Injured judge talking to police; still unclear if he was attacked

By Conor Shine

Monday, Dec. 30, 2013 | 4:01 p.m.

Judge Eric Goodman is improving after he was found unconscious earlier this month at a Summerlin park suffering head injuries and is now talking with detectives, Metro Police said today.

But it’s still unclear whether Goodman, son of Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, was attacked at the park bathroom where he was found or if his injuries were the result of an accident, police said.

“I want to make it very, very clear that we have not ruled it an attack and we have not ruled it out,” Metro Deputy Chief Al Salinas said.

Goodman was found about 2:30 p.m. Dec. 15 at South Tower Park, more than three hours after he left his house on a jog, authorities said.

Goodman’s father, former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, said a trauma surgeon at University Medical Center told the family that two head injuries Goodman suffered pointed toward some sort of assault.

Salinas said police access to Eric Goodman initially was limited because he was under medical care. “We didn’t have an opportunity to discuss in detail what happened,” Salinas said.

Now that Goodman is improving, detectives have been speaking with him more — including as recently as today — to piece together what happened, Salinas said.

Salinas, however, released few additional details, saying the investigation is ongoing and information is “very limited.”

Although there were people in the park about the time Goodman was found unconscious, no witnesses have come forward, Salinas said. He declined to say who found Goodman at the park.

None of Goodman’s personal items, such as his phone or wallet, were missing, Salinas said.

There have been no reports of violent activity in or around the park within the last several months, he said.