Coroner’s inquest into Costco shooting indefinitely postponed

By Jackie Valley

Published Tuesday, July 27, 2010 | 4:16 p.m.

Updated Tuesday, July 27, 2010 | 5:19 p.m.

A coroner's inquest in the fatal Metro Police shooting of a man at a Summerlin Costco store has been postponed, but a new date has not yet been set, according to the Clark County Coroner's Office.

The original coroner's inquest was scheduled for Sept. 3.

Coroner Mike Murphy said the Clark County District Attorney's office asked for the postponement, so the inquest has been put on hold.

"It's not a question of if it's going to be conducted, but when," Murphy said.

Clark County District Attorney David Roger said his office asked for the postponement because it needed more time for investigation — reading witness statements, identifying witnesses for the inquest and reading other reports. Plus, the original Sept. 3 date posed a problem.

Roger said it likely will take two days for all the evidence to be presented to the inquest jury, and Sept. 3 is the Friday before Labor Day — an infeasible date for a two-day inquest.

Erik Scott, 38, was killed July 10 after authorities say he pointed a gun at an officer, prompting three officers to shoot him.

Authorities said a Costco employee called 911 to report a man acting erratically in the store, damaging merchandise and carrying a pistol in his waistband. An officer approached the man, identified as Scott, then noticed the pistol and gave him verbal commands to lay on the ground, police said.

After Scott pointed the pistol at an officer, the officers fired at him, striking him multiple times, police said. He died at University Medical Center a short time later.

The officers who fired their weapons were placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation, which is standard procedure in officer-involved shootings.

A lawyer representing Scott's family has denied Metro's version of events, arguing that Scott, a West Point graduate with a concealed weapon permit, never pulled out a handgun and pointed it at police.

Police identified the three officers involved in the shooting as Officer William Mosher, 38, who has been with the department since June 2005; Officer Joshua Stark, 28, with the department since September 2008; and Officer Thomas Mendiola, 23, with the department since March 2009.