Las Vegas officer testifies brother was abusive

A Las Vegas police officer testified Tuesday that his older brother had a history of being physically and verbally abusive to him and his mother before a June 2011 shooting that left the brother paralyzed.

Chris Cooney's testimony came on the fourth day of a preliminary hearing for his mother, Linda , who is charged with attempted murder in the shooting of her son, Kevin .

"I had my issues with Kevin," said Chris Cooney, who is a patrol officer based at the Convention Center Area Command.

Chris Cooney said that after he became a police officer, his brother's violent tendencies toward him ended. However, abuse of his mother continued, the officer said.

When "Kevin's temper flared ... he assigned blame to her," he said, adding he didn't understand his brother's behavior.

Linda Cooney, 64, faces charges of attempted murder, battery with use of a deadly weapon, intimidating a witness and stalking.

Kevin Cooney was shot in the neck and paralyzed in June 2011.

Authorities said the gun Linda Cooney used to shoot her son was the same one she used to kill his father 21 years ago in Florida. She was acquitted by jurors thanks in part to testimony from Kevin Cooney, who witnessed the shooting.

Kevin Cooney told medical staff his mother shot him, but he has not cooperated with authorities.

"I'd seen him be violent with strangers on the street" and at UNLV, where they were students, Chris Cooney said of his brother.

Kevin Cooney also broke furniture and punched holes in the wall of their Summerlin home, the officer said.

Chris Cooney's testimony concurs with his mother's recorded statement to police after the June 28, 2011, shooting. In the recording, she describes Kevin Cooney as mentally ill, an excessive drinker, unable to hold a job and prone to volatile outbursts. She said he dated prostitutes and drug addicts.

Linda Cooney told officers Kevin Cooney previously had threatened her and had broken items in their home. She said she didn't call police because he threatened to kill her.

She told police that, about 1 a.m. on the day of the shooting, her son had grabbed her, shoved her down and said he was going to kill her. Her scratches and bruises were photographed by police.

In the early hours of that day, Chris Cooney received four phone calls and some text messages from his mother. He testified that he recalled hearing Kevin Cooney "raging" in the background and his mother saying he was acting volatile.

Testimony and court documents show Kevin Cooney and his mother were feuding over his ex-girlfriend. Prosecutors say Linda Cooney was trying to sabotage her son's relationship by sending text messages to an employer saying the woman was "an evil whore."

Chris Cooney said he considered leaving his patrol shift and heading home after hearing his brother "raging."

"It wouldn't be the first time I had to quell Kevin's rage or talk him down," he said.

But he said his mother calmed those concerns by going downstairs to sleep on a couch. He said if he knew Kevin Cooney had touched his mother, he would have gone home.

Chris Cooney said he received a call from his mother about 8:20 a.m. that morning telling him his brother had been shot.

"It hit me like a freight train," he said.

Chris Cooney said he didn't recall exactly what his mother told him during the call, but that there was a lot of panic and screaming.

At the end of the 16-minute call, he and his mother separately called 911. Prosecutors didn't ask why they waited so long to call for help.

In a recording of his 911 call, Chris Cooney frantically reported that his mother told him she "was attacked by my older brother and that she shot him." In response to the 911 operator's questions, he is heard saying, "I don't know what is going on" and "I'm in a full panic."

Meanwhile, Linda Cooney was telling another 911 operator her son had been shot, but she didn't know what happened. That operator broadcast the incident as a suicide attempt.

Heated arguments erupted Tuesday during Chris Cooney's testimony between prosecutor Michael Staudaher and Linda Cooney's lawyer, Michael Becker. Staudaher continuously questioned the veracity of some of Chris Cooney's testimony, with Becker objecting.

Chris Cooney repeatedly said he was telling the truth to the best of his recollection. When called to testify last week, the police officer made the unusual choice to invoke his constitutional right to keep silent rather than risk self-incrimination. However, he decided to testify after consulting an attorney.

His testimony is expected to continue next week before Las Vegas Justice of the Peace William Jansen.

Linda Cooney's lawyers have said she "continues to steadfastly maintain her innocence."

After the preliminary hearing, Jansen will decide whether prosecutors have enough evidence to take the case to trial.

A grand jury had indicted Linda Cooney earlier this year, but the indictment was tossed out in August after a judge ruled prosecutors presented prejudicial evidence of a previous domestic violence incident between her and Kevin Cooney.

Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@review journal.com or 702-380-1039.