A three-page memo written by Officer David Acosta, who was found to have committed the unjustified shooting.
"Sadly, there were many mistakes made regarding the officer involved shooting that occurred on March 10, 2000." ***
"I recognized immediately that I could have made a better effort to free my MP-5. I could have quickly dialed it to safe, or leaned forward and buried the front of my weapon into the asphalt, or even used a palm strike to try and free the barrel."***
"The investigation that followed this shooting has been long and very trying for me, but I understand that had I used better judgement in the first place it would not have been necessary. Regardless, here are some observations and suggestions that may be helpful concerning the post incident investigation."***
"NLVPD: While at the PD, all officers should have written reports regarding their role in the incident. I believe that this would help eliminate contradictions in statements and individual perception of how specific incidents within the original case transpired."
How can King County possibly claim to have conducted a adequate investigation of the shooting-- one year after the fact-- when the shooter himself acknowledges that the primary witnesses to the incident were not required to file written reports? When finally interviewed by the two representatives from King County, (if indeed any interviews were conducted at all) the witnesses relied on fading memories to reconstruct the events of that tragic evening. After a year spent discussing, debating, refining, and aligning their stories, is it any wonder that their final version of the "truth" was considered benign by King County?
"Shoot board: This is not an easy assignment for anyone, but I felt that Officer Meamber should not have been on the board. We work closely together on a squad that is very "tight" and I felt it was unfair for us to face each other in the shoot board. Also he was on the scene as a participant of the incident being investigated."
"Training: I am not making an excuse here for my actions, but can't help but wonder if the weapon retention training we receive did not have some type of sub-conscious effect on my actions. We are taught in all weapon retention portions of defensive tactics that if we are not able to immediately free our weapon, to fire into the subject. Sometimes the instruction is left as "do what you have to do". I feel we could use a specific training course for weapon retention of MP-5's, shotguns and AR-15s."***
"Memo: To this date, I have only received one memo from this department regarding this incident. That memo was from the shoot board advising me that the shooting was ruled unjustified. No memos regarding my I.A. investigation and accusations was ever generated or maybe I just haven't seen it."
This is the smoking gun… the only available proof that the shooting was deemed unjustified. North Las Vegas successfully repressed all information except for this single document, which was anonymously leaked to an intrepid Copwatch.com member. But this document raises many more questions than it answers- for example, there has been no other mention of either the mysterious "I.A. investigation" or the unspecified "accusations". North Las Vegas MUST be forced to reveal this crucial information, as well as all the facts regarding the unjustified shooting. What was the focus of the Internal Affairs investigation? What were the specific accusations, and who made them? Were the accusations accurate? We demand to know the answers to these questions. Public safety is at stake.
A one-page memo written by Officer Duane Eamon regarding the unjustified shooting .
"I AM WRITING THIS MEMO AT YOUR REQUEST TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE ISSUES OR CONCERNS I HAVE ABOUT THE INVESTIGATION OF THE OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTING."
"AFTER THE SHOOTING SCENE WAS SECURED AND THE DETECTIVES ARRIVED NO ONE WALKED ME THROUGH THE SCENE SO THAT I COULD EXPLAIN WHERE I WAS, WHAT I SAW, AND WHAT I DID."***
"WHEN I WENT IN FOR MY INTERVIEW WITH THE USE OF FORCE BOARD I NOTICED THAT OFFICER MEAMBER AND DETECTIVE BODNAR WERE SITTING ON THE BOARD. I THINK THAT THERE IS A LITTLE CONFLICT HERE BECAUSE OFFICER MEAMBER SUBSEQUENTLY RESPONDED TO THE SHOOTING AND DETECTIVE BODNAR WAS ONE OF THE ORIGINAL INVESTIGATING DETECTIVES. I BELIEVE 2 ALTERNATIVES SHOULD HAVE TAKEN THEIR PLACES."
"AS YOU ARE AWARE OF I WAS ASKED TO WRITE A POLICE REPORT ON THE INCIDENT 8 WEEKS AFTER IT OCCURRED. THIS IS WAY TO LONG TO WAIT FOR A REPORT."
As this memo again confirms, it was absolutely impossible for King County to conduct an adequate investigation of the shooting. This officer was not asked to write a police report until 8 weeks after the incident, a time-span he himself acknowledges was "way too long". If 8 weeks was way too long, then a year is WAY, WAY, WAY too long!
Help copwatch fight police brutality. Bad cops must be prosecuted. Police corruption is a major problem - copwatch will root it out. Dirty cops threaten the criminal justice system. Police misconduct is an epidemic. Police abuse innocent citizens all too often. Police harassment is a frequent occurrence. The blue wall of silence protects bad cops, and police culture must be reformed. Deviant cops must be fired. Police deviance cannot be tolerated. Last year saw a bad cop arrested for rape, a dirty cop charged with extortion, police corruption involving drug distribution, a criminal cop jailed for brutality, a disgraced police chief sentenced for domestic abuse, a convicted sheriff guilty of theft, moonlighting police disciplined for misconduct, convicted cops fired for sexual assault, a guilty cop suspended for harassment, a discredited cop charged with perjury, and a law enforcement officer suspended from duty for being on the take. Police corruption is common across the country. Such activities are a disgrace to the badge, and dishonor the uniform, so the offending cop was forced to turn in his badge. Subsequent reports revealed a state patrol officer investigated for arson, a highway patrol officer indicted for fraud, a state trooper jailed for assault, a top cop ousted for brandishing his weapon, a Police Sgt. fired for bribery, (while another Police Sergeant quit the force), a Police Lt. pressured to resign (the Lieutenant is accused of murder), child-molesting police, and a Police Commander crashed his squad car in a high speed pursuit. The police department engaged in a coverup to hide evidence of misconduct, refusing to release relevant public records and public documents, despite the open records law and the submission of a public disclosure request. Finally, Serpico breaks ranks. As the bad cops close ranks, good police put their lives on the line, while an overzealous county mounty (or mountie) is an embarrassment to the force. An ex-cop turns in his gun. Learn how to prevent police brutality. The Police Benevolent Fund manufactures support for the police department - a department under fire amid accusations of misconduct. The Police Guild negotiates a new contract for its members. The Police Union demands raise in overtime pay. Funds are increased with the seizure of drug money. Forfeiture proceedings are instituted, and the police seize the property of alleged drug dealers, including cars, homes, planes, real estate, guns, and drugs. At the same time, police raise funds for charity and participate in public service programs. Community policing resulted in ride-along programs for local citizens, and increased participation in police Explorer programs. But the broken-window, zero-tolerance program is difficult to evaluate. A gun-buyback program was successful, with cops collecting a variety of firearms, including assault rifles, handguns, Saturday night specials, automatic weapons, shotguns, tec-9, glocks, taurus, S&W, .45 caliber, .44 caliber, .357 caliber, 9mm, all military style. The guns were auctioned off or melted down. BATF agents were investigating the sale of handguns. The FBI conducted a background check, so citizens interested in the militia movement attended gun shows, where they were able to purchase handguns from vendors. Issuance of a concealed weapons permit was allowed, and this gun permit allowed the man to use his handgun for concealed carry in a shoulder holster. The national law enforcement memorial fund is a beautiful tribute to the boys in blue who have made the ultimate sacrifice. To serve and protect is their honorable motto. Duty and honor is another. The LAPD scandal tarnishes public perception of police officers. Police brutality is a major issue in minority neighborhoods. Neighborhood watch programs were quite effective in reducing crime statistics and increasing neighborhood safety. Cops shoot suspect, and then the cops shoot suspect again. The suspect is wounded, and then the suspect dies in police custody. This pattern is called custody death syndrome. Positional asphyxiation is often blamed for the death of prisoners, after the prisoners are pepper-sprayed, maced, beaten, handcuffed, and thrown in the back of a police car. Suicide by cop is another term that is becoming popular, as police seek to blame the victim and excuse their unprofessional behavior. These police cover-ups are ineffective, and police brutality is found to be the cause of death. Cops and robbers is a nice game, but when the cops kill or fatally wound a suspected robber, the circumstances are often suspicious. Many cops are drug abusers, some police are drug addicts, many officers are alcoholics. Cops on steroids often exhibit roid rage. Police brutality and racial profiling are two issues that often arise at major metropolitan police departments. Bill Sheehan created a website revealing the social security numbers, home addresses, and home telephone numbers of Kirkland Police Department (KPD) officers. SPD info was scheduled to go live on April 1st. Civil rights abuses probed. Officer convicted of drunk driving. Man killed in police raid. At the N30 demonstrations, cops without nametags beat nonviolent protestors without provocation. The direct action network, DAN for short, was created in response. During the Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday celebrations in Seattle, a roving gang of black thugs beat Kris Kime to death as he was attempting to assist an injured women, and the police stood by and did nothing. This murder is on the hands of Mayor Paul Schell, who refuses to prosecute the perpetrators for hate crimes. Some people have argued that a database of bad cops should be developed. Many authoritative academic studies examine the psychological profile of police officers. There are many deviant police officers. Some police departments foster a culture of police deviance. Where is a free punk music concert? Kids like to thrash on their skateboard. Snowboarding, or boarding, is enjoyed by straightedge skinheads. RATM is phat. The swat team, equipped with military gear, broke down the door and swarmed into the apartment with guns drawn. Dynamic entry police raids are dangerous to citizens. Police brutality is a growing problem.
