CORONER'S INQUEST:
Shoppers: Scott reached for something before being shot by police
A husband and wife testified Friday that they saw Erik Scott reach for something with his right arm before Las Vegas police fatally shot him July 10 outside the Costco store in Summerlin.
Annette Eatherton, who had been shopping with her husband before the store was evacuated, said she then heard an officer tell Scott, "Don't do that. Don't do that."
"And he did it, and they shot him," the woman testified during a coroner's inquest.
She said a gun then fell to the ground in front of Scott.
She and her husband, Wentworth, both said they heard police order Scott to get on the ground before he moved his right arm.
"I really think he was just exasperated with the whole thing and wanted to hand them the gun," Wentworth Eatherton said.
He said that is when Scott made his fatal mistake.
The witness said those with concealed weapons permits are taught to let police disarm them before presenting the permit.
"You do what they tell you," said Wentworth Eatherton, who explained that he has had a concealed weapons permit in the past.
Several Costco employees testified Friday that Scott was acting unusual during his time in the store that day.
Linda Bem, a service assistant in the membership department, said Scott and a woman came to her to sign up for a membership. Only members are allowed to shop at the warehouse store.
The employee said Scott seemed confused by her instructions and kept staring at the application form. She also noticed his knuckles were bleeding.
"I sensed something was terribly wrong," Bem told jurors.
Scott tried to fill out the form but his writing was illegible and he wrote information in the wrong spaces, she said.
Bem said he then asked his female companion, identified as Scott's girlfriend, Samantha Sterner, to help him fill out the form.
"Quite frankly, I was worried about him," Bem said.
Floor supervisor Jerome Dwight "J.D." Arcano said he later noticed Scott in a store aisle, where he was stuffing stainless-steel bottles into insulated lunch bags. Arcano asked loss-prevention supervisor Shai Lierley to keep an eye on him.
Scott appeared to be under the influence of something, Arcano testified.
Javier Torres, a manager at the store, said he saw Scott on his hands and knees in an aisle, where he was opening packages and stuffing merchandise into a backpack.
Scott then approached Torres and asked him a question about the merchandise, the manager said, and seemed irritated with the answer.
"He wasn't acting normal," Torres testified. "I personally thought he was on something.''
Jurors also heard a recording of an interview Sterner had with detectives on the afternoon of the shooting. Authorities said they tried to subpoena Sterner for the inquest, but could not find her. In the recording, Sterner spoke without emotion as she told Las Vegas police detectives that Scott was acting normal before the shooting and was surprised that Costco employees had called the police and were evacuating the store after seeing one of the two guns he legally carried.
Sterner said Scott was trying to disarm when the officer fired at him without hesitation.
"He was trying to put his weapon on the ground," Sterner told police.
The woman said she pleaded with the officer, whom she described as bald, not to shoot Scott.
"He carries a gun everywhere he goes," Sterner said. "This has never happened before."
Sterner said the officer who fired first at Scott "was too aggressive" and would have shot Scott even if he had complied with all directions.
"I just think that this officer was out of line," she told police.
Sterner, who described herself as a self-employed model and TV host, said she had known Scott for about three years. Responding to a detective's question, she told detectives that Scott was taking a blood pressure medication, then added that he also had taken a pain pill for injuries from a recent car accident.
Officer William Mosher, whose head is closely shaved, testified Thursday that he was the first officer to fire at Scott. Mosher completed his testimony Friday morning.
On Thursday, he said he did not think he could have done anything differently that afternoon. When asked on Friday whether he felt remorse, he replied, "Remorse? Absolutely."
Mosher was one of three Las Vegas police officers who shot Scott, a 38-year-old medical device salesman, as he left the store.
Lierley, a Costco supervisor, testified that he called 911 because Scott was behaving strangely and refused to leave after being told that guns were not allowed.
As the store was being evacuated, Mosher and the other officers waited outside for Scott and his girlfriend to come out. Mosher said he told Scott to turn around, and when he did Mosher saw the gun in his waistband.
"Show your hands. Get down on the ground. Get down on the ground," Mosher said he yelled at Scott, who seemed "a little out of it, like he's under the influence, possibly of narcotics."
"He says, quote-unquote, 'I have a gun,' " the officer testified.
Mosher said Scott pulled the gun from his waistband, raised it and pointed it toward him. Mosher fired twice "in quick succession," he said.
Scott stepped back but remained standing, prompting officers Joshua Stark and Thomas Mendiola to fire five more shots into Scott. He was struck a total of seven times and died shortly after.
Jurors on Thursday listened to a recording of the 911 call made by Lierley, in which police can be heard yelling commands. A transcript reads, "Put your hands where I can see them now. Drop it. Get on the ground. Get on the ground" before the sound of gunfire and screams.
Sterner was hysterical before and after the shooting, Mosher testified.
"She said, quote-unquote, 'He's in the Army. He just got back from Iraq. He's a Green Beret, and you just killed him,' " said Mosher, who faced an inquest in 2006 after he shot and killed a home-invasion suspect. A jury found his actions justified.
Scott graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1994 and served two years in the Army before being honorably discharged. He was never in Special Forces or Iraq.
Earlier Thursday, inquest jurors heard testimony from Lierley, who said he noticed Scott opening packages and mumbling to himself in the camping aisle. Though asked to stop, Scott continued trying to stuff water bottles into bags, even though they wouldn't fit. When told he could not have a gun in the store, Scott reacted in anger, Lierley said.
"Next thing you know, Mr. Scott ... gets up and says, 'I'm a Green Beret. You need to check the (expletive) Constitution.' And it was just real quick, real snapped. And at that point, it made me step back because he had a firearm," Lierley said.
While leaving the store, Scott appeared to be having trouble walking, and Sterner appeared to be helping him walk straight, Lierley said.
As they reached the exit, Lierley pointed Scott out to police. He said he watched as Scott pulled the gun from his waistband and raised it toward an officer, and distinctly heard someone order Scott to "drop the firearm."
He can be heard on the 911 tape telling the dispatcher, "He pulled a firearm" after the sounds of gunfire. Police recovered Scott's .45-caliber handgun, in its holster, from the ground near where he fell. Scott was carrying two guns that day, police have said.
Lierly's account matched that of another Costco worker, Colleen Kullberg, who testified Wednesday.
The medical examiner who autopsied Scott said Wednesday that the man had near-fatal levels of the painkiller morphine and the anti-anxiety drug Xanax in his system when he died. A pain management doctor who treated Scott testified that he thought the man was addicted to the narcotic painkiller hydrocodone.
Jurors also have heard a detailed explanation of a computer hard drive disc failure that prevented a security camera at the store entrance from recording the shooting. The problem started two days before the shooting, and affected 17 of the store's cameras. The manufacturer of the system was able to recover some images from the disc, but nothing for two days before the shooting or five hours after it, when the system was rebooted.
The inquest is scheduled to continue through Saturday and resume Tuesday after a two-day break. About 50 witnesses are expected to testify before the seven-member jury is asked to rule whether the shooting was justifiable, excusable or criminal.
Talking to reporters Thursday evening, Scott family attorney Ross Goodman said he had a list of 20 to 25 eyewitnesses who said they never saw Scott with a gun.
However, he said he would not allow them to testify at the inquest and be "browbeat" by prosecutors with no opportunity for him to cross-examine them.
CARRI GEER THEVENOT and BRIAN HAYNES
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Friday, September 24, 2010
from MEDIA MATTERS conservative hypocrisy
This week again proved that consistency isn't prized among the conservative media.
Earlier this week, Fox News and Rush Limbaugh criticized President Obama for supposedly being responsible for huge deficits. However, both recently attempted to defend former President Bush's for not paying for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars or his tax cuts - two things which, of course, greatly increased yearly deficits.
Fox News personalities have also repeatedly attacked President Obama for purportedly not sending as many troops to Afghanistan as the military requested. The crew of Fox & Friends called it "unbelievable" and "wrong" that Obama didn't listen to "the military experts." However, President Bush dismissed Gen. Eric Shinseki's recommendation that "several hundred thousand troops" would be needed in Iraq and Fox virtually ignored the story. When Fox News eventually covered the story, a contributor suggested that critics "shut up and let daddy drive."
Right-wing media like Fox & Friends and conservative blogs also attacked President Obama's reported comments that the United States can "absorb a terrorist attack" and that the country "absorbed [9-11] and we are stronger." Conservatives used the reported remarks to suggest that Obama was "inviting another 9/11" and that he "doesn't care about Americans dying." Yet when conservatives - including President Bush - made similar statements, the right offered not so much as a murmur of complaint.
Finally, on Wednesday, Glenn Beck -- a noted hypocrite -- promoted Eustace Mullins' book Secrets of the Federal Reserve. Mullins, who died earlier this year, was a 9-11 Truther and was described in his obituary as an "anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist" and a "nationally known white supremacist." Beck, however, heavily criticized former White House green jobs adviser Van Jones for purportedly being a 9-11 Truther.
Stay tuned next week for the same consistent inconsistency.
This weekly wrap-up was compiled by Eric Hananoki
Earlier this week, Fox News and Rush Limbaugh criticized President Obama for supposedly being responsible for huge deficits. However, both recently attempted to defend former President Bush's for not paying for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars or his tax cuts - two things which, of course, greatly increased yearly deficits.
Fox News personalities have also repeatedly attacked President Obama for purportedly not sending as many troops to Afghanistan as the military requested. The crew of Fox & Friends called it "unbelievable" and "wrong" that Obama didn't listen to "the military experts." However, President Bush dismissed Gen. Eric Shinseki's recommendation that "several hundred thousand troops" would be needed in Iraq and Fox virtually ignored the story. When Fox News eventually covered the story, a contributor suggested that critics "shut up and let daddy drive."
Right-wing media like Fox & Friends and conservative blogs also attacked President Obama's reported comments that the United States can "absorb a terrorist attack" and that the country "absorbed [9-11] and we are stronger." Conservatives used the reported remarks to suggest that Obama was "inviting another 9/11" and that he "doesn't care about Americans dying." Yet when conservatives - including President Bush - made similar statements, the right offered not so much as a murmur of complaint.
Finally, on Wednesday, Glenn Beck -- a noted hypocrite -- promoted Eustace Mullins' book Secrets of the Federal Reserve. Mullins, who died earlier this year, was a 9-11 Truther and was described in his obituary as an "anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist" and a "nationally known white supremacist." Beck, however, heavily criticized former White House green jobs adviser Van Jones for purportedly being a 9-11 Truther.
Stay tuned next week for the same consistent inconsistency.
This weekly wrap-up was compiled by Eric Hananoki
Health insurance changes take effect
This is such a small step(s) for health care in America.
These type of health care 'improvement and rights' are standard
in many nation where health care is a right not a privilege.
The USA has a cobbled together morass of health care
(Medicare, Medicaid, VA, Employer and high cost private)
when a single payer system would be best solution.
So be proud for these baby steps!
EDITOR's NOTE from Hart Kirch.
N.C. Aizenman Washington Post
Thursday marked six months since the nation's health-care overhaul bill was signed into law, and a number of consumer protections provided by the legislation took effect.
For all plans - including individual and group policies as well as those sponsored by employers - insurers will no longer be permitted to:
l Deny coverage to children with preexisting conditions.
This will not necessarily prevent insurers from charging higher premiums in such cases. But it will mean they can no longer refuse to sell policies for children who are sick. They also cannot temporarily or permanently exclude coverage of medical bills arising from a child's preexisting condition. An important caveat: This rule does not apply to plans purchased before the legislation was adopted on March 23. But Americans of all ages will be able to receive these protections after 2014.
l Put lifetime limits on benefits.
Another caveat: A plan can still put a lifetime dollar limit on spending for health services that the government does not deem essential.
l Cancel a policy retroactively without proving fraud.
This addresses a practice known as recission, by which insurers could cancel coverage just as a person got sick, on the grounds that they or their employer had provided inaccurate information when they originally applied for coverage. Now insurers will have to prove that the error was more than just an honest mistake. As with many of the other rules, this one applies to "plan years" or "policy years" that begin on or after Sept. 23.
People enrolled in job-related health plans or individual insurance policies created after March 23 will receive some additional benefits. However, for policies that have renewable "plan years," the protections will take effect only after the renewal date. For example, if a worker is covered by an employer's plan that renews on Jan. 1, these benefits will not start until then. The benefits include:
l The right to appeal the denial of a claim.
The insured now have the right to demand that their health plans reconsider decisions to deny them payment for a test or treatment. This includes the right to appeal to an independent reviewer.
l Free preventive services, such as screenings, vaccinations and counseling.
l The right of young adults to stay on a parent's plan until age 26.
l The choice of primary care doctor, obstetrician/gynecologist and pediatrician within a provider's network.
l The right to use the nearest emergency room without penalty.
These type of health care 'improvement and rights' are standard
in many nation where health care is a right not a privilege.
The USA has a cobbled together morass of health care
(Medicare, Medicaid, VA, Employer and high cost private)
when a single payer system would be best solution.
So be proud for these baby steps!
EDITOR's NOTE from Hart Kirch.
N.C. Aizenman Washington Post
Thursday marked six months since the nation's health-care overhaul bill was signed into law, and a number of consumer protections provided by the legislation took effect.
For all plans - including individual and group policies as well as those sponsored by employers - insurers will no longer be permitted to:
l Deny coverage to children with preexisting conditions.
This will not necessarily prevent insurers from charging higher premiums in such cases. But it will mean they can no longer refuse to sell policies for children who are sick. They also cannot temporarily or permanently exclude coverage of medical bills arising from a child's preexisting condition. An important caveat: This rule does not apply to plans purchased before the legislation was adopted on March 23. But Americans of all ages will be able to receive these protections after 2014.
l Put lifetime limits on benefits.
Another caveat: A plan can still put a lifetime dollar limit on spending for health services that the government does not deem essential.
l Cancel a policy retroactively without proving fraud.
This addresses a practice known as recission, by which insurers could cancel coverage just as a person got sick, on the grounds that they or their employer had provided inaccurate information when they originally applied for coverage. Now insurers will have to prove that the error was more than just an honest mistake. As with many of the other rules, this one applies to "plan years" or "policy years" that begin on or after Sept. 23.
People enrolled in job-related health plans or individual insurance policies created after March 23 will receive some additional benefits. However, for policies that have renewable "plan years," the protections will take effect only after the renewal date. For example, if a worker is covered by an employer's plan that renews on Jan. 1, these benefits will not start until then. The benefits include:
l The right to appeal the denial of a claim.
The insured now have the right to demand that their health plans reconsider decisions to deny them payment for a test or treatment. This includes the right to appeal to an independent reviewer.
l Free preventive services, such as screenings, vaccinations and counseling.
l The right of young adults to stay on a parent's plan until age 26.
l The choice of primary care doctor, obstetrician/gynecologist and pediatrician within a provider's network.
l The right to use the nearest emergency room without penalty.
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