Scott anticipates attempt to clear police in Costco slaying, trash son’s name
Bill Scott wants the Las Vegas police officers who shot and killed his son outside a Costco store to be held accountable.
But after 2½ months of waiting, he expects the coroner's inquest that starts today will be nothing more than an attempt to exonerate them and put his son on trial, he said Tuesday from a parking lot overlooking the store.
"I think we're going to hear, day after day, of attempts to trash my son's reputation and make him out to be something other than he really was," Bill Scott said .
Erik Scott, 38, was shot and killed July 10 outside the Costco store in Summerlin after employees had called police because he was carrying a gun and acting erratically, police said.
Three Las Vegas police officers confronted him as he left the store and fired when Scott pulled a handgun from his waistband, police said.
Scott, who had a concealed weapons permit, was carrying two handguns at the time of the shooting, police said.
Dozens of witnesses are expected to testify during the inquest, which could stretch into early next week.
Witnesses will include shoppers, store employees and the three officers who fired their weapons during the fatal confrontation: William Mosher, 38, Joshua Stark, 28, and Thomas Mendiola, 23.
On his blog, Bill Scott suggested his son had prescription painkillers and steroids in his system at the time of the shooting. But he said those had nothing to do with what happened in the few seconds he was shot seven times.
"They shot and killed him like he was an animal," Bill Scott said. "He was no more than a deer that the cops shot. There was no humanity at all."
Las Vegas police declined to comment, saying the evidence will be presented at the inquest.
Since Erik Scott's death, his family has waged an unprecedented public relations campaign suggesting a cover-up by Las Vegas authorities, including billboards throughout the Las Vegas Valley, a blog, media appearances and an airborne banner flying over a Southern California beach.
Recent fatal police shootings, including Scott's, have resurrected criticisms of the coroner's inquest, a fact-finding hearing held whenever someone dies at the hands of police.
The American Civil Liberties Union and other critics believe relatives of the dead should be allowed to directly question witnesses and examine evidence before the hearing, as is commonly done during inquests in King County, Wash. Those changes were rejected in 2007 when the Clark County Commission tweaked the inquest process after a review by a committee that included community groups, police and government officials.
In the near future, the ACLU plans to submit a proposal to the commission to revisit the inquest process and implement those changes.
At his news conference, Bill Scott remained skeptical that the inquest would get to the truth in his son's death.
"Remember, this is nothing but theater," he said. "This is reality TV, and the sole purpose of this is not fact finding. It is to exonerate three cops who killed my son."
Contact reporter Brian Haynes at bhaynes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0281.
WATCH ONLINE
Begins at 10 a.m.
Live coverage of coroner's inquest - Channel 4
Press conference by family of Erik Scott
THE SCOTT INQUEST
• The inquest into the death of Erik Scott, killed July 10 outside a Summerlin Costco store, starts at 10 a.m. today in courtroom 16D at the Regional Justice Center, 200 Lewis Ave., in downtown Las Vegas. Justice of the Peace Tony Abbatangelo will preside.
• The coroner's office has scheduled five days for the inquest.
• Limited seating in the courtroom is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Spectators can watch a video feed in courtroom 1B.
• The inquest will be broadcast live by Clark County's cable channel 4. KSNV-TV and KLAS-TV will show the inquest on Cox Communications digital channels 123 and 128, respectively, and on their websites, www.mynews3.com and www.8newsnow.com.
• The Las Vegas Review-Journal will post regular updates at www.lvrj.com.
THE INQUEST PROCESS AT A GLANCE
• A Clark County coroner's inquest is held any time someone dies at the hands of police officers. The Clark County Code defines it as a fact-finding process where a jury hears testimony from the officer, the medical examiner, police investigators and witnesses. Witnesses can be subpoenaed to appear, and all testimony is under oath.
• The inquest is held in a courtroom open to the public, which makes it unusual. In most jurisdictions, shootings involving officers are reviewed only by secret grand juries or within a district attorney's office, with no public airing of the facts.
• A representative from the Clark County district attorney's office questions witnesses and a judge presides over the process, but the inquest is not a court proceeding or a trial.
• The family or representatives of the deceased may submit written questions to the judge, who decides whether to ask them to witnesses. Neither family members nor their attorney can directly question the witnesses.
• Seven jurors selected randomly from the county court's regular jury pool hear the evidence.
• Jurors must select one of three findings: justified, excusable or criminal.
• Unlike a criminal trial, the jury vote need not be unanimous. The determination is based on a majority vote and has no force of law.
• The Nevada attorney general's office, through an agreement with the district attorney's office, determines whether an officer will face charges, regardless of the jury vote.
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
