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Nevada Highway Patrol
A screen grab from the video of an incident with Henderson Police.
By J. Patrick Coolican (contact) 
Friday, April 6, 2012 | 1:43 p.m.
Henderson officer will not face charges after kicking man
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KSNV coverage of a Henderson police officer who will not face charges for kicking a man in diabetic shock during a traffic stop, April 6, 2012.
Man kicked in the head by Henderson Police officer
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Video footage from a Nevada Highway Patrol dashboard camera of a Henderson Police officer kicking a man in the head during a traffic stop, Feb. 7, 2012. Warning: The footage contains material that may be offensive.
Related document
District Attorney Steve Wolfson has issued a final answer and has once again decided not to bring charges against Henderson Police Sgt. Brett Seekatz, who was caught on video kicking Adam Greene in the head five times while Greene was being restrained by other officers.
Wolfson, who misspells Greene's name throughout his signed decision, said previously he wouldn't bring charges because it wasn't "in the best interests of the community," and then because the statute of limitations had lapsed on misdemeanor battery.
He also said previously that he didn't think he could prove a case in front a Clark County jury; juries have previously been reluctant to convict police officers, including in cases in which Wolfson was the defense lawyer in the time when he was in private practice.
In the decision posted on the D.A.'s Web site, Wolfson acknowledges the video is "offensive" to watch. (Greene, the man kicked in the head, was suffering a diabetic episode and had not been driving intoxicated as police believed. The city of Henderson paid Greene and his family more than $250,000 in a settlement.)
Wolfson then notes the wide latitude given to police to use force to restrain suspects. He writes that he came upon other allegations of misuse of force by Seekatz, who was disciplined by Henderson Police in the Greene case but did not lose his job or his rank. None of those allegations were substantiated by Henderson Police, Wolfson notes.
Wolfson took the new findings, however, and assembled a legal team to make a final decision.
Henderson Police allow and even train in the use of kicking to restrain suspects, which would have made prosecution even more difficult, Wolfson says.
The decision states unequivocally, "None of the officers acted maliciously," another factor in Wolfson's move not to prosecute.
Also of note: The timing of the announcement. A Friday before a holiday, often used by political operatives to put out unpopular decisions or announce bad news. Known in the trade as "taking out the trash."
With about 3 years remaining until Wolfson faces an election, we might want to consider a recall effort in about 4 months to "take out the trash" early.
This is does not seem right. Wolfson should bring the felony charge and let a jury decide. At least present it to a grand jury to see if they feel there is a case.
With any luck the feds will take a look at a civil rights case.
Not in the best interest of the community? How ridiculous. Worst of all he adds insult to injury by not spelling the poor guy's name right? Wow. Way to go "Wolfsen".
The questions he is answering are questions for the jury not for you!
Sad that this guy wont even take a stand - won't support the obvious criminal conduct. You don't have to be a prosecutor to see criminal conduct.
This is nothing more than justification of criminal conduct - The logic is disingenuous. It is like saying "these officers are trained in firing their weapons - therefore the cop who murdered an innocent child would make it difficult to prosecute so I wont even bother trying because it's 'too difficult.'"
If I told my boss that I wouldn't do a task because I found it a "difficult" task to do - guess what will happen? You think I'll remain getting a paycheck? No, I don't think so.
Mayor Hafen....do the right thing!
Misdemeanor battery? Kicking someone in the head?
Wolfson needs to go. I agree with boftx.
Someone more cynical than me should take a look at some the discussion that took place before Wolfson was appointed. One of his very first acts in office was to say he would not prosecute this officer, and now, after taking a second look, he reaffirms that decision.
How cynical would it be to wonder if this was a payoff to someone for being appointed?
No criminal charges... clearly that's why the Chief of Police resigned and there was a monetary settlement. Clearly, there was no cover up because the City Council knew all about this from the time it happened right? Wrong. Everything about this case indicates that the officer knew what he had done was wrong and unnecessary to subdue Mr. Green.
Use of Force guidelines permit kicks but apparently don't specify whether or not head kicks are acceptable? come on.
Perhaps we could have Wolfson lay on the ground and have police kick him while explaing the reason the charges where dropped.
Your main point was overshadowed by inappropriate comments on unrelated topics.
When you have something like this on video, there's no he said she said, there's no ambiguity, there's no doubt about wht occurred.
Even if you lost the case, you still charge this guy. At the very least he has to be fired. This is a man who cannot control his temper, adrenaline..for that split second he snapped. You cannot have someone like that being a cop.
steve wolfson is weak ineffective and cowardly...
if he can not get a conviction with that video evidence...
when the hell can he ever get a conviction...
WE MUST RECALL THIS WEAK COWARDLY AND INEFFECTIVE DISTRICT ATTORNEY!!!
steve wolfson...
a sitting PERMANENT district attorney...
albeit a weak ineffective and cowardly district attorney...
still has an operational web site wherein he solicits criminal defense work...
HELLO!!!
wolfsonforyourdefense.com
The decision states unequivocally, "None of the officers acted maliciously"
Wait, what?
Wolfson is a tool. He couldn't even spell Greene's name right, what made us think he was going to do the right thing?
Assault under color of authority is a felony. There are plenty of charges that could be filed.
Where are the protests? Where is the DOJ? This man's civil rights were violated? Where are the politicians? Where are the talking heads from MSNBC?
Why isn't Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson protesting this........oops.
Wolfson is a sheep in Wolfson's clothes.
One amazing thing is that Henderson is ruled by Salt Lake City, and as such, we don't dare go out at night. The blue suited wolves are waiting to pounce.
GD shame, but it will only continue. Remember the Ice Cream Lady's killer? Now a convicted pervert, he had to quit, but so what? The polygamists rule Henderson, we know it, and there ain't a damn thing we can do about it...
Greenes Lawyer should go before a Judge & try & get a Special Prosecuotr appointed to look into Brett Seekatz misuse of force. This potential case doesn't go away simply because of a ruling By Steve Wolfson. If Greenes Lawyer thinks they have a case-they've got to start climbing the legal chain of command.
So the dance goes like this.....kick kick wink wink.....kick kick wink wink.....kick wink
When I lived in San Diego, two SD cops, showing off to their ride-along, stopped a petty criminal to harass him. The guy they stopped shot the first officer, killing him, shot the second officer, permanently paralyizing him for life, and emptied the weapon at the ride-along, but the glass in the patrol car deflected his shots and she survived.
The shooter then drove away, driving over the dying cop's body and turned himself in at a precinct station.
A jury acquitted the shooter, finding he acted in self defense. That needs to happen here a few times to send a message to Wolfson and
Metro.
Correction-should have stated "all local law enforcement agencies" and not directed at Metro, as Metro wasn't involved in this one.
Another worthless D.A. Nutless wonder backing the the rouge cops running around if you or I kicked someone in the head we would be in jail for attemted murder 100,000 dollar bail, this whole system in Vegas is a joke, so everyone should go kick a cop in the head, Vote this jerk out when the time comes hes worse than Rogers, What a joke!!!!
Ok, someone school me up here, but can't the Attorney General of Nevada prosecute this case? Wolfson is clearly hedging his actions here to keep his criminal defense of cops business viable after he is either voted out or recalled.
So the next step in my mind is to pressure the A.G. to pick up the slack here.
If Wolfson really lacks confidence in his abilities as a litigator (and apparently in his underlings as well) to the extent that he doesn't think he'll win a case where there's clear video evidence of a crime, he and those underlings have no place collecting the hundreds of thousands of dollars we pay them to prosecute criminals.
And have no doubt that Brett Sekatz is a criminal. Albeit a criminal hiding behind a badge, but a criminal nonetheless.
You know, I spent some time in the Navy and traveled more than a few miles in my day. And even after remembering every name I've been called by my ex-wives and girlfriends, I can't think of one that would give me satisfaction to say to Wolfson's face after reading this yet again.
Greenes Lawyer needs to go before a judge & request a special prosecutor be appointed to charge Brett Seekatz with official police misconduct. If Steve Wolfson isn't going to do anything-there's others that will. Brett Seekatz is not fit to be a cop.
This may be the only time on here that we agree on something. Henderson's police reputation continues negatively when bad cops are not purged. Can you imagine if Greene was of a different background. I doubt the case would get swept under the rug. I will remember you in three years Stevie and I vote.
A problem with this decision, is that it guarantees that all persons passing through Henderson can be stopped and stomped prior to any Miranda rights being read. Now I know this was valid in Nazi Germany but I had understand that we lived in the Land of Freedom and Liberty. Guess I was wrong again!
Wolfson is the poster child of corruption.
At 11:00 tonight on news 3 Wolfson says cops are trained to kick people in the head to subdue them after 4 other cops already have him down? What kind of crap is this?
Proving something in a court of law is completely different than proving it in the court of public opinion. 1. HPD trains kicks as distractors while placing non-complacent subjects into custody. 2. We have the luxury of knowing after the fact that he was in diabetic shock. The officers did not. 3. The only thing they knew at the time was that they had been in a pursuit for several minutes and that the subject was non-compliant and was resisting arrest. 4. People in diabetic shock have no idea what is going on but they fight with all of their strength while being subdued. With very similar symptoms to extreme intoxication or excited dilerium.
None of this is to excuse the Sergeants actions, however it would be nearly impossible to get a conviction and would be a gross waste of taxpayer money to go through the dog and pony show of a trial.
People should direct their anger about this to Rogers not Wolfson. Rogers is the one that dropped the ball on this, Wolfson came in after decisions were already made that has limited his options. Wolfson is in a tight spot and has to allocate resources responsibly. He can't put money and time into a case that has a good chance of failing. It would look better, true but then it wouldn't be the responsible choice.
does weak ineffective cowardly district attorney steve wolfson still receive any money from his old criminal defense practice???
is that why he still has an operational web site soliciting criminal defense work???
see above...
do we need to have an ethics investigation???
he really can't be that brighht...
is he just rubbing our face in it???
bottom line...
he hurt the community very badly by this decision...
he has only emboldened cops even more...
as if they needed that...
they already kill far far too many civilians as is...
hey weak ineffective cowardly stevie wolfson...
the next time a civilian is beaten or killed by a cop...
and statistics seem to indicate that such an event will happen in short order...
remember this pal...
some of that blood will be on your hands...
because of this weak ineffective cowardly decision...
Even a Sham investigation by Wolfson would look better than this Public Relations Disaster. He has sealed his fate as never being trusted with any elected position and is now unelectable. He might as well start looking for an out of state job now. If the Henderson Police think this is acceptable behavior, I will do my shopping and dining elsewhere for fear of getting this kind of treatment should my Diabetes get out of control.
Comment removed by moderator. Name Calling
For those of us that are outraged not just by the officers actions but by the lack of action by those in charge, the best thing you can do is not spend $ in Henderson anymore and let the mayor know exactly why. I have clients in town frequently that I'm now steering away from Henderson hotel stays, gambling, and restaurants. If more people do this and let it be known it's the only way they'll listen and enact change. Unfortunately in today's world money is the only thing that truly talks.
The public needs to recognize that there are internal means of discipline that are not released for public scrutiny. Another concern in the video is that the other officers present didn't seem to tell the violator to stop. Why? It wouldn't acknowledge criminal behavior--only that an officer can be over-stimulated and need to cool off.
This whole valley is like a small, Billy-Bob, corrupt town gone horribly large.
Those cops knew he messed up. Someone on tape even looked at the sky when the insulin was found. If Wolfson can't convict on that, he can't convict at all.
I guess every criminal on the west coast should move here, because we've got an apologist, corrupt DA, whereas we used to just have an egotistical, corrupt DA.
Wolfson's decision to not prosecute is most disappointing. Whether he could have successfully made charges stick is less significant, to me, than making the effort to take the officer to task for such outrageous conduct. Kicking a motorist in the head is hardly responsible police work. Wolfson will need to be more aggressive in handling such matters if he expects to gain the public's trust.
to all those criminals out there...
including a cop or two...
guess what boys and girls...
you are in luck...
you can hire our weak ineffective cowardly district attorney steve wolfson to be your defense attorney...
that's what it appears to be to me...
just go to stevie boy's web site...
and hire stevie wolfson to be your defense attorney...
boy what a deal...
hard to image you will ever be convicted of anything...
ARE YOU FRICKIN KIDDING ME!!!
STEVE WOLFSON IS A JOKE!!!
wolfsonforyourdefense.com
hey STEVE SISOLAK...
you are my county commissioner...
i want an ethics investigation into why steve "the weak ineffective cowardly district attorney" wolfson still has a web site soliciting criminal defense work...
is he still receiving money from that firm???
does he have a partner???
if so, how are his partners cases going to be handled going forward???
DO YOU HEAR ME STEVE SISOLAK???
hey us attorney DANIEL BOGDEN...
you out there buddy...
WE NEED A FEDERAL CHARGES BROUGHT AGAINST THOSE COPS!!!
hey attorney general CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO...
ah forget it...
you are useless!!!
Two people have now mentioned a Channel 3 story from last night about Henderson PD using kicking as a distraction.
Can someone post a link to this please? (My search skills are lacking it seems.)
hey boftx...
here you go buddy...
there doesn't seem to be a link for the specific video...
just click thru the videos until to find the specific video "no charges against sgt"...
my 2 cents...
i see a district attorney who is very arrogant...
who thinks he is king...
who thinks whatever he says stands...
i see a very very dangerous man...
i see a man in over his head...
who does not have the skills to execute the job properly...
but who thinks he can do whatever he wants...
sad...
terribly terribly sad...
http://www.mynews3.com/content/video/def...
Comment removed by moderator. - -
Thanks for the link, Birdie. But that clip doesn't seem to be the one that the others say refers to officers being trained to use kicking as a tactic.
I've always been a strong supporter of police and law enforcement but in light of what has been going on in the valley for a long time it seems unlikely that you can get justice when confronted by the police and you might end up severely injured or dead without proper justification. And, it won't matter to the system, the cops will fight an inquest or any proper investigation and want the whole matter rubber stamped according to their best outcome. Are we becoming a police state?
You run up to a man already restrained on the ground by several other armed officers and kick him in the head a half a dozen times and there is no evidence of intent? BS.
Thankfully I'm not a lawyer so common sense has not been suspended.
This tells me that possibly:
The DA is either afraid of the police union or in their pocket;
The citizens have as much to fear from the cops as they do the bad guys;
That willful misconduct, outright abuse and criminal acts by police will be excused and defended despite the obvious;
That if an officer approaches me I need to refuse to stop until I can get to a place with plenty of witnesses and not necessarily a police station before I stop for him or her;
That I need to arrange ahead of time for the potential need for a criminal defense attorney and find one willing to take on the system just in case, and;
That the cops are going to try and make me the bad guy even if I'm not, at least in Henderson.
And police wonder why there is a trust deficit and citizens want to be armed?
"None of the officers acted maliciously" says Wolfson.
Malice: (from one source)
1. A desire to harm others or to see others suffer; extreme ill will or spite.
2. Law: The intent, without just cause or reason, to commit a wrongful act that will result in harm to another.
Wolfson must be creating his own definition of malice, because walking up and kicking someone in the head who is not moving is the EXACT DEFINITION of "a desire to harm others or see others suffer".
Brett Seekatz, in kicking person in the head who is prostrate on the ground, had the undeniable INTENT, without just cause OR REASON, to commit a wrongful act, as the definition says. If the act was not wrongful, not have paid a settlement.
Law is politics, and in so many conservative cases, dressed up to protect the incomes of the privileged.
To take it one step further, Wolfson and his pack thugs has determined that kicking someone in the head can be done without any attempt to harm. Amazing.
The Nazi's did the same thing with their medical experiments on people, as it was argued that the Nazi doctors were just investigating scientific issues. Putting people in concentration camps was purification of the Fatherland, not malicious hate, because Jews according to Hitler, were a non-human species on Earth.
Maybe Seekatz was just carrying out an experiment to determine the correct location on the head that could be kicked without causing damage. He could then share this information at roll call the next day so that others could kick heads without malicious intent.
The titles, licenses, experiences of so many "Professionals" today are just a joke.
I really had hoped that Wolfson would be a fair DA. But I guess not. It really is a shame.
As Quality Guru Deming said:
"The rot starts at the top"
As Henry Ford said:
"The men at the top are amoung the last to know that they are actually the problem"
Punch out Wolfsen your shifts over
State sanctioned violence and murder against the people, made legal by our government. We are being asked to accept it as being moral and ethical. I say no . . . what say you?
To my fellow bloggers;
You are all doing the right thing keeping this apparent sweetheart deal alive and well. Keep in mind information, based on whether imperfect or not, is power. Rumor control has it that Sgt. Headkicker did get disciplined, possibly one or two months suspension without pay and put in an administrative job. (If) that is true the HBD just did not go far enough with the discipline and should have demoted him from Sgt. to patrolman. If this incident occurred 1.5 years ago possibly examining who released the video to the media and for what purpose, especially since the deal and settlement was pretty much finalized. That being said, don't close your eyes or divert your attention to other possible police corruption such as the revelation of the recently retired Homicide Lt., who stated "that there are other past Officer Involved Shootings that needed closer examination". That being said, that would be a certainty now to have to re-examine (All) Officer Involved Shootings that took place under his watch, including (All) homicide investigations. If you are going to clean it up, clean it all up. Just an old incorruptible cop,
Gordon Martines
CURRE.ORG
@lefty. The payment of 300K to settle the lawsuit is a suitable use of taxpayer money? I would rather spend the money on a trial, and lose than spend 300k and send the message to officers that it is ok to do whatever you want.
The settlement doesn't really have anything to do with it. Police Departments and Governments almost always settle lawsuits out of court if they can regardless of the merits. Wether the Dept. would win or lose the trials is often a moot point. The point of my comments was that a trial at this point that is highly unlikely to succeed would be a waste of tax payer money over and above what has already been payed out. Why do you think the State payed 35k to the subject? It isn't because they were liable for anything...It is because paying them was more affordable than litigating and winning in court would have been.
The real issue here is whether Wolfson was a good choice for DA.
This decision leads me to believe that the only change in the DA's office is the name on the door. It's still business as usual.
His response shows that he won't follow the laws he was hired to follow.
He still has an opportunity to redeem himself somewhat. There's a petition on Change.org requesting the DA's office not oppose the NV Supreme Court Appeal for Kirstin Lobato since she proved her innocence by way of new evidence in her Habeas Corpus petiton.
If Wolfson does the right thing and doesn't oppose, that will go a long way to restore at least some of my belief in the DA's office. The continued ligitagion by the DA's office is nothing more than a smoke screen to attempt to keep an innocent person incarcerated for a crime she didn't commit and it smacks of nothing more than the DA's office trying to cover it's mistakes at the expense of a young womans life.
You can find more information at www.justice4kirstin.com
The police are trained to kick to the head? Really? Kicking to the head is a legitimate tactic to restrain someone? Really?
I wonder what planet the guys were from that came up with that sort of training tactic? I was taught that kicking to the head was for lethality - to kill!