Group rallies for changes in coroner’s inquest process

By Jackie Valley

Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011 | 11:14 a.m.

Alma Chavez understands she can’t bring her son, 23-year-old Ralfy Olivas, back to life.

But it’s why Chavez, along with friends, family and supporters, stood on a corner outside the Clark County Government Center this morning waving signs seeking justice for her son, who was fatally shot by Metro Police last month in his Las Vegas neighborhood.

If others can be spared, she said she will find solace in knowing her son’s memory is helping people.

“Every time I hear someone is arrested instead of killed, I’m going to feel my son lives every time he’s saved a kid,” said Chavez, who wore all black and a T-shirt emblazoned with Ralfy’s picture.

Police said on July 14, Olivas continued toward officers wielding a butcher knife despite commands to stop, prompting two officers to shoot him on Firestone Drive. Officers had responded to the neighborhood, near Westcliff and Buffalo drives, at 6:46 a.m. upon reports of a domestic disturbance between a mother and son.

Chavez contends her son was “in crisis like any other child goes through” and that she requested a crisis intervention team when she called police.

In the wake of his death, she supports changes to the coroner’s inquest system that were adopted by Clark County commissioners in December. Changes include the inclusion of an ombudsman to represent the victims’ families, the release of key evidence and investigative files and the restructuring of meetings before hearings.

A lawsuit by Metro’s Police Protective Association, however, has halted inquests that invoke those changes from proceeding. Fourteen deadly officer-involved shootings await inquests.

“I’m very upset. I feel the police don’t need more rights and protections than the ones they have already,” Chavez said. “We have the right to know why and how our relatives got killed.”

The group cheered as passing motorists on Grand Central Parkway honked their support. They moved inside shortly after 9 a.m. to attend the commission meeting, which was to include updates about the coroner’s inquest process and legal proceedings.

“They need to just get (inquests) scheduled and get it moving,” said Gina Greisen, a community advocate who attended the rally in support of Olivas’ family.