull the trigger they are not interested in talking any more so they leave you no option, return fire 3 head shots and stand trial for self-defense. Scott would get killed in the end by the justice system in a different way lethal injection I guess ? Right?
I knew Erik personally. He was an honorable US Army officer, educated at US Military Academy at West Point with a graduate degree in business from Duke, and a very successful medical devices salesman. He was on a routine weekend shopping trip at Costco with his girlfriend, carrying a concealed sidearm as he regularly did and was legally permitted to do so. He was evacuating the store along with all other shoppers as he was unaware that it was him they were after - he innocently attempted to comply with the officers' demands and was shot & killed for doing so.
I would urge everyone that is upset about this issue to contact the US Department of Justice.
The phone number is: 202-514-6255, toll-free at 877-218-5228, or via fax at 202-514-0212/202-514-6273.
From DOJ website-
"The most effective means of filing a complaint is to write a letter to the Section explaining the situation about which you are complaining, with as much detail as possible. If you are aware of similar incidents involving others, please include that information as well. Please include information on how to contact you if we need further information (such as an address and telephone number). Also, do not include original documents as we cannot guarantee their safe return. Address all complaints to:
Special Litigation Section
U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Special Litigation Section
Washington, D.C. 20530
The Section can also be reached by telephone (202-514-6255 or toll-free at 877-218-5228) or fax (202-514-0212 or 202-514-6273).
Outrage, second degree murder, 20 yrs in prison should fix it. The guys in prison will love you 3. These guys would wet their pants in a one on one. They hung your kind in the old west. Don't push the people paying your wages. These guy should never have gotten through law screening. Bad apples never last. Waterloo for you boys. no heros in this scene. Hang your head in shame boys. COWARDS, you are a disgrace to our system.
Many of you are questioning the Police Departments integrity of handling this case. Allegedly, the Sheriff covered up a crime at his home recently. This was made by Detective Martinez and Officer Bisch of LVMPD at a public campaign for the sheriff race. The cover up goes deeper with officers claiming the Sheriff change the call for service to his home and the records disappeared. Does anyone know why Lieutenants and above in the past ten years with LVPMD were charged criminally but have never had cases prosecuted with the District Attorneys Office.
Vegaswho, you need to get a clue.
Not one eyewitness had seen or reported that the man had a gun or was pointing it at the police. Only metro police stated this. In fact they all said he did not have a gun in his hand and heard 3 officers giving commands at the same time.. Anyone and I do mean Anyone would be confused by this.. Also, the fact that Metro was close enough to tap the man on his shoulder tells me they had the opertunity to use less leathal means of control. And one last point. IF that video showed anything that supported the police actions, it would have already been released to the media!!! the fact that it hasnt and they say they are now having technical difficulties with the video makes me wonder! This is a case the FBI should handle.
I also want to say, if what I read is true and the medics or EMTs dispatched to the scene did not attempt to save him, then those Medical personel could be found just as guilty of his death as the police for failure to act!!!
i have lived here summerlin in west las vegas, nevada for 5 year. i dont understand that we live here for very safe community and excellent safe place for people to live here. it was great mastered planned community. we are not the large dangerous city like in los angeles, california and new york city in new york and not in iraq or middle east. but we know that there million people live here in las vegas and problem with ecomony and recession and lay off. cause more increase crime and behavior and drug and alcohol and mental illness. i felt sorry for erik scott but i know he have emotional feeling and anger against government and else. police should use the dart to help to sleep for up to 5 hour before person wake and weapon gun is very dangerous. hope will solves the problem.
Bring in the FBI remove the thug sheriff give 3 bad cops 20 yrs in prison, if they surive it they will never be the same == the end of vegas corruption. If metro gets away with this cold blooded murder at costco, every citizen in this town is in danger at one time or another. Thugs & dictators control people by threats of jail, keeping you off balance by beating yelling loud commands, getting you on your knees, the prone, sitting, and than accuse you of not complying and than shooting you, scary isn't it. The choice is stand and fight, or die on your knees. This is what 1776 was all about. Let's hope none of the wittness's in this case mysteriously disappear. They were told to get lost at the scene. The killers have no consciouns, they have become numb to killing & cover up. Maybe if we get him & them mad enough they will do something really stupid. Cops in rage, crazed, and hot tempered, what a concoction of ingredients. (A new sheriff in town.)
Tuesday afternoon, I went to my rental property to collect my rent from O, a BLK male (I just found out he is rapist and still in a crime suit charged as Battery) who owes me rent and utilities for 2 months.
O ran out and called police on me, lied about that I illegally locked him out and my appliances and furniture was his.
Without any doubt, the two police offers instruct him to get into my property to take my stuff.
To protect my property, I told those police that without searching order they couldn't get into my house then I went to another door in my garage to get O's cloth, shoes"out, I heard the police told him that he could break into my house to get HIS STUFF, such as TV, DVD"then I heard a gigantic bang in my kitchen"I ran to my kitchen, I found that O throw a huge gardening rock into my kitchen which broken my window"I got totally pissed, the only thought on my mind was just let him took whatever he want and leave me alone, so I tried to throw out the TV which was in the living room right next to the kitchen. Unfortunately it was too heavy, then I grab the DVD and throw it out from the broke window"then I heard the two police were trying to break though my entrance doors"I ran to hide in one of the rooms' closet"I heard them kicked in"then two guns against my head"then I was arrested and put in jail without two crime charges"I finally bailed myself out on Friday"after I back from the indicial court and went back to that property, O still here, remember he said he got knocked out by me and moved his belonging in front of those police?!And better believe it, he is still live in my property! While I faces two crime charges, and might be deported for those charges.
I don't believe that police can break into my property without any court order and while I got arrested, I got malicious injuries"
I left my country, came to this country to pursuit FREEDOM and HAPPYNESS, and contribute 10 years of my best time to her, live here alone with the hope I can get my parents here to cure my loneness after I get my citizenship; I don't believe I should be treat like this, my citizenship examination is close, I'm in need of legal help"here is my email: fordailyuse@ymail.com