Monday, Nov. 5, 2007 | 7:16 a.m.
Clark County's controversial coroner's inquest process is likely to be revamped under one of two competing proposals to be introduced at Tuesday's county commission meeting.
The proposals are essentially the same, with the exception of one key issue: Who gets to ask questions after police kill a suspect, and how?
Under the current procedure, family members of the deceased must write follow-up questions during the inquest and submit them to a hearing officer, who decides whether the questions should be asked of witnesses.
Police want the existing process to remain basically the same. But others, such as the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, want attorneys representing the family members to be able to question witnesses verbally. The hearing officer would then tell the witness whether he should answer the question.
That sticking point has stalled reform efforts for more than a year.
A majority of county commissioners have indicated they support the police-backed proposal over the ACLU version, but Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani asked that both versions be introduced Tuesday.
Because a new law must be introduced two weeks before a vote is taken, commissioners are not likely to select a reform package until Nov. 20.
Both versions agree on several points. Justices of the peace, rather than hearing officers appointed by a judge, would preside over the proceedings. And instead of district attorneys, who critics say work too closely with police, prosecutors with the state attorney general's office would be allowed to present evidence and question witnesses during the proceeding.
As for how questions are asked, the police-backed version would make a slight change to the existing process by requiring unasked questions to be read outside the presence of the jury.
In light of the controversy, the Sun has reviewed the questions that were never asked during several recent inquests.
The review makes one thing clear: The current process can leave family members extremely frustrated.
For example, in one inquest, hearing officer James Ordowski shuffled through pages of questions from the family of David Collopy, who was shot to death by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Ranger James Coates in February. On the stand was Dr. Piotr Kubiczek, a medical examiner with the Clark County Coroner's Office, who had just read a question from Collopy's mother about the movement of a gun Collopy allegedly was holding when Coates shot him.
"This is the same, it's asking about movement of the weapon. I can't ask that one. OK. Let's see, and again, this is the question again for the jury regarding the weight of the evidence. Again, that's for the weight of the evidence by the jury. I can't ask that question. This question I'm going to hold for the next witness. Asks about directions. Same with this question. Same with this question. OK. We asked that question. I think this is for the next witness. Again, that was for the next witness. Again, this is for the next witness. We asked that question of the officer. Again, this is a statement of attempted fact. It's for the jury to determine. I'm not going to ask that question."
Ordowski may have been correct on each of those calls, but it's easy to see why such a process can leave family members upset.
Later in the hearing, a Metro homicide detective who analyzed the scene was on the stand. The detective said an FBI investigator also was present at the scene. The family submitted this question: "Do you know of the FBI's findings?"
The question was never asked.
In fact, according to a tally by the coroner's office, 32 of the family's 71 questions were not asked. The jury in that case decided the shooting was justified.
Similarly, during the inquest into the death of Kyone Johnson, many of his mother's questions were not asked.
On July 2 police received information from a confidential informant that drugs were being sold out of an apartment on Cheyenne Avenue near Lamb Boulevard. They also were told the occupants had weapons.
Metro's SWAT team stormed into the apartment and, almost immediately, officer Patrick Ledbetter said he saw the muzzle of a gun pointed at him from the kitchen. He fired four shots, killing Johnson and wounding his brother, Rayvon Wilkerson.
Initially, Metro told the media that Johnson had pointed the gun at officers. The police initially did not mention Wilkerson, because, a police captain said, he didn't know the extent of his injuries and because it was unclear whether the injuries were from an officer's bullets.
At the inquest, however, there was testimony that DNA evidence showed Wilkerson had handled the gun. Johnson's DNA was not found on the gun.
Ledbetter and others testified that Johnson was crouching behind Wilkerson in the kitchen and was likely killed by a bullet that had passed through his brother's body.
The mother of Johnson and Wilkerson submitted five questions regarding Metro's evolving story. In one, she asked: "Nine days later you said Kyone and Rayvon (were) standing close together, so you don't know who actually had the gun? Why did your story change three times?"
She also asked: "Why didn't they mention my son Rayvon being in the apartment or even being shot?" Ordowski, who again was the hearing officer in that case, read that question aloud, then said, "I honestly don't know what that refers to from the testimony of this officer. I might hold this and it might come up."
It never did.
Later, Ordowski asked Ledbetter, "Do you know who pointed the weapon at you?" Ledbetter replied: "I cannot identify that person by a photo line-up, no sir."
Overall, 11 of 32 requested questions were not asked during the Johnson inquest, according to coroner's records.
Another common occurrence during inquests is that the hearing officer will ask a question from the victim's family, but change the wording. Although the hearing officer might be trying to make the question clearer, to family members already suspicious of the system, it can be seen as further evidence of bias.
Justin Brimmer was shot 16 times by Metro police in February. While fleeing police, he went to his girlfriend's home and locked himself in her bedroom. After the girlfriend's family allowed police to enter the residence, she exited through a bathroom connected to the bedroom. As Metro officer Ricardo Lara entered, he was shot seven times before disabling Brimmer.
Officer Stephen Shumaker entered the room shortly after the shootout. He said during the April inquest that he saw a gun near Brimmer, so he kicked him in the side to distract him. Shumaker also said Brimmer resisted as officers tried to handcuff him, so he punched him.
With Shumaker on the stand, Brimmer's father submitted a question: "(Officer Dale) Jones said (Brimmer) was gasping for breath and that he was going to die, so why treat his lifeless body in a way that he was going to get up and shoot again? Was there a possibility he could recoup?"
When hearing officer Frank Cremen asked the question, it came out like this: "When you saw him, did you think he was going to die?" Shumaker said he thought Brimmer would survive.
After the inquest, Brimmer's sister remained skeptical about the circumstances of her brother's death.
"I just don't understand why they would shoot Justin," she told a reporter. "I don't see him firing the first shot at all."
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