Gulf War vet shot by officer lived in desperation

Stanley Lavon Gibson felt the world was caving in around him.

He said as much in voice mails that he left with the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Nov. 12 and as recently as Wednesday, when he said he and his wife, Rondha, faced eviction from their Michael Way home.

His voice trembled in the Nov. 12 message when he called to rant about a politician who said there should be no homeless veterans in Nevada. Yet he thought he was about to become one.

"Mr. Rogers," he said, "I'm a desperate man. I'm very desperate."

A disoriented Gibson was fatally shot by a Las Vegas police officer early Monday morning during a confrontation at a northwest apartment complex.

In a visit to the Review-Journal, Rondha Gibson had brought in copies of his medical records from the Department of Veterans Affairs that told the story of his ups and downs with the VA.

As a veteran of the Persian Gulf War, the 43-year-old Las Vegas man had gone through five surgeries for a form of adenoid cancer that had left his jaw disfigured and had spread to a lung. He alleged his endless bouts with cancer were linked to his exposure to depleted uranium from armor-piecing rounds used by M-1 tanks.

He said the exposures occurred during Operation Desert Storm in the early 1990s, when he served with headquarters and headquarters company of the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment.

The VA records show he had been rated 100 percent disabled for cancer that was first diagnosed in 1995.

Also, he suffered from anxiety and depression and had tried to commit suicide twice this year, according to his friend, Christopher Murray, who provided the information in an Aug. 5 letter to the VA.

For unknown reasons, the VA's regional office in Reno told him in an Aug. 8 letter that his service-connected disability rating had been reduced to 80 percent, which in turn reduced his compensation.

His file contains several letters and notes from doctors stating that he had recurrent cancer and should be considered fully disabled "and have a constant guardian for his safety," according to an Aug. 9 note from Dr. Robert Sarazen, of the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System's North Las Vegas clinic.

Meanwhile, he was still taking a cocktail of medications including a painkiller, oxycodone, an anti-depressant, trazodone, and diazepam, for anxiety.

Then on Oct. 24, when he tried to find out why his cancer rating had been reduced during an appointment with Dr. Banshi Kashyap at the VA's Southwest Clinic, he became loud and boisterous and was apprehended by security officers for aggressively confronting Kashyap. He was taken into custody and later pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of assaulting a federal employee. He was scheduled for sentencing in February.

John B. Bright, director of the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System, reacted to Gibson's death late Monday telling the Review-Journal, "Any way you look at this, it's a tragedy."

"We will certainly go through his records to see what we can figure out," Bright said, adding, "We want to extend condolences to the family."

After Gibson called the Review-Journal on Wednesday, he was put in touch with a veterans advocate, Joe Tasby, a decorated Vietnam War veteran who is commander of American Legion Post 14.

Tasby talked with Stanley and Rondha Gibson about the concerns with the VA's handling of his case for a half-hour Thursday.

"I told him, 'I'm working with you. Just give me a little more time,' " Tasby said Monday, the day he had planned to start a review of Gibson's VA and military records.

Gibson's Army discharge records show he separated from the service in 1992 as a specialist, three years after he enlisted under a delayed-entry program. His decorations include the Army Good Conduct Medal, Saudi Arabia Kuwait Liberation Medal, Air Assault Badge and Army Service Ribbon. He was an M-16 rifle marksman and a hand grenade expert. He had completed a food service specialist course in 1989.

"He loved life. He loved cooking," Rondha Gibson said through sobs Monday at the apartment on North Rainbow Boulevard where they had moved on Dec. 1.

"He'd take a bullet for anybody," she said.

Contact reporter Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308.