Category: Wrongful Death

Somebody has to answer for this,’ says father of inmate who was strangled

Posted by Peter Goldstein on
Jason Dickman, inset, was strangled by another inmate at the Clark County Detention Center in May 2021. His father, Richard Dickman, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

Richard Dickman remembers exactly what the assistant sheriff said during the phone call about his son’s killing in a Las Vegas jail.

“He said, ‘We failed your son, and we failed you,’” said Richard Dickman, recalling the conversation he had with Metropolitan Police Department Assistant Sheriff Andrew Walsh in the aftermath of his son’s death.

 

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Peter Goldstein A Personal Injury Lawyer

Green Valley Ranch, security guards sued over 2019 shooting death

Posted by Peter Goldstein on
A police car sits outside of Green Valley Ranch casino in Henderson, Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019.

The son of the armed man who was gunned down by two Green Valley Ranch Resort security guards on New Year’s Day 2019 has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the casino and four of its employees.

The complaint, filed last week in Clark County District Court, alleges that the guards who shot 53-year-old Shannon Howell a combined 23 times “had no lawful authority to issue commands to Howell.”

It also states that Howell “was under no legal obligation to follow the commands of (the security guards) nor did he have time to comply with any commands before he was shot.”

Howell’s son, Dalton Howell, is seeking damages for false imprisonment, assault, wrongful death and negligence. Security guards Karl Stephens, Larry Norman, Jesus Arellano and Richard Parents also are named as defendants.

A spokesman for Red Rock Resorts, which owns Green Valley Ranch, declined to comment on the lawsuit Monday, citing pending litigation.

Security called

On Jan. 1, 2019, patrons at Green Valley Ranch called security to report that Shannon Howell had been walking around with a handgun, according to the complaint.

Parents approached him at the pool and told him the area was closed and he had to leave. He “did not inform Howell that he could not have a firearm in the hotel nor did he contact law enforcement,” the complaint states.

Howell left the pool area and sat down by himself on a couch in the east tower.

Despite carrying a firearm into a casino being legal under state law and Arellano having “no knowledge that Howell had committed a crime,” the complaint states, Arellano radioed other armed guards at the casino to search for Shannon Howell.

Arellano and two other guards, Norman and Stephens, approached the elder Howell in the east tower and asked if he had a firearm. He said he did, according to the 19-page court document.

Stephens and Norman then drew their weapons on Howell and yelled “unclear commands” for several seconds, the document states.

When Howell stood up from the couch and allegedly “appeared to be reaching towards his pocket,” the complaint says, the two men then shot him 23 times. He fell backward, with a Glock 19 found lying next to him.

No charges filed

No criminal charges have been filed in the death.

Attorney Peter Goldstein said his client, Dalton Howell, is an only child who was just 18 when his father died. Goldstein said the young man hasn’t been given many answers about the death.

“He had a very close relationship with his father. It’s just devastating for him,” the attorney said. “We really want to get to the bottom of what happened here.”

Goldstein said he wants to obtain video surveillance of the shooting, which could shed more light on the case.

By   Las Vegas Review-Journal
Source: https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/las-vegas-police-report-details-injuries-to-arrested-officers-kids-2036287

North Las Vegas Police Sued Over Shooting

Posted by Peter Goldstein on

NORTH LAS VEGAS (KSNV News3LV) — We’re learning more about what led a North Las Vegas SWAT officer to shoot a driver he encountered at a crime scene on Jan. 3.

The man who was shot is opening up about what happened as he lawyers up to sue the department claiming his constitutional rights were violated.

Phillip Murry, 25, said he was driving home down Ellis Street when he noticed an armored SWAT truck on the side of the road with its lights initially off.

“I see them flash their lights for me. So I know to pull over to the side of the road and I see their lights still flashing. Once the lights go off I feel as if I’m ok to proceed to go,” Murry said. “There was no police tape, there weren’t any cones. There weren’t any police officers walking the perimeter or anything.”

Once Murry passed the truck, he saw 10-year North Las Vegas Police Department veteran Sergeant Michael Booker, 40, get out.

“I heard him yell loudly, ‘Hey,’ trying to alert me or get my attention and that’s when the gunshot went off. It wasn’t him telling me this or telling me that.” Murry said. “Before the gunshot had gone off I hadn’t even gotten a word out.”

While still in his car, Murry said he felt pain in his right foot and reacted by reaching down.

“That’s when I hear him yelling at me. ‘What are you doing? Show me your hands. What are you reaching for?’ So I put my hands in the air,” Murry said.

North Las Vegas Police investigators have yet to update the public on this shooting but said this on the day of the incident.

“We believe that the officer at one moment perceived a threat and he discharged his firearm,” said Aaron Patty, a police spokesman for NLVPD.

It’s something Murry says didn’t happen.

“I have no idea what he could have perceived as a threat. I had nothing in my car that was a threat to the officer,” Murry said.

Murry’s attorney Peter Goldstein said they’re going to file a complaint against the department early next week.

“We don’t know whether this was an inadvertent discharge or whether it was intentional,” Goldstein said.

Murry has yet to be charged with a crime.

“I don’t believe they’re going to be filing charges against Phillip. I would imagine the district attorney’s office should look at filing charges against Sergeant Booker,” Goldstein said.

News 3 reached out to the North Las Vegas Police Department Thursday to provide further details.

We were told the department is overwhelmed by the recent death of one of its officers and could not provide an update.

They expect to update the public next week.

Source: https://news3lv.com/news/local/update-man-opens-up-about-swat-officer-shooting-him