Comments (191) | Add a comment
Father wants Las Vegas police held accountable in son's death
-
JOHN LOCHER/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Bill Scott, 63, talks about his son, Erik Scott, who was shot by three Las Vegas police officers in front of a Costco store on Saturday. He said he hopes valley residents will demand change in their police department and the inquest process. » Buy this photo
Tools
-
Erik Scott, 38, was shot in front of a Costco store Saturday by three police officers. Police said Scott, shown in U.S. Military Academy at West Point uniform, pulled out a gun and pointed it at officers. COURTESY PHOTO
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Updated: Jul. 22, 2010 | 10:56 a.m.
A few years ago, when Erik Scott found himself unemployed in the midst of Las Vegas' deepest recession, his father worried about where his son would find work.
But Erik just laughed. He never worried. The West Point graduate told his father he would get a haircut, buy a suit and look for a new job.
"We always laughed about the Erik Scott luck," his father, Bill Scott, said Thursday. "It just always seemed to go his way until July 10, 2010. It went totally against him."
Bill Scott, a former Air Force colonel, and a journalist and author, said his son's death at the hands of three Las Vegas police officers in front of a Costco store Saturday would give voice to other citizens killed by police.
"There are a lot of people who have been killed in Las Vegas, a lot of them by the police," he said. "They didn't have a voice. This time, quote me: they killed the wrong guy."
Scott, 63, of Colorado Springs, Colo., called for greater police accountability and openness in the wake of his son's death. He said officer-involved shootings should be reviewed by third parties, and that Clark County's coroner inquest process should be reformed.
The inquest process has been heavily criticized by local advocates, including the ACLU, because only once in its 34-year history has an inquest jury not found an officer's actions justified or excusable. Bill Scott did not state specifically how he would change the process.
"The bottom line is I have a hell of a lot of questions,'' he said in an interview at the Review-Journal. "The sub-bottom line is the citizens of Las Vegas should have even more questions than I do."
Police, citing an ongoing investigation, have not released the recording of the 911 call from a Costco employee to police. Nor have they obtained video of the incident from the store's surveillance cameras. They declined to comment for this story.
Police have said they have spoken to 40 witnesses and more than a dozen said they saw Erik Scott pull out a handgun. But police also say the 38-year-old man also pointed the weapon ---- one of two he carried as a concealed weapons permit holder ---- at officers who responded to reports of an armed man acting erratically in the store.
The Review-Journal has interviewed seven incident witnesses. Three said Scott drew the gun in front of the officers but none said they saw him point it at them.
"You can see him lift up his shirt as if to say, 'Yeah, I've got a gun on me,' and then he pulls it out," said Chris Villareale, a 51-year-old real estate developer who said he was interviewed by police afterward.
Bill Scott has gone to the Costco store and been to the aisle where a Costco employee confronted Erik Scott. He said his son was crouched in the aisle trying to determine how many aluminum water bottles would fit into a fabric cooler when an employee confronted him. The employee spotted the gun on Erik Scott's hip and told him he couldn't have it in the store, according to the father.
Police said the man was "acting erratically" and "destroying merchandise" in the store, but Bill Scott said he has been told by his son's girlfriend and others that the interaction with the employee was cordial, and the employee even helped load the bottles into the cart.
His son debated with his girlfriend about whether he should put his weapon in his car and return to the store, but decided to simply finish quickly and leave.
Shortly after that, the store was evacuated, and Erik Scott exited the store, where three officers with their weapons drawn were waiting for him. Bill Scott said he doesn't know what happened during the confrontation with police.
Witnesses interviewed by the Review-Journal don't agree on what they heard officers say. Some heard "Drop it," while others heard "Get on the ground."
He said he can understand how his son would be confused if officers were telling him different things. He could picture himself getting confused.
"Imagine how many times this ugly movie has played in my mind in the last few days," he said.
Services have been scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday at Las Vegas Country Club at 3000 Joe W. Brown Drive, near Desert Inn and Paradise roads. The services are open to the public.
Erik Bert Scott was born at Mather Air Force Base in Sacramento, Calif. on April 23, 1972. Bill Scott said his son was an enthusiastic boy with a mischievous streak who did well in school. His parents were relieved when he chose to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
It was there that he learned the meaning of stress.
"You don't graduate from West Point unless you can handle stress," said 38-year-old Alex Seifert, a classmate. "It's preparing you for the stress of war. That's why everybody coming out of West Point is pretty confident of who you are and what you can and can't do."
Erik Scott played football his freshman year ---- not necessarily because he loved football, but because members of the team were allowed to eat meals without someone screaming in their ears on every bite, Bill Scott said.
He graduated in 1994 in the top 10 percent of his class and made the dean's list while majoring in Spanish, his father said. He became a tank commander, but he left the Army just two years later as the military began its post-Cold War contraction.
In Las Vegas, he sold medical devices and dabbled in real estate. He was a sales director for One Queensridge Place, a luxury high-rise condominium development in Summerlin, according to his father. But when the units were sold and the economy shriveled, he went to selling pacemakers for Boston Scientific, a maker of medical devices.
The job was demanding and involved working closely with patients. Dr. Zia Khan, a cardiologist, said Erik Scott was in his office once a week to check on his patients' pacemakers. He was "always nice and polite," Khan said.
"In the medical field, you hear the gossip on everybody," he added. "For Erik, there was nothing that I knew."
Over the years he earned a master's degree from Duke University and married ---- and divorced ---- twice. His father said he was "not lucky in love," but that he had been talking recently of settling down.
He last saw his son over Memorial Day weekend. When he heard of the circumstances surrounding his son's death, he didn't believe it.
"The idea that my son would do something untoward with three weapons pointed at him is just beyond the pale," he said.
Friends and colleagues have also said the police description of Erik Scott's behavior was unusual.
"He wasn't a guy that was going to do anything to jeopardize anybody's life," friend Mike Pusateri said.
Bill Scott said he hopes the death of his son will trigger some change in Las Vegas.
"If there's anything good to come out of this, I would love to see Erik Scott's legacy in Las Vegas be that citizens demand they stop this nonsense ---- that they clean up Metro, that they clean up the inquest process."
Contact reporter Lawrence Mower at lmower@review journal.com or 702-383-0440.
Trending topics:
Comments
Terms & Conditions
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The Review-Journal does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please use the Report Abuse button.
Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 24 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
OH NEVADA AND COSTCO ARE GONNA PAY AND CHANGES THEY ARE A COMIN'. By the way itis not against the law to take your medications or be slow dimwit.
Scott had 10 times the LETHAL limit of loritab or whatever drug it was......He was whacked out of his mind...Couldnt fill out the mem in his body.bership form..........IT IS a CRIME IN NEVADA to carry a gun while under the influence!!!!!!!! He was NOT LEGAL. The Coroner testified that he may have DIED that day from the amount he took , even if not shot. Obviously not in shape to carry a gun. OR go shooting for crying out loud. Now thats STANDINGFORWHATSRIGHT!!!!!
Im all for letting a father grieve....but this is a money grab pure and simple. My problem, is I seriously hope this city doesnt spend MY MONEY on this family. Scott brought everything that happened to him upon himself. A man that was that whacked out carrying TWO guns, arguing with STORE employees........knowing the COPS were there for him.....and he cant navigate the police encounter correctly????????? West Point???? CCW class.....HE had the training...but was so drugged up he couldnt do it....and Now Im supposed to pay tax payer money to his family!!!! Dont Think so.
Second degree murder!
Cold blooded murder by 3 crazy cops condoned by a kooky whacky sheriff. 20 yrs in prison for 3 crazy coward cops. Fire the sherrif, and a whole new staff. Killer cops, take um off the street.
Of course, the Metro Police are demonizng Erik Scott as a mentally disturbed person. Does anyone expect the police offiers or Metro Department to admit wrongdoing? Metro officers who lied to a judge regarding the criminal history of another recent police shooting now claim a case of mistaken identity. The Metro Police cannot make "mistakes" when using deadly force. Time to rein these cowboys in! Our soldiers in Afghanistan have stricter rules of engagement than Metro. The officers involved in the Scott and Cole shootings need to be prosecuted for Manslaughter.
Earl.Brukowski. Before making such defammatory statements about Erik Scott's military service, you need to provide facts rather than give your "professional" opinion as a retired military officer. In April 1990, the Army offered its first post-Cold War Voluntary Early Out program to all junior officers regardless of commissioning source. After Desert Storm, these early out programs continued through the 1990s. The Army wanted to avoid a involuntary RIF and offered these early outs to those likely to leave after their ADSO thus preserving positions for those subject to RIF (reserve commissions) who wanted to continue service. I knew many West Point grads who honorably left service after two years. You are absolutely wrong to give opinions of Scott's service based upon your personal experience. Also, if Scott had lawfully obtained a CCW permit, he must have passed a criminal/mental health background check suggesting prima facie evidence that he did not have any mental heatlh problems.
mine comment was deleted....hummm I wonder why?
like i said before, no matter how many guns he were carrying, he was at costco looking for a water cooler and water bottles. did anyone stop to think maybe he was going shooting? I for one, would certainly NOT leave my guns IN MY CAR, in Summerlin. No where is safe now. Check the crime stats, Summerlin crime is growing. That is where the theives go because that is where the $ is.(coughcough) I would have personally taken them with me as well, after all HE WAS A LEGAL GUN CARRIER!!!!
Go back to all the police shootings and see how many were really justified. No where in this nation does this happen so often than in Vegas.The 48 year old ice cream woman or the person selling weed that was on his knees with no weapon,surrounde by police. Justified, I think not. Hold one cop accountable and I'll bet they think twice about pulling the trigger
Mr. Scott, my respects to your family during this time.
Earl.Brukowski - I am a USMA Grad, currently serving, and was serving when the US Army reduced its forces in the mid-90s. With respect to Erik Scott only serving 2 years of his requirement, there is no story there. In 1989 there were 18 active divisions, After the 1993 Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC), the Army's goal was to have 10 Active Duty Divisions. We went from 780,000 active-duty soldiers to 495,000. No one was ear marked to have to stay - it was jailbreak and many took advantage of the reduction (recent USMA grads included). Unless there is other evidence to the fact, Mr. Scott was not asked/forced to leave, he was given an opportunity and took it.