Wolfson ‘still learning’ amid criticism over reports into police actions

Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said Friday that he accepts criticism of two decision letters into fatal police actions released last week, adding that he's learning how to release public information without jeopardizing upcoming coroner's inquests.

"I'm still learning as I go about, 'How thorough should I be?' " Wolfson said. "We're trying to do a service to this community by releasing these reports."

His office released decisions clearing officers of criminal liability in two 2010 cases: the deaths of Anthony James Brenes, 32, a man wielding a walking stick shot and killed by a Las Vegas police officer; and Eduardo Lopez-Hernandez, 21, who was shocked with a Taser up to 19 times by two Nevada Highway Patrol troopers.

While the reports released more information about the incidents than provided by police, some details were missing. In Lopez-Hernandez's report, for example, prosecutors didn't mention that he was shocked with a Taser several times, including in the neck, after troopers handcuffed him. An inquest into that case is set for next month.

Wolfson said he can't include every detail in the letters, which were eight and 12 pages long.

"They're works in progress, so I accept constructive criticism, and if they are more detailed in the future, the better for everyone," he said.

The decision letters are an effort to shed light on fatal actions by police officers and some citizens. Before those cases are ever presented to a coroner's inquest panel, prosecutors will release letters stating the facts of the case and whether they believe the officer's actions were legal.

In the past, prosecutors read the case files by police in order to make a presentation at the coroner's inquest, a quasi-judicial process where, until recently, a panel of jurors decided whether the officer's actions were justified, excusable or criminal.

The district attorney did not release their opinions on the cases.

DIFFERENCES AND OPINIONS

Few cities have processes where prosecutors release detailed opinions on fatal police actions. Wolfson's policy is based on that of prosecutors in San Francisco.

That office provides a report detailing the facts of the case, including summaries of witness interviews, followed by an explanation of the law and how it applies to the action.

A spokeswoman there provided the Review-Journal with a recent decision letter into a July 2011 case in which a Bay Area Rapid Transit officer shot a knife-wielding man. The report is full of details from the officers, numerous witnesses and video surveillance camera, which captured part of the incident.

It also includes estimates from witnesses and officers about how far away the suspect was from the officer who fired. That information was not included in Wolfson's report into the death of Anthony James Brenes, who was wielding a walking stick when he was shot by a Las Vegas police officer in November 2010.

Wolfson said the police reports given to his office did not include a distance.

The Denver district attorney's office has provided for decades perhaps the most thorough decision letters in the country. They often include photographs of the scene and diagrams, and were cited by outside experts as spurring change within the police department.

Wolfson said he is unsure whether to include photographs or diagrams in future reports. They might have been helpful in the Brenes case. It was unclear from the report what the man was wielding - witness descriptions ranged from a "stick" to a "crowbar" to a "large club."

Wolfson said Friday that investigators described it as a "finished walking stick," a machine-made device.

He noted that in Las Vegas details left out of his decision letters can be probed during coroner's inquests, which sometimes include days of testimony about the facts surrounding a fatal shooting. But for the public in San Francisco, the prosecutor's decision letter is often the final word about an incident.

Over the next few months, Wolfson expects to release decisions into 16 other fatal police actions, including the death of Stanley Gibson, the unarmed, disabled war veteran killed by Las Vegas police in December.

He said each report will go through multiple drafts and reviews by several lawyers, and he believes that the process creates a thorough result.

"I think they are objective," he said. "I think they get the job done."

Contact reporter Lawrence Mower at lmower@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440.