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Friday, June 28, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

NORTH LAS VEGAS POLICE: Coroner rules man's death was homicide

Inquest is planned to determine whether restraint by officers was justified

The April death of a man who struggled with North Las Vegas police has been ruled a homicide after a medical examiner concluded he died of restraint asphyxiation.

Authorities will hold a coroner's inquest to determine whether the police officers who struggled with 31-year-old Roberto Arce were justified in restraining him, Clark County Coroner Ron Flud said Thursday.

Arce, a truck driver and father of three, was restrained in a way that prevented an adequate amount of oxygen from reaching his brain, the medical examiner ruled.

The classification of Arce's death as a homicide means only that he was killed by another person, Flud said. The determination does not suggest that the officers' actions were criminal.

Arce, who died April 11, was the third person suffocated in a struggle with local authorities since January 2001. No criminal charges resulted from the other cases.

At a hearing expected to be scheduled for next month, a coroner's jury will review the actions of officers Mark Hoyt, Shanyne Skipworth, Brian Sachs, Leonard Cardinale and Mike Carmody, who struggled with Arce while taking him into custody April 8 at his home.

An internal police investigation determined no criminal act occurred, Lt. Art Redcay said. The officers were returned to duty after a psychological evaluation and all remain on active duty.

Redcay said police responded to Arce's home about 9 p.m. on a domestic violence call. "The caller said he was high on drugs and acting crazy, tearing the place apart," he said.

Police said Arce started a fight with Hoyt and Skipworth, the first two officers to arrive, but was subdued when the other officers came to the scene. He stopped breathing after he was handcuffed and was transported to a hospital, where he died three days later.

Police had been to Arce's home at least two times prior for disturbances in which Arce was behaving in a destructive manner, Redcay said. One of those incidents ended with Arce barricading himself in his home and SWAT officers extracting him, he said.

In a similar case, Las Vegas resident Craig Becker died Feb. 16 following a struggle with three Las Vegas police officers at his home. A medical examiner ruled Becker, 46, died from restraint asphyxiation and posterior neck compression, and that Becker's obesity, heart disease and "agitated delirium" were contributing factors in his death.

A coroner's jury cleared those officers of wrongdoing and determined Becker was responsible for his own death.

On Jan. 4, 2001, French national Philippe Le Menn, 33, died after a struggle with nine corrections officers at the Clark County Detention Center. A large amount of pepper spray was used in the melee.

A medical examiner ruled Le Menn's death was caused by asphyxiation, possibly from someone putting pressure on his neck. A coroner's jury later determined the officers' use of deadly force excusable.

Since 1998, at least two others have died from medical complications following struggles with police.

In March 1999, 51-year-old Loy Chick died following a struggle with Las Vegas police. A neighbor had reported the man was "going crazy," slamming doors and ripping a toilet in his apartment from the floor. Officers used pepper spray on Chick after police were unable to restrain him. The man was handcuffed and was sitting upright when he stopped breathing.

An autopsy indicated Chick died from severe arterial sclerotic cardiovascular disease. Flud said Chick was in poor health, and that his decision to fight with officers caused a heart attack.

In September 1998, 35-year-old Gloria Ann Parker died after an altercation with North Las Vegas police. Authorities used pepper spray on her, handcuffed the woman and placed her on her stomach. She then stopped breathing.

The death was caused by acute cocaine intoxication, but the coroner's office also determined that the way police positioned Parker played a role in the death.