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LVPD Shocked by Murder of Officer and Its Own Inexperience

By Last Night in Little Rock, Section Crime Policy
Posted on Sat Jul 15, 2006 at 09:50:06 AM EST
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by Last Night in Little Rock

A month ago today, Justice Scalia justified cutting back on the exclusionary rule in Hudson v. Michigan using this rationale, obviously culled from the state's amici briefs (playing into Scalia's hand) with no basis in fact:

Moreover, modern police forces are staffed with professionals; it is not credible to assert that internal discipline, which can limit successful careers, will not have a deterrent effect. There is also evidence that the increasing use of various forms of citizen review can enhance police accountability.

Not necessarily so in our fastest growing metropolitan area: Las Vegas.

Today, the LA Times reports in Many Possible Triggers in Rash of Police Shootings in Las Vegas that the unusually young LVPD is coping with its first cop killing in 17 years. Not likely coincidentally,

This year, they have fired at suspects in 19 incidents, killing nine people. If that rate continues, the total police-involved shootings for the year would far surpass those in each of the previous five years, according to police data.

...

The rash of shootings has triggered an FBI investigation into one case, prompted a local review of the inquest system that has repeatedly cleared officers of wrongdoing, and caused outcry from civil rights organizations.

This is a revealing article about a police department policing its own when they are admittedly so young and inexperienced.

The average age of a LVPD officer is only 28, and the average time on the job is only 4 years. It is a product of the rapid growth and nature of the community. The article notes that the officer shooting on February 1st likely has made the younger officers a little more willing to pull the trigger on a civilian.

Sheriff Bill Young has voiced concerns about two of the shootings and said he welcomed the FBI probe.

He also cited the relative inexperience of his force. Faced with explosive population growth and the crime that accompanies it, the department -- which covers most of Clark County -- has doubled in size in 15 years. The average officer is 28, Young said.

"We're hiring from the human race," Young said. "They're young people in their 20s, and they're assigned to the graveyard shift. They're confronting more and more people with guns. So you have to ask the question: Is it the training? Is it their age? Or is it the luck of the draw?"

The killing of Sgt. Prendes hangs over the department, and some in the community are convinced that incident gave the younger officers itchy fingers.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Not when a tourist captures the aftermath of a shooting on tape, Rodney King style:

Police also shot and killed Tarance Hall, 31, whose car was blocking traffic and blaring music at a crowded intersection on the Las Vegas Strip on July 4. The incident was witnessed by dozens of tourists, some of whom said afterward that they thought it was a taping of the TV show "CSI."

...

Afterward, police dragged Hall's limp body from the car, threw him to the street and handcuffed him, a scene videotaped by a tourist and broadcast nationally shows. Hall was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly after.
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    LVPD Shocked by Murder of Officer and Its Own Inexperience | 39 comments (39 topical)
    Re: LVPD Shocked by Murder of Officer and Its Own (none / 0) (#1)
    by Deconstructionist on Sat Jul 15, 2006 at 10:40:47 AM EST
    From the article, commenting on the assertion the killing of an officer was a cause of the increase in the police shooting suspects in the line of duty: "There's no question that tragedy affected every employee," Young said. "It's hard to know how that affects people. But to suggest that as a result we've taken the attitude of 'shoot first, ask questions later,' I strongly object to that." As he phrased it, I don't doubt him. First, the "we" connotes a collective even dominant mentality. The question remains as to whether some greater number of members of the force have that mentality. Second, "attitude" connotes a consciously deliberated mindset. I doubt that is the case. I have dealt (adversely) with law enforcement for better than 2 decades and I concede a "shoot first ask questions later" attitude is rare (not non-existent but rare). An issue is whether simple fear and anxiety and the instinct for self-preservation combined with the knowledge of the cop-killing and and the relative youth and inexperience of the force is affecting split second judgments and contributing to unwarranted shootings by police officers-- or even "warranted" ones that might have been avoided.

    Re: LVPD Shocked by Murder of Officer and Its Own (none / 0) (#2)
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