Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said he is still waiting for a police review of the shooting in which Brandon Durham was killed by an officer after calling police to report that someone was breaking into his home and cannot yet make a decision on whether to prosecute the officer.
Durham was one of nine people killed by Metro officers last year. His family and their attorney have demanded the arrest of officer Alexander Bookman. Wolfson said he plans to meet with them again in the near future after having met in November.
David Roger, counsel for the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, the union representing Bookman, said, “Officer Bookman was doing his job and did not have criminal intent when he shot to eliminate a threat.”
Over the last 35 years, multiple Metro shootings have sparked public outcry. The U.S. Department of Justice reviewed Metro’s use of force after a series of 2011 shootings and recommended changes that helped shape Metro’s current procedures.
Despite a history of controversy over police shootings, prosecutions of officers in fatal shootings have been rare and unsuccessful, according to experts.
Attorneys who have been involved in these cases, including Wolfson, said in interviews that they could not think of any case in recent history when a Las Vegas area police officer was convicted in connection with an on-duty killing, though there have been failed prosecution attempts.
In one case, officers received prison time in connection with an off-duty shooting. In another, Raynaldo John Ruiz Ramos, a High Desert State Prison correctional officer trainee charged in an inmate’s shooting death, was sentenced to 30 days in jail with credit for time served.
Experts say it’s more difficult to prosecute police officers than civilians and some believe that most Las Vegas area police shootings have been justifiable. Critics suggest local prosecutors and police have a relationship that’s too close and argue officers should be treated like everyone else suspected of a crime.
‘Exceedingly rare’
“When it comes to police killings or excessive use of force, it’s very rare, exceedingly rare, to see the Clark County district attorney’s office prosecute officers involved,” said Athar Haseebullah, director of the ACLU of Nevada.
Police officers and district attorney’s offices have a relationship that can become a conflict of interest, because prosecutors use officers as their primary witnesses, he said.
Wolfson disagreed.
“We’re prosecuting 10 to 15 police officers at any given time,” he said. “I’m not afraid to file a charge against a police officer, but the facts have to meet the elements of the crime.”
In most cases, an officer is prosecuted for off-the-job conduct, he said.
‘You have to show some criminal intent’
Charles Bush, 39, was choked to death after three Metro officers entered his apartment without a warrant in 1990.
Bush was Black. The officers were white.
“The Black community, rightfully so, was outraged,” said Roger, who previously served as Clark County district attorney.
At a coroner’s inquest, a jury ruled that his death was “justifiable.” The district attorney at the time, Rex Bell, said he would not charge the officers, Gerald Amerson, Thomas Chasey and Michael Campbell.
In an unusual move, the Nevada attorney general’s office attempted to prosecute the officers on involuntary manslaughter and oppression under the color of office charges. The case ended in a mistrial.
Wolfson, who represented Amerson in the case, recalled that the jury deadlocked 11-1 for acquittal and prosecutors decided not to retry it.
Amerson and Chasey have died. Campbell could not be reached for comment.
Such cases come with challenges, experts say.
“While a critical incident may look bad, in order to get a criminal prosecution, you have to show some criminal intent, some improper motive,” Roger said. “And these officers are doing their jobs.”
David Rudovsky, a Philadelphia-based civil rights attorney, has litigated cases involving police for over five decades.
“Unless it’s overwhelming that what they did was unjustified — and not a close call because of claims of self-defense or trying to aid somebody else — it is challenging to get verdicts against the officer, and so prosecutors hesitate,” he said. “They could spend a lot of time and energy and not be successful.”
‘Vast majority are justifiable’
Wolfson said officers are forced to make split-second decisions. And juries want to believe an officer acted legally.
“The vast, vast, vast majority are justifiable shootings,” he said. “You point a gun at a police officer. That gives the police officer a right to defend himself and others. You charge a police officer with a knife after being told repeatedly: ‘Drop the knife, drop the knife, drop the knife.’ ”
Assistant Sheriff Fred Haas said there have been instances in which authorities found a police shooting was not justified, but could not think of any cases when an officer wasn’t prosecuted or convicted when he thought they should have been.
Frank Coumou, a former Clark County prosecutor who reviewed use of force cases, attributes the lack of prosecutions to the training police receive.
“I can’t think of really any time where there was an officer-involved shooting that we’ve really questioned,” he said.
Clark County isn’t the only place where police are rarely prosecuted on murder or manslaughter charges in connection with shootings.
According to data from Philip Matthew Stinson, a criminal justice professor at Bowling Green State University who has tracked these cases, throughout the United States, 205 police officers have been arrested on suspicion of murder or manslaughter because of an on-duty shooting since 2005; 66 were convicted of a crime.
Off-duty shooting
In December 1996, Metro officers Christopher Brady and Ron Mortensen celebrated Mortensen’s birthday and drank heavily, according to prior Las Vegas Review-Journal coverage.
They drove to McKellar Circle, located in a Hispanic neighborhood near Paradise and Flamingo roads, and, Brady alleged, Mortensen shot a gun from the pickup they were in, killing Daniel Mendoza, 21. Mortensen claimed it was Brady who committed the shooting.
Mortensen was convicted of murder at trial and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Brady admitted to violating the civil rights of Hispanics and was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Brady could not be reached for comment. Mortensen said in a phone interview that he is an “innocent person.” He believes being an officer worked against him because police are held to a high standard.
The case differed from other police shootings because the officers were not working in an official capacity at the time.
“This was not some on-duty incident,” said Frank Cremen, who represented Mortensen at trial. “This was a drive-by shooting.”
Does the process work?
Metro officer Jesus Arevalo fatally shot Stanley Gibson, a Gulf War veteran who had post-traumatic stress disorder, wasn’t taking his medication and was acting erratically, after police responded to a report of a prowler in December 2011 and found Gibson in his car.
According to Haas, Arevalo’s case changed Metro’s attitude toward investigating police shootings, ensuring officers know which tactics to use in a situation and reviewing the way leadership made decisions. The department has become more transparent since then, he said.
“I remember that (case) being very public and very personal and very hurtful to everybody that was involved,” he said.
Arevalo, who could not be reached for comment, was fired. Wolfson took the case to a grand jury, which declined to indict Arevalo.
“I would assume that they didn’t indict because they recognized that while this was a major screwup, a tragic killing, there wasn’t criminal intent,” Roger said.
Andre Lagomarsino, an attorney who represented Gibson’s mother, said, “I think police officers should be treated just like every other citizen and if they commit a crime, they should be subject to prosecution.”
Haseebullah of the ACLU thinks police shootings should be investigated by an independent body.
“Nothing ever seems to get done when the police kill someone,” Haseebullah said. “They oftentimes will just engage in a financial settlement and walk away as if nothing happened.”
Rudy Gibson, Gibson’s brother, was not satisfied by the legal process after his brother’s death.
The family received a $2 million settlement and “we didn’t get any answers,” he said.
He thinks Bookman should be prosecuted for Durham’s death, but doubts it will happen.
“They’ll cover it all up,” he said. “They always do.”
Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X. Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com
