Sheriff must now provide answers in Gibson death

It came as no great surprise when a Clark County grand jury decided last week not to indict Las Vegas police officer Jesus Arevalo in the controversial 2011 fatal shooting of disabled veteran Stanley Gibson.

Grand juries weigh criminal charges, and while Mr. Arevalo did pull the trigger, no one believes he went to the scene with any criminal intent to kill anyone.

But that's not to say this wasn't a wrongful death - the kind of death at the hands of the Metropolitan Police Department after an unnecessary escalation into violence that residents have seen far too much of.

Mr. Gibson, a 43-year-old disabled Gulf War veteran, was apparently lost and confused on that early morning of Dec. 12, 2011, parked in the parking lot of the wrong northwest valley apartment complex. Neighbors had called police because they considered his presence suspicious. And yes, he refused to get out of his car. That's hardly a capital offense, but this minor defiance led to an ongoing escalation by police, even after his vehicle was boxed in by police cars and going nowhere.

Mr. Gibson was threatening no one. It's reported that officers specially trained in negotiations and in special weapons and tactics were still en route when officers in charge at the scene hatched a plan to remove him from the car: One officer would shoot out a window with a shotgun loaded with a "beanbag" round, another would then douse the interior with pepper spray.

But when the shotgun was fired, Mr. Arevalo fired an AR-15 rifle seven times into the vehicle, killing Mr. Gibson, who was unarmed.

If there is to be no adversarial trial where all the details can be examined - and given that the county's previous coroner's inquest proceedings remain suspended or in transition - it now falls to Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie to explain to the public what went wrong, who will be disciplined (and how severely) for any straying from department policy, and what changes will be made to prevent recurrences.

What was the rush? Why escalate to the use of firearms? Why did Mr. Arevalo deploy the military-style AR-15 in the first place, and why did he still have his weapon shouldered with a round chambered, pointed into the car, when the shotgun was fired? It's human nature to flinch when hearing a loud noise, especially if the adrenaline is already pumping. Why were officers not advised to engage their safeties and point their firearms in a safe direction? Why play "Beat the Clock"?

Stanley Gibson's brother, Rudy Gibson, wrote in an email upon hearing the grand jury's decision, "It's OK to continue to execute people in this town as long as you wear a badge. It's OK to repeatedly break the rules, if you wear a badge. It's OK to break laws, if you wear a badge. It's OK to destroy families and lives."

The emotion is understandable. But underneath that, large segments of the community continue to ask similar questions.

Ironically, an email sent out by the Las Vegas Police Protective Association to its nearly 3,000 members Wednesday, stating "Officer Jesus Arevalo wants to express his gratitude to his fellow officers and supervisors who supported him during this very stressful year," was signed by David Roger, the longtime former district attorney who never charged a local cop in a fatal shooting, and who now serves as an attorney for the police union.

Can residents be blamed if they suspect the existence of a good old boys network?

Attorney Cal Potter, who earlier this month filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against the Metropolitan Police Department on behalf of Mr. Gibson's widow, Rondha Gibson, called the decision to go to the grand jury a public relations move by current District Attorney Steve Wolfson, relieving Mr. Wolfson of the burden of making a politically unpopular decision to prosecute or otherwise.

"The community should be up in arms about the entire proceeding," Mr. Potter said.

Named in the lawsuit were Mr. Arevalo, Sgt. Michael Hnatuick, Lt. David Dockendorf and officer Malik Grego-Smith, who were on the scene of the shooting. Sheriff Gillespie was also named.

Mr. Gibson's mother filed a separate lawsuit earlier this year.

Once again, it's likely the taxpayers will pay millions. They probably wouldn't mind footing that bill if they believed the culture at the Metropolitan Police Department had somehow now changed, so that no officer encountering a confused and distraught unarmed man sitting quietly in his own car in the wrong parking lot would ever again be likely to end up shooting him to death - whether with "criminal intent" or not.