Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Metro sued in killing of suspect at Las Vegas hospital

Metro Police were not adequately trained before an officer shot and killed a suspect in custody who had pointed a stun gun at him inside a Las Vegas hospital room, a federal lawsuit filed today alleges.

The civil suit, filed on behalf of Cody Leighland O’Bryan’s estate and his mother, names the police department, the officer who fired the round and the corrections officer who left an unattended bag that carried the stun gun inside the University Medical Center room on Sept. 25, 2017.

Henderson-based attorney Andre Lagomarsino said this afternoon that the suit, which claims excessive force, civil rights violations and wrongful death, seeks monetary compensation “far more” than the $15,000 minimum listed in the complaint.

The interaction between O’Bryan, 31, and the officer who killed him began less than six hours prior to his death. O’Bryan, a man with a history of mental illness and obligated mental evaluations, called 911 on himself, saying he was armed and that police were going to shoot him or take him to jail.

Officer Thomas Rybacki showed up to the west valley area where the call originated from and found O’Bryan lying on the ground.

Rybacki made the arrest and drove O’Bryan to the Clark County Detention Center, but they wouldn’t process him in the center because he was too intoxicated, police said. O’Bryan first needed to be transported to University Medical Center.

About four hours later, Metro corrections Officer Shaun Devery dropped off a duty bag for the corrections officer who was to relieve Rybacki, according to the suit. A Taser X2, shackles and a police radio were in it.

Around that time, Rybacki realized that O’Bryan had urinated himself, and that his clothes and bedsheets had to be changed, police said.

Devery was still in the room when Rybacki released O’Bryan’s handcuff. But Devery left shortly after, sliding the bag underneath a sink before heading back to the jail, police said.

After Rybacki helped O’Bryan change into a dry hospital gown, he switched the restraint from his left ankle to his right. When Rybacki returned after leaving the room, he found O’Bryan lying on the floor, with the bag in close proximity.

The officer moved the bag into the hallway, not realizing the Taser was gone. About five minutes later, a nurse and a hospital security guard arrived to help put O’Bryan back on the bed.

Almost immediately, O’Bryan pointed the stun gun at the staff and then at the officer, who sidestepped outside the room.

Rybacki, who re-entered the room, fired a single round, police said. This was less than five seconds after O’Bryan first pointed the stun gun.

The body-worn camera footage captured the shooting, but did not capture the audio leading up to the gunshot blast, but police said the officer ordered the suspect to put the stun gun down.

An investigation determined that O’Bryan tried to discharge the stun gun, but didn’t appear to know how to operate the safe on it, police said.

A Metro official said at the time that the stun gun, which could have incapacitated the room’s occupants, was deemed a life-threatening weapon.

“We recognize that we have several areas of concern,” said Clark County Assistant Sheriff Todd Fasulo three days after the shooting, in which he announced policy changes related to duty bags and supervision of inmates.

Metro can’t comment on pending litigation, spokesman Officer Aden OcampoGomez said this afternoon.

The lawsuit claims that O’Bryan had a documented history of mental illness, but was not a danger to the people inside the room. It questions Rybacki’s resorting to deadly force when other options may have been available.

The lawsuit, in part touches up on the policy changes Metro implemented.

Before the shooting, there was no policy to deal with tactical bags at hospitals, according to the lawsuit. Additionally, the suit claims, officers were inadequately trained to recognize symptoms of mental “confusion” and “disorders” on inmates, and to resort to non-deadly weapons when dealing with a similar scenario.

O’Bryan’s mother, Deborah Chilcote, who lives in South Dakota, was very close to her son, and has been left “extremely devastated” whit his death, said Lagomarsino, the attorney.