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Vegas police, VA system draw criticism after standoff slaying of unarmed Gulf War veteran
The Associated Press
LAS VEGAS — An hour into a standoff with police, it was clear that Stanley Gibson was going nowhere.
An unarmed Gibson sat at the wheel of his cream-colored Cadillac, pinned between police cruisers. He slammed the gas pedal, his squealing tires churning out a cloud of blue smoke as police officers trained their weapons on him, witnesses said. One gunshot rang out, then a barrage of others.
The Gulf War veteran slumped over the wheel dead, his car horn blaring.
By all accounts, Gibson was a troubled man. His family said he was suffering from cancer and delusions. He needed medication for anxiety and was agitated as he quarreled with Veterans Affairs over his care.
How he came to die in a hail of bullets after he became lost trying to find his way home is raising questions about the use of force by Las Vegas police, a department with 11 other fatal police shootings this year, and about the quality of VA services for struggling veterans.
"This was avoidable," said Robert Sibulkin, a Las Vegas businessman who grew to know Gibson well while renting a home to him and his wife.
Gibson's death from multiple gunshot wounds was ruled a homicide. The four patrol officers involved in the shooting are on paid leave pending a departmental investigation. Officer Laura Meltzer, a police spokeswoman, declined comment Thursday until the probe was complete.
The shooting, however, has drawn condemnation from the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which noted Gibson was black, and calls for an independent investigation from the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada.
Clark County Sheriff Douglas Gillespie, the elected official in charge of the Las Vegas police, said Thursday he'd welcome a U.S. Justice Department review. "I do not see that as an adversarial process," he said.
Justice Department officials in Washington, D.C., said they hadn't received a formal request.
The death also focused attention on the Department of Veterans Affairs' crisis services for 45,000 area former military members.
Gibson's widow, Rondha Gibson, blamed the VA.
"They killed my husband," she told KTNV-TV, the Las Vegas ABC television affiliate. "If they would have listened to me and stopped canceling his appointments and made sure he had his medication on time, he would have been OK."
Stanley Lavon Gibson, 43, served in the Army from June 1989 to June 1992 and was honorably discharged, the VA said. He believed his cancer came from wartime exposure to depleted uranium used in armor-piercing shells.
"He signed up to do his service, no questions asked," said Lori Weckhorst, a friend since childhood who lives in Atoka, Okla. "He did what was expected of him and he was released. And all he wanted was what the government promised him in return, and he was failed over and over and over."
Rondha Gibson shared VA and Army records with the Las Vegas Review-Journal showing that her husband served in the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment and was diagnosed in 1995 with cancer in the throat. He underwent five surgeries that left his jaw disfigured.
She has not responded to requests for an interview with The Associated Press.
Gibson's records showed he was rated 100 percent disabled, the Review-Journal said. In August, the VA regional office in Reno informed him that his service-connected disability rating had been lowered to 80 percent. His disability payments were reduced.
About the same time, a friend wrote to the VA, saying Gibson had tried to commit suicide twice this year, the Review-Journal reported.
Veterans Affairs Southern Nevada Healthcare System official Robert Johnson offered condolences to Gibson's family and acknowledged criticisms about Gibson's VA treatment. But he said federal patient confidentiality laws prevented him from talking about Gibson's case.
Johnson said the VA offers telephone hotlines, walk-in mental health clinic treatment and group and individual therapy for veterans with mental health issues or post-traumatic stress.
"We consider any veteran a hero," he said. "We don't know all the facts of what occurred."
Rondha Gibson described her husband as prone to paranoid delusions and anxiety, and said he had trouble recently getting a refill of his prescribed anti-anxiety medication. She said she and her husband recently moved out of the home they rented from Sibulkin.
Sibulkin said he cut the Gibson' rent, then let them live rent-free for about six months. But as he lost the house to the bank, the couple moved Dec. 1 to a first-floor apartment in a cookie-cutter apartment complex a few miles away.
It was clear that Gibson was in crisis, Sibulkin said. He was slightly paralyzed on one side of his face, his speech was impaired and he was growing thin and frail. The landlord said he knew Gibson called local media and government officials seeking help.
"There was no question this man was not in good shape," Sibulkin said.
In recent years, Gibson had several encounters with police on drug, weapon and domestic violence charges. Two days before the shooting, police took him to jail on a resisting-an-officer charge after he screamed at passing cars and accused his wife of conspiring against him.
Rondha Gibson said police said her husband would be seen by a doctor on a 72-hour psychiatric evaluation. But he arrived back home Sunday, telling his wife he had taken out the trash and didn't remember going to jail.
After nightfall, he called her several times from his car, apparently confused about where he was.
Their new apartment was number 1006. A witness said he noticed Gibson driving his car slowly around the wrong complex with the emergency lights flashing before going to the door of a neighbor's apartment, number 1116.
Police said they were called to a report of a man trying to break into an apartment.
"He was putting along like he was lost," said the man, who agreed to speak with the AP if his name wasn't published. He said he provided a detailed statement to police, but didn't want to become any more involved in the case.
The man said the slow standoff changed after Gibson accelerated his engine, spinning his wheels. "He couldn't go anywhere," the witness said.
Darren Dittmann, another neighbor, showed reporters a smart phone video of the shooting, which he said happened a little after 12:30 a.m. Monday.
One shot was followed by a quick succession of shots.
"They got to do what they got to do," he said. "I just don't see that it was worth taking a life."
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NAACP and ACLU want probes of Vegas police slaying
This undated photo provided by family via the Las Vegas Review-Journal shows an undated photograph of Rondha and Stanley Gibson. Police said Stanley Gibson rammed his vehicle Monday morning, Dec. 12, 2011, into police cruisers, leading officers to fire multiple shots into the vehicle toward Gibson. Police were at Gibson's condominium complex investigating a reported burglary. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Family via Las Vegas Review-Journal) (Courtesy of Family)
(AP) LAS VEGAS — The NAACP in Las Vegas wants a federal probe and the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada is calling for an independent investigation of Las Vegas police practices after a police shooting that killed an unarmed Gulf War veteran behind the wheel of his car in a condominium complex.
The calls for outside oversight came days after Sheriff Douglas Gillespie pleaded for patience from the public and promised a thorough internal investigation of the Monday morning slaying of Stanley Lavon Gibson.
Police said Gibson, 43, rammed his vehicle into police cruisers after officers were called late Sunday to a report of an attempted condominium break-in.
Frank Hawkins Jr., president of the Las Vegas chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, noted that Gibson was black and pointed to what he called "an unprecedented number of questionable deaths" at the hands of Las Vegas police.
"There have now been 12 deaths at the hands of the police this year alone," Hawkins said. "Local authorities have proven either unwilling or unable to address what appear to be either rogue or dangerously incompetent officers within the police department operating with impunity."
The U.S. Department of Justice should investigate and make public its findings, Hawkins said.
ACLU chief Dane Claussen called the shooting "deeply troubling" and said it "fits into a long pattern of shootings of persons, many others of whom also were unarmed, who were not an immediate threat to anyone."
Las Vegas police haven't taken sufficient steps to limit shootings and aren't properly investigating them, Claussen said.
Gibson's friends and family members said he had a troubled personal history, was suffering from cancer he blamed on his Army service, had recently had his Veterans Affairs disability payments reduced, and was due for sentencing on an assault charge after an argument with a Veterans Affairs doctor.
Gibson's wife, Rondha Gibson, has told reporters that her husband ran out of anxiety medication and was prone to paranoid delusions and anxiety, with fears that people were after him.
Neighbors' videos show officers firing shots into the vehicle after it spun its wheels while wedged between police cruisers.
Las Vegas police on Wednesday identified the four patrol officers involved in the shooting as officer Jesus Arevalo, officer Malik Grego-Smith, Sgt. Michael Hnatuick and Lt. David Dockendorf. Each is on paid leave pending the internal investigation.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Gibson and his wife had moved into the condo earlier this month and he might have been confused about where he was when he confronted police.
Gibson's Army discharge shows he separated from the service in 1992. He blamed his cancer to exposure during Operation Desert Storm to depleted uranium from armor-piercing shells used by M-1 tanks.
Department of Veterans Affairs medical records showed Gibson underwent five surgeries for a form of adenoid cancer that left his jaw disfigured and had spread to a lung.
The calls for outside oversight came days after Sheriff Douglas Gillespie pleaded for patience from the public and promised a thorough internal investigation of the Monday morning slaying of Stanley Lavon Gibson.
Police said Gibson, 43, rammed his vehicle into police cruisers after officers were called late Sunday to a report of an attempted condominium break-in.
Frank Hawkins Jr., president of the Las Vegas chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, noted that Gibson was black and pointed to what he called "an unprecedented number of questionable deaths" at the hands of Las Vegas police.
"There have now been 12 deaths at the hands of the police this year alone," Hawkins said. "Local authorities have proven either unwilling or unable to address what appear to be either rogue or dangerously incompetent officers within the police department operating with impunity."
The U.S. Department of Justice should investigate and make public its findings, Hawkins said.
ACLU chief Dane Claussen called the shooting "deeply troubling" and said it "fits into a long pattern of shootings of persons, many others of whom also were unarmed, who were not an immediate threat to anyone."
Las Vegas police haven't taken sufficient steps to limit shootings and aren't properly investigating them, Claussen said.
Gibson's friends and family members said he had a troubled personal history, was suffering from cancer he blamed on his Army service, had recently had his Veterans Affairs disability payments reduced, and was due for sentencing on an assault charge after an argument with a Veterans Affairs doctor.
Gibson's wife, Rondha Gibson, has told reporters that her husband ran out of anxiety medication and was prone to paranoid delusions and anxiety, with fears that people were after him.
Neighbors' videos show officers firing shots into the vehicle after it spun its wheels while wedged between police cruisers.
Las Vegas police on Wednesday identified the four patrol officers involved in the shooting as officer Jesus Arevalo, officer Malik Grego-Smith, Sgt. Michael Hnatuick and Lt. David Dockendorf. Each is on paid leave pending the internal investigation.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Gibson and his wife had moved into the condo earlier this month and he might have been confused about where he was when he confronted police.
Gibson's Army discharge shows he separated from the service in 1992. He blamed his cancer to exposure during Operation Desert Storm to depleted uranium from armor-piercing shells used by M-1 tanks.
Department of Veterans Affairs medical records showed Gibson underwent five surgeries for a form of adenoid cancer that left his jaw disfigured and had spread to a lung.
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Metro’s Gillespie supports federal probe into Las Vegas police shootings
‘I do not see this as an adversarial process,’ sheriff says in prepared statement
Sheriff Doug Gillespie addresses reporters during a news conference at Metro Police Headquarters Monday, December 12, 2011. Gillespie called the news conference after a Metro Police officer shot and killed a man early this morning at a condominium complex in the northwest valley. .
Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011 | 7:58 p.m.
Investigation continues in Metro shooting
KSNV coverage of the ongoing investigation into the Metro Police shooting of Stanley Gibson, Dec. 14, 2011.
Sun archives
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Sheriff Douglas Gillespie said he supports a U.S. Department of Justice inquiry into the police department’s practices less than a week after an unarmed African-American veteran was shot and killed by officers. The shooting was the 18th officer-involved shooting in Metro’s jurisdiction this year.
In a press release Thursday Gillespie said he encourages the Department of Justice Patterns and Practice Program that is currently active in at least 17 other cities.
“I have always said that any input from an outside entity, with expertise in law enforcement, is a good thing,” Gillespie said in the release. “If they want to see how we do business and review the various systems we have in place, from preventative training to investigating cases involving officer’s use of deadly force, we welcome that. I do not see that as an adversarial process.”
Monday’s officer-involved shooting of Stanley Gibson, a Gulf War vet who was, according to his wife Rhonda, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and brain cancer, prompted some community groups to call for a review of Metro’s practices by the Department of Justice.
A Metro spokesman said it is unclear what prompted officers to shoot Gibson, who was unarmed and in a car that was pinned between at least two unoccupied patrol cars at the time.
Rondha Gibson said her husband had been unable to get his medication to control his anxiety and that he called her in a state of confusion Sunday night, thinking he was home while he was at the neighboring condominium complex. She also said Metro was supposed to have him under a three-day psychiatric watch this past weekend, but police have not confirmed that.
Officer Jesus Arevalo, officer Malik Grego-Smith, Sgt. Michael Hnatuick and Lt. David Dockendorf were involved in the shooting, which happened near Smoke Ranch Road and Rainbow Boulevard, police said.
Police have not said how many officers actually fired their weapons.
Police said Arevalo, 34, has worked at the department since February 2002; Grego-Smith, 31, since August 2008; Hnatuick, 45, since September 1988; and Dockendorf, 40, since July 1998.
Arevalo, Grego-Smith and Hnatuick are assigned to the Northwest Area Command patrol division. Dockendorf is with the Bolden Area Command patrol division.
The press release stares Metro uses “scenario and reality-based training methods to teach officers ways to de-escalate situations and avoid high-risk incidents.”
“The truth is, we have implemented a lot of changes here that the Department of Justice has suggested in other cities undergoing this review process,” Gillespie said. “But if more innovative methods come from this, everyone will benefit.”
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