Judge declares mistrial in excessive force case against Las Vegas police

A federal judge declared a mistrial Thursday in the excessive force case against five Las Vegas police officers after testimony about a plaintiff’s slain pet reduced several jurors to tears.

The pet, a pit bull named Hazel, was shot in the face by an officer during a chaotic 2009 incident in which police mistook Henry Rodriguez, Jordhy Leal and David Madueno for potential burglars of the house where Rodriguez lived with his family.

Rodriguez, Leal, Madueno and Rodriguez’s father, Jesus Sandoval — all of whom were handcuffed that day — sued the Metropolitan Police Department in 2010, seeking $5 million in damages.

Prior to the civil trial, which opened Tuesday in Las Vegas, lawyers for the Police Department had asked U.S. District Judge Robert Jones to prohibit any mention of the shooting of the dog, claiming it was irrelevant to the case. On Thursday, Jones granted the department’s request for a mistrial.

“The judge felt that he had let in too much evidence and testimony regarding the blood and things of that nature from the dog,” said attorney Brent Bryson, who represents the plaintiffs. “He didn’t think the jury could separate out that type of testimony.”

The case hinges on whether police infringed upon the plaintiffs’ Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches when they entered the residence at 31 Onyx Way following a phone call from a neighbor about a potential burglary in the area.

On Wednesday, several of the jurors broke down and cried during testimony from Rodriguez about Hazel. Bryson, in his opening statement, had described to the jury how Rodriguez, in the animal’s final moments, wrapped his shirt around the dog’s bloody head and cradled him in his arms.

Attorneys for the Police Department asked for a mistrial after hearing Rodriguez’s testimony and seeing the jury’s response. The judge on Thursday announced that he agreed he allowed too much testimony about the dog and said he felt jurors were too emotionally charged by the animal’s death to decide the case fairly and impartially, Bryson said.

“My clients were obviously disappointed because they felt very strongly that they were going to prevail in this case, given the testimony that had come out at trial,” Bryson said. “I understand the judge’s decision, and we’ll just now have to do it again.”

A new trial date has been set for March 14. The mistrial delays completion of a nearly seven-year legal process that reached the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The federal appeals court sent the case back to the lower court for a jury to decide whether police were responding to a “prowler call” or investigating a burglary — the latter of which would legally justify their decision to enter the property without obtaining a warrant.

The five Las Vegas police officers named in the lawsuit are Sgt. Jay Roberts and officers Michael Dunn, Christopher Kohntopp, Justin Byers and Troy Givens.

Contact Jenny Wilson at jenwilson@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710. Follow @jennydwilson on Twitter.