Is it true that in over 200 cases the “Corners Inquest” in Las Vegas has never, not once found a shooting to be unjustified?
And is it true the Metro Officers are saying they would no longer take part in the inquest system if the rules are changed?
According to http://www.fox5vegas.com/news/25689840/detail.html
Thats exactly what they are saying... kinda strange...
Seems to me they know they have a good thing here, an inquest system that has never found, not one shooting unjustified. Folks want to change the process so the cops are balking because their little kangaroo court racket protection scheme is about to come tumbling down.
The District Attorney to take a reduced role in the process because of the close relationship between the DA and Metro.
One attorney that represents the public and the deceased, while another would represent the officers.
And there would also now be cross-examination of witnesses and officers by both of those attorneys.
Seems fairly innocuous to me, wonder why the cops are all howling and objecting to any changes?
But, OK. Even though it doesn't, let's look at it.
I don't know if 200 cases have been reviewed and found justified or not. I don't know if any of those cases were followed up by a civil trial. I don't know if there were civil rights violations alleged to the Justice Department. I don't know the particulars of any of them. The closest I got was a newspaper article indicating that the 200 number started in 1976 and only one was found to be criminally negligent. I have no idea if that is out of line with other large metropolitan areas. I don't know how they handle police shooting reviews.
Next, your hatred is peeking out a bit. “cops are balking because their little kangaroo court racket protection scheme is about to come tumbling down.”
Oh, yea, it's me that is discrediting the messenger.
The problem I would see as an officer is that mandatory participation without representation is giving away your rights without any legal protection. There is nothing innocuous about that. I doubt you would talk to the cops or appear in court without an attorney yet those are the rights you would take away from the officer. Why would they want to do that? You wouldn't.
Now a quick glance at the Coroner's office site shows they performed 1,412 in 2007, their latest updated stats. The coroner, P. Michael Murphy, doesn't seem to be a medical examiner, but an administrator. There are forensic scientists that do the actual autopsies. Interesting. How has that office evolved in the past thirty four years?
If Nevada wants to change their system, well they should go ahead and do it. The police and sheriff will just have to adjust. It is the legislature that sets the rules. Once the state does it, Clark County will have to go along. It appears they are considering changing it anyway at their level. How do they compare with other counties? I don't know.
But hey, thanks for that trip to nowhere. It was interesting. I now know more about Nevada than I did before.