Family, friends gather on anniversary of police officer’s slaying

By Rich Coleman

Friday, Nov. 19, 2010 | 10:22 p.m.

As the sun set on Police Memorial Park on Friday, Ryan Nettleton stood among a crowd of his brother Trevor’s friends and told the story of the day he found out his brother had been killed.

It was one year ago. But 12 months feel like barely a day has gone by, he said.

Ryan Nettleton was stationed in Iraq at the time and was ready to go to bed when his squad leader called him over. Sitting at a conference table in a tent, his executive officer held a newspaper and informed him that his brother, a Metro Police officer, had been shot and killed in his own garage in North Las Vegas.

“I snatched the paper right out of his hand as fast I could,” Nettleton said. “I kept reading it over and over and over, thinking, ‘That can’t be right. Trevor’s just too good for that. He’s the best.’

“I had to finally swallow that disbelief and I slammed my fist right on the top of that table so hard. Swear to God, with that power, I felt I could break almost every bone in my hand.”

Friday marked the one-year anniversary of Trevor Nettleton’s death. He was shot and killed Nov. 19, 2009, when he returned home after working a swing shift. Six alleged gang members were arrested in connection with the slaying and are set to face trial on Feb. 7.

“It’s very, very hard for me to believe that it’s been a year,” Metro Deputy Chief Gary Schofield said. “But the fact that we are gathered here right now is a tribute to Trevor. I think he would be very, very happy with us to stand here right now and see children playing in a park and doing all the good things in life that Trevor did every day.”

Schofield, Ryan Nettleton and Deborah Austern, Nettleton’s mother, shared memories of Nettleton and spoke about his outgoing nature and his desire to protect those he cared about.

“Trevor’s the type of guy that you always wanted in your corner, no matter what,” his brother said. “If you looked over and saw him right there, you knew you were going to be taken care of. It’s the type of guy he was — dog loyal.”

Schofield told the crowd that he and the officers he worked with always felt secure while working with Nettleton.

“Trevor was a great cop. And there was no other honor than to say you would go through a door with Trevor. And I would go through a door with Trevor any day. And I’m sure that all of you that are out here wearing the badge would say the same thing,” Schofield said.

Joaquin Rios, a lifelong friend who trained in the Marine Corps with Trevor Nettleton, said they were a part of each other’s family. Rios is stationed near Palm Springs, Calif., and made the trip for the memorial.

“He was outgoing, friendly, willing to help anybody,” Rios said. “He’d give you the shirt off his back. You could tell he touched anybody he was around.”

Ryan Nettleton said the past year without his brother has been one of the most difficult he has had to deal with.

“A soldier’s trained to react, but one of the main questions is how am I supposed to react to something like this? That’s been a real question mark for me,” he said. “What has really gotten me is the fact that my idol, my hero, the man I worshipped all my life is gone.”

The crowd placed flowers near a lighted memorial set up in the field. A poster full of pictures of Nettleton was on display, including pictures of him as a child.

Ryan Nettleton said it was his and his big brother’s childhood dream to be a police officer like their father.

“It’s all we ever wanted to do,” Nettleton said. “He even practiced arrest procedures on me when we were kids. He’d always get dad’s handcuffs and put me in them. I always said, ‘When am I going to get the chance to arrest you, Trev?’ and he said, ‘Never. I’m always going to get you.’”

Nettleton’s mother said she was appreciative of everyone who attended the memorial and said she would be in court every day for the February trial.

“I’m not apprehensive of what will happen during the trial. I have every confidence in the investigation...in the men and women that have put this case together, that will be prosecuting this case,” Austern said. “There will be guilty verdicts, and they will be put away.”