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Nov. 06, 2009
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Police report deaths of men

Both die as Las Vegas officers tried to subdue them

By LAWRENCE MOWER, MAGGIE LILLIS and ANTONIO PLANAS
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Two men in four days have died while being subdued by Las Vegas police officers, including an agitated man who died after being restrained by the neck, the department announced Thursday.

Weapons were not used in the separate incidents. Medical examiners with the Clark County coroner's office have not determined how either man died. Police said both were "extremely heavyset" and had underlying medical conditions that might have contributed to their deaths.

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    • The cases are being reviewed by Metropolitan Police Department officials. Eight officers and one sergeant have been placed on routine paid administrative leave as the investigations take place. The manner of death must be determined to be homicide for an inquest to be convened in each case, Clark County Coroner Michael Murphy said.

    Wednesday's case involved a man in his early 30s whose name has not been released.

    Capt. Randy Montandon said a state social worker called police at 6:22 p.m. about a man at 7740 Scoby Court, near Tropicana Avenue and Buffalo Drive.

    Police were told the man was off his medications, behaving erratically and had opened gas lines in his house. Police negotiated with the man for nearly an hour before several officers went around the house and found an unlocked door, Montandon said during a news conference.

    Once inside, the officers and the man had a "physical altercation." An officer used a technique known as a lateral vascular neck restraint to subdue and handcuff him, Montandon said.

    The technique is taught to officers as a means of subduing subjects, he said. It appears to be similar to a choke hold, but unlike a choke hold, which cuts off oxygen, the technique constricts the carotid artery, restricts blood flow to the brain and causes the subject to pass out.

    Medical units, which had been standing by, found the man had stopped breathing. He died after he was taken to a hospital.

    Neighbor Alexander Martinez described the deceased as a man who weighed about 300 pounds and frequently smoked. He had lived in the house for a few months.

    Martinez heard arguing and an outdoor scuffle Wednesday night after multiple officers raced through a gate and into the backyard of the man's home. Martinez said he heard an officer yell, "Stop resisting, Dusty, stop resisting."

    Martinez then heard the man scream and say, "Somebody help me. Why did you do this to me?"

    "It sounded like he was choking. ... It was a pretty gross sound," Martinez said. "It sounded like he was getting hurt or killed."

    On Thursday, a man at the victim's home who declined to give his name said the victim "wasn't wronged" by police.

    The restraint technique used in Wednesday's officer-involved fatality has been deadly before. In 1990, it played a role in the Metropolitan Police Department's most controversial officer-involved killing. A medical examiner found 39-year-old Charles Bush, a casino floorman, died of heart failure from a choked carotid artery after a vice officer restrained him by the neck.

    The fatality prompted community protests and calls for police to abandon the use of the neck restraint technique. The state attorney general's office prosecuted the officers involved on charges that included manslaughter. A jury deadlocked in favor of acquittal and the officers were never retried.

    Sunday's incident resulted in the death of 47-year-old Daniel Morantes, a former Texas oil worker who had recently moved to Las Vegas seeking work.

    Morantes was visiting a friend at an apartment at 500 N. 14th Street, south of Bonanza Road. Police responded to a call about a fight and a man with a knife at that location at 6:22 p.m. Police believed Morantes was the armed man. They took him to the front of a patrol car and began to pat him down.

    "Immediately upon that, the individual became erratic, making loud noises and flailing about," Montandon said.

    One officer grabbed Morantes in a hug and the two fell to the ground. Other officers grabbed Morantes' legs and arms and handcuffed him. Medical units were called. They found Morantes had stopped breathing and transported him to a hospital, where he died. Police did not find a knife on him.

    Las Vegas police did not announce Sunday's officer-involved fatality until Thursday morning.

    Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie blamed the delay on a "breakdown" between the department's homicide section and the department's public information office, whose supervisor is off this week.

    Morantes' sister, Tina Hebert, reached Thursday at her home in Alice, Texas, near Corpus Christi, estimated her brother to be 5 feet 8 inches tall and 220 to 230 pounds. He was "looking for a new start" in Las Vegas.

    Court records in Harris County, which includes Houston, show that in the early 1990s, Morantes was arrested on several charges that included misdemeanor theft and misdemeanor evading arrest.

    Hebert said her brother and his friend had been drinking before the encounter with police on Sunday.

    She also said her brother had two children, a 13-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl, who did not follow him to Las Vegas. Hebert said telling them about their father's death was difficult.

    "They took it really hard," she said. "When they go see the body, it's going to be harder. It hasn't hit them yet."

    Contact reporter Lawrence Mower at lmower@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440. Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638. Contact reporter Maggie Lillis at mlillis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279.

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    Patriotic American wrote on November 07, 2009 02:13 PM: glad to see someone else that gets it and understands the facts(BobWhite). unfortunatly some people dont and im starting to believe that their way of thinking is some sort of mental illness. also i've been following that taser story and its just sick that police departments actually employ sick people like that officer that tasered this guy. this officer is now in trouble for the second time. a few years back he was in a high speed chase through family neighborhoods and he ran the vehicle off the road into an innocent person that was on a jog. i can bet that this guy enjoys abusing citizens. the problem is that police will never send their own to prison, cause if they did the other inmates would take care of him in a second. just really a sad state of affiars. i blame it on the "dumbing" down of the american citizen(NoChildLeftBehind,hahhaha MoreLikeAllChildrenLeftBehind) and the rise of the "privatized prison-industrial complex"(yes private corporations that make big bucks by imprisoning citizens, very very disturbing, more people they can get locked up the more money, almost every one owned by a republican,Hint-DickCheneyOwnsAbunch). all with help from our elected representatives who are slowly destroying the middle class and poor all under the guise of "family values" all while having no family values or morals becuase they are all lieing and cheating on there wives and families. too bad people dont educate themselves about the history of america or the military or big business. if a light clicks in someones head thats reading this i'll give a hint of a name to go research so you can learn something new... lookup "Prescott Bush"(yes g bush's grandpa) and learn about his major connections with hitler and see if you see things in the same light(=


    to Friend of Police(PATRIOTIC AMERICAN/ANTI NAZI POLICE STATE) wrote on November 07, 2009 01:53 PM: "Friend of Police wrote on November 06, 2009 10:06 PM:
    PATRIOTIC AMERICAN/ANTI NAZI POLICE STATE....you fool! you say, "its in the constitution which none of our officers even read" SHUT YOUR MOUTH!!!
    The "it" which you refer to is the protection from unreasonable search and seizure. This protection is found in the fourth ammendment to the Constitution. "It" is not found in the Constitution. Do not impugn the reputation of those superior to yourself with your ignorant comments. Furthermore, if you must speak, SHUT YOUR MOUTH WHEN YOU'RE TALKING TO ME!!"


    HAHAHAHA DO YOU EVEN READ WHAT YOU TYPE AND UNDERSTAND WHAT IT SAYS??? YOUR TELLING ME THE "IT" IS NOT IN THE CONSTITUTION BUT THEN SAY "IT" IS THE FOURTH AMENDEMENT IN THE CONSTITUTION... AMENDEMENTS ARE ALL PART OF THE CONSTITUTION AND MAKE UP THE ENTIRE CONSTITUTION. YOU JUST BACKED UP WHAT I SAID. THUS THE "IT" WE BOTH ARE REFERING TO IS IN THE CONSTITUTION. THANKS FOR BEING STUPID ENOUGH TO NOT EVEN REALIZE YOU AGREED WITH WHAT I SAID HAHAHAHA. AND NICE ONE USING A LINE FROM WEDDING CRASHERS(SHUT YOUR MOUTH WHEN YOU'RE TALKING TO ME!!) WHICH THE CHARACTER THAT SAID IT IS A CRAZY LADY, JUST LIKE YOURSELF HAHAHA. ITS OBVIOUS YOU CANT THINK FOR YOURSELF SINCE YOU JUST PLAGIRIZED YOUR SMACK TALK, HAHAHAHAH!!!!! ALSO I WILL SPEAK LOUD AND CLEAR TO INJUSTICES BROUGHT UPON US BY OUR GOVERNMENT, ITS ONE OF THE MOST PATRIOTIC THINGS AN AMERICAN CAN DO(I BELIEVE JEFFERSON OR ONE OF THE FOUNDING FATHERS SAID SOMETHING LIKE THAT). SO MISS "FRIEND OF POLICE" PLEASE GO GET AN EDUCATION BEFORE YOU GET IN A DISCUSSION WITH AN ADULT. YOUR VERY IGNORANT AND COULD BE MENTALLY SLOW POSSIBLY FROM BEING IN-BRED. I KNOW YOUR GONNA CRY ABOUT THIS SO I'VE ALREADY CALLLEDTHE WAAAAAAAMBULANCE FOR YOU


    Bob White wrote on November 07, 2009 08:36 AM: Check this out you cop lovers.

    http://www.startribune.com/local/69433117.html?elr=KArks:DCiUo3PD:3D_V_qD3L:c7cQKUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU


    Bob White wrote on November 06, 2009 11:40 PM: To T,
    I wasn't stating my opinion, I was stating
    FACTS. tisk....You can find the facts in the book of life and other sources.


    Bob White wrote on November 06, 2009 11:36 PM: To T,

    I didn't state my opinion. I stated FACTS. tisk tisk. Now check my facts in the book of life and other resources.


    T wrote on November 06, 2009 11:23 PM: Bob White,

    you seemed a little upset also. Calling those who don't share your opinion idiots and goof balls. Tisk tisk


    Bob White wrote on November 06, 2009 10:39 PM: To friend of police:

    You seem upset my dear. Police shouldn't get upset. Now go lay by your dish and be a good cop. If there is such a creature.


    Friend of Police wrote on November 06, 2009 10:06 PM: PATRIOTIC AMERICAN/ANTI NAZI POLICE STATE....you fool! you say, "its in the constitution which none of our officers even read" SHUT YOUR MOUTH!!!
    The "it" which you refer to is the protection from unreasonable search and seizure. This protection is found in the fourth ammendment to the Constitution. "It" is not found in the Constitution. Do not impugn the reputation of those superior to yourself with your ignorant comments. Furthermore, if you must speak, SHUT YOUR MOUTH WHEN YOU'RE TALKING TO ME!!


    collateral damage wrote on November 06, 2009 09:32 PM: I for one appreciate people standing up and speaking their minds, questioning any government action that results in death or injury, but you just can't win. The fact is these people would condone Metro's actions if Metro shot tear gas into their own Mother's homes.

    Ice cream ladies, teenage boys, attorneys fleeing a traffic stop, the mentally ill, criminal or not, it is all justified in their minds and always will be. What metro says is the bottom line and any witness, victim, or suspect testimony is irrelevant.

    They do not want to believe a police force is capable of mistakes or brutality, even to the detriment of their own civil rights. They are not capable of defending themselves against criminals or otherwise and they need to believe that metro will always be there for them and can do no wrong. It is a belief they need to embrace so they can sleep at night.


    loqui wrote on November 06, 2009 09:21 PM: I'd be willing to bet this most recent incident gets the attention of the Federal Justice Department. Several officers across the country are either in federal prison or awaiting trial for using these "kill" holds. The officers are charged with violating the person's civil rights also.




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