NV: Death of man who died in police struggle ruled homicide

By Tiffany Gibson (contact)
Published Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009 | 1:51 p.m.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/dec/09/death-man-who-died-police-struggle-ruled-homicide/

The death of a man who stopped breathing after Metro Police tried to subdue him by using a neck restraint has been ruled a homicide.

The Clark County Coroner's Office said Dustin Boone died Nov. 4 of cardiac pulmonary arrest, use of a neck restraint and significant other reasons related to dilated cardiomyopathy.

A coroner’s inquest has been scheduled for 9 a.m. on Dec. 18 at the Regional Justice Center before Justice of the Peace Melanie Andress-Tobiasson. Deputy District Attorney Christopher Laurent said he will ask witnesses to testify at the inquest in front of Andress-Tobiasson and a jury.

Laurent said the death was ruled a homicide but it doesn’t prove malice. He said the jury will decide whether the death was criminal, justified or excusable.

“An inquest hinges on what’s on the officer’s mind at the time,” Laurent said. “A jury will decide that and whether or not that’s reasonable.”

Metro Police are also investigating Boone’s death, Laurent said.

NV: Questions Raised of Police Restraint Techniques

POSTED: NOV 06, 2009 7:00 PM ESTUPDATED: NOV 06, 2009 9:26 PM ESThttp://www.lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=11460760

The coroner has not yet determined the cause of death for two men who died while in Las Vegas police's custody. The first death happened Sunday night and the second was Wednesday night.

Police say both men started acting up and resisted arrest, so several officers had to restrain them. An autopsy will determine if drugs, alcohol or underlying medical conditions played a role in the deaths. The Clark County Coroner will also decide if a coroner's inquest is needed.

Weapons were not used in either of those cases. Officers relied only on tactical maneuvers to subdue each man. However back in the 90's, certain techniques used by officers to detain suspects had to be changed after several people died.

One specific case gained a lot of attention. Vice officers entered a man's home while he was sleeping. That led to a fight between him and officers and after the use of a chokehold, the man stopped breathing and eventually died.

As the body of Charles Bush was wheeled out of his apartment, questions started forming if officers had gone too far -- even causing the 39-year-old casino workers death. "In addition to going in with out a warrant, literally breaking and entering into his home and conducting an illegal search," said attorney Cal Potter. "Not only that, but they used excessive force and they used a chokehold."

After a corner's inquest found the officer's actions justified, Potter represented Bush's family in a civil suit against the Metropolitan Police Department. That suit caused Metro to adopt a new way of restraining a suspect. "Lateral vascular neck restraint is a situation where blood flow is reduced to the brain. Generally it is not done to the point of passing out because generally a suspect will comply when they feel themselves start to lose consciousness," said Capt. Randy Montandon.

However, with two back-to-back cases of men dying in police custody, one of them subdued using the neck restraint, new questions are being raised. "I think whenever you have these kinds of situations, it should raise eyebrows. It should raise questions. It should raise the matter of, is this the best possible way of handling these situations," said Allen Lichtenstein with the ACLU of Nevada.

Lichtenstein says this is not a matter of whether officers are the good guys or bad guys, but really one of training. "This is a matter that should be under review and revision and techniques should always be evaluated for how things can be done," he said.

Metro police does not want to comment about the questions concerning restraint holds until the investigation is complete on both these cases.

NV: Girl Forced To Take Pregnancy Test

theKCRAchannel.com
updated 4:17 a.m. ET, Tues., Feb. 10, 2009
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29111160/

NEVADA CITY, Calif. - A 12-year-old girl was forced to take a pregnancy test at school in Nevada City, a lawsuit filed in Nevada County Superior Court alleges.

The Pacific Justice Institute, which is representing the girl, said in a news release that Steve Davis, a counselor at Seven Hills Middle School, pulled the girl out of class.

KCRA 3 has decided not to name the girl out of protection for her privacy.

Davis heard rumors that she was pregnant and wanted to know if it was true, the release said.

Though she denied it and told Davis a classmate had spread rumors about her in the past, the counselor got a pregnancy test from the school nurse and told the 12-year-old to give a urine sample, the Pacific Justice Institute said.

The pregnancy test was negative.

According to the news release, the girl was embarrassed and humiliated, and her parents were angry when they found out.

They worked with the Pacific Justice Institute to get an apology from the Nevada City School District, but didn't receive one.

The lawsuit, filed Oct. 29, 2008, seeks damages for violation of the girl's right to privacy and emotional distress.

"There is no merit in the claim," Superintendent Roger Steel said. He directed further questions to the district's attorney.

Reached at home Monday night, Davis said he had no comment on the lawsuit.

NV: Matthew T. Cox, ex-Hopkins Public Schools teacher, found murdered in Nevada

by Dave Person | Kalamazoo Gazette

Tuesday December 30, 2008, 11:00 AM

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2008/12/exhopkins_teacher_killed_in_ne.html

HOPKINS -- The funeral for a former Hopkins Public Schools choir director who police say was killed in his Nevada home will be held Saturday in Michigan.

Matthew T. Cox, 32, of Henderson, Nev., was found dead in his home Dec. 22, authorities said. Two brothers, ages 17 and 18, one of whom reportedly was a student of Cox's, were arrested on charges of murder, burglary and robbery, the Las Vegas Sun newspaper reported.

Cox, a Western Michigan University graduate, was choir director for about five years in Hopkins Public Schools before leaving in 2006 to teach in Nevada.

"He was a very good teacher," Hopkins Assistant Superintendent Robert Hennip said. "He made kids toe the line. He expected a lot from them and they responded very well to that."

Hennip described Cox, who initiated specialized choirs and musical productions in Hopkins, as "a friendly guy who wanted to see people excel."

"He worked very hard; he wanted to be successful, he wanted the kids to be successful and his program the same way," the assistant superintendent said.

Cox had last been seen the night of Dec. 21, when he had dinner with a friend, the Sun reported. His body was discovered the following afternoon by another friend who went to his house to take care of his pets and later told police that Cox was supposed to be in Michigan for Christmas, according to the Las Vegas newspaper.

One of the two brothers charged in connection with Cox's death was a choir student at Basic High School, where Cox taught, according to the Sun.

Cox was born Dec. 30, 1975, in Toledo, Ohio, and was a 1994 graduate of Bedford High School in Temperance. He was active in choir, plays and musicals in high school and won the Michigan Solo Performer award two years in a row. He then came to Kalamazoo, where he received his bachelor's degree from WMU.

Surviving are his parents, Debra and Timothy Armstrong, and sister, Kristin Cox, all of Lambertville; and grandparents, Robert and Margaret Graham and Alice and Walter Armstrong, all of Toledo. 

Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Friday and funeral services at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Michael W. Pawlak Funeral Home, 1640 Smith Rd., Temperance, in Monroe County in the southeastern corner of Michigan.

The Las Vegas Sun contributed to this report.

Contact Dave Person at dperson@kalamazoogazette.com or 388-8555.

NV: State says it can’t pay for the therapy hundreds of Nevada children need

No money, no treatment
State says it can’t pay for the therapy hundreds of Nevada children need
By Marshall Allen
Mon, Dec 15, 2008 (2 a.m.)
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/dec/15/no-money-no-treatment/

A Las Vegas woman is joining the Army, calling it the best way to get health care for her disabled infant — treatment the state is supposed to provide, but isn’t.

Emily Spahr, 25, says she expects to be in Warrior School next month, leaving her husband to care for their two children.

Nevada gets money from the federal government to provide specialized care for medically stricken toddlers such as 3-month-old Owynn Spahr.

But the program has grown more expensive for the state to operate, and officials say budget shortages are forcing them to withhold care for the young children. In fact, they say they’re hesitant to inform parents of disabled children of their legal rights — including that the caretakers could be reimbursed by the state if they get the therapy elsewhere — because of the cost to the state of providing the service.

Owynn was born with Cytomegalovirus (CMV), an infection that can cause mental retardation, loss of hearing and sight and other problems. Doctors say Owynn needs immediate therapy to ensure he reaches his full potential.

Owynn and about 450 similarly disabled children younger than 3, with such disabilities as Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, blindness and hearing impairment, have been languishing on a waiting list for as long as a year for services to which they’re entitled.

Spahr says she won’t wait any longer for her son to get the help he needs — thus, this week she’s reenlisting in the Army, in which she had served before she and her husband, William, became parents.

Karen Taycher, executive director of the advocacy group Nevada Parents Empowering Parents, said the failures of the state’s early medical intervention program have created a crisis of profound proportions for families that qualify for help but are not getting it from the state. Waiting lists are not allowed under federal law, she said.

“Research shows over and over that early intervention is key to having these children develop their potential,” Taycher said. “If you catch these kids early they do not need the amount of care for the length of time than if you don’t catch them early.”

The state has been out of compliance with federal law for months. In July, the Nevada Disability Advocacy & Law Center, a federally mandated organization funded by government grants, filed an administrative complaint against the state on behalf of all children who have not received the services they require under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act.

The law is the same one that requires public schools to provide adequate services for children with disabilities. It requires the state to develop an individualized plan to treat each eligible child, and to initiate it within 30 days. Each of the 450 children on the waiting list has an individual treatment plan prepared and is waiting for the state to enact it.

Early intervention services are vital because developmentally disabled children who go without treatment become more disabled, and thus more costly to care for, over time.

In November, the state responded to the advocacy group’s complaint, saying it didn’t have enough money or staff to adhere to the law. According to the investigation of the complaint by the Nevada Office of Disability Services, the state has increased its spending on the early intervention program every year, from $7.3 million in 2004 to $15.8 million in the current fiscal year. But the federal allocation has remained flat, rising from $4.1 million to $4.2 million in the same time frame.

Mary Wherry, deputy administrator of the Nevada State Health Division, said enrollment in the early intervention program has grown by 92 percent since 2004 and it’s difficult to comply with the federal law when the federal government does not begin to cover the costs.

The investigation report put it bluntly: “This is a classic federal unfunded mandate.”

The state’s response has not satisfied the advocacy attorneys because parents of children awaiting therapy are entitled to compensation for costs they’ve accrued out of pocket, or in case the children need extra services because the disability was compounded by the time spent without treatment.

But the state does not notify parents of their right to compensatory services, and that’s a failure in its responsibility, said Ruth Miller, a rights attorney for the Law Center.

“Our position is clear: Notify families of how many days they were without services and then tell them how many days they have a right to compensatory services,” Miller said.

Wherry said notifying parents of their compensatory rights would come with a cost: “Right now, if every family were educated about the compensatory services opportunity, we could be at risk for a significant amount of expenditure,” she said.

The state estimated that four months of compensatory costs to the families in the program would total $500,000. In today’s climate of budget cuts that would mean significant reductions to other state services, Wherry said.

The Law Center wants to help the hundreds of families on the waiting list file individual complaints to get the services they deserve, Miller said. But the organization doesn’t know the families’ identities.

The Law Center has also considered a filing for class due process, which would include a formal hearing where each side would make its case to a hearing officer.

The state is proposing its own remedies. A bill in the upcoming legislative session will propose requiring people to bill their insurance companies or pay a fee based on a sliding income scale, approaches taken in other states to cover the early intervention program costs, Wherry said.

Wherry said a more radical proposal is also on the table: refusing the federal money so there’s no obligation to follow federal law. Opting out would eliminate the risk of paying out high compensatory costs, or the risk of getting sued for violating federal law, Wherry said.

Opting out of the federal program would do little for the hundreds of children like Owynn Spahr, who needs therapy now.

William Spahr, whose jobs have included telemarketing and stocking store shelves, said he can’t get a job with benefits because of the recession, and he can’t enlist in the military because he has metal plates in his arm from an old injury.

Thus, Emily feels the urgency to go back to the Army, where she served as a mechanic for three years.

Sitting in the family’s cramped off-Strip one-bedroom apartment with Owynn on her lap, she says she has no other option but to return to the military. Emily is holding back tears at the thought of leaving for training and possible deployment.

Nevada has failed them, the couple say.

“I love the Army but it’s not what I want to do right now,” Emily Spahr said. “It’s the best I can do and I’m willing to do it, but it just doesn’t seem right that I have to do it.”

Nevada - District pushes back on law to limit physical restraint

From the Las Vegas Sun:

Reporting requirements are troublesome, officials say, and not always effective
By Emily Richmond
Fri, Sep 5, 2008 (2 a.m.)

The allegations of abuse at the Variety School were disturbing.

A 1998 lawsuit accused staff members at the Las Vegas campus for students with emotional and cognitive disabilities of pinning two boys to the floor and kneeling on their backs to control their outbursts.

If the boys misbehaved, staff forced them to run on a treadmill with weights tied to their ankles, the boys’ parents alleged.

Such treatment was routine, according to the lawsuit.

“We had children sprayed in the face with water because they didn’t respond quick enough,” said Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, executive director of Clark County Legal Services, which represented the students and their families in a lawsuit against the district. “These are just not techniques that should be used on individuals with disabilities.”

The case prompted Buckley to push for legislation to limit when and how school personnel can physically or mechanically restrain disabled students. Approved by the 1999 Legislature, the statute requires that teachers file a written report within one workday any time a disabled students is restrained in an emergency situation. The district is required to review the reports and forward violations of the law to the Nevada Education Department for further action.

But School District officials say the law has become an unreasonable burden. During the 2007-08 academic year, school staff reported 2,886 instances of the use of “physical restraint, mechanical restraint or aversive intervention.” Of those, 46 were determined by the School Board to constitute a “denial of the student’s rights,” and were forwarded to the Education Department.

A use of restraint can include tugging on a child’s hand to coax him down a hallway, holding his arms or legs, or moving him to another room to keep him from hurting himself or others.

Writing nearly 3,000 reports to find 46 violations “is throwing the haystack back on top of the needle,” said Joyce Haldeman, the district’s associate superintendent of community and government relations. There has to be a better way, she said, of identifying teachers who are improperly restraining students and those in need of more training.

The district will use one of its two bill draft requests in an effort to have the Legislature modify the law. Among the changes it seeks is expansion of the definition of an acceptable use of restraint.

Rich Cawley, a special education facilitator at Bailey Middle School, said the current law puts too much emphasis on the teacher’s response, and not enough on what triggered the need for the student to be restrained.

“The whole point of having the write-up is for the team to have documentation of the precipitating event, not just the outcome,” said Cawley, who is in his 18th year with the district. “That’s so we can figure out what to do to make sure it doesn’t have to happen again.”

The district also would like to allow teachers three days, instead of one, to complete the report. Officials said it can be difficult to track down witnesses and interview them within one day.

Robin Kincaid, training services director for Nevada Parents Encouraging Parents, an advocacy group for families of students with disabilities, said she opposes moving the deadline.

“Parents need to know the full story right away,” Kincaid said.

There are concerns among parents that restraint is too often “a first response, rather than a last reaction,” Kincaid said.

Special education teacher Andrea Awerbach, who works with autistic students at Richard Priest Elementary School, said “the benefit of doing it in 24 hours is you get it done, it’s not lingering and it may be more likely to be the truth.”

“Sometimes adult-thinking gets in the way, and a person might start wondering, ‘Am I going to get in trouble?’ ” she said.

Buckley, who wasn’t ready to comment on the School District’s proposals, said she has different concerns with the law. In advance of the legislative session, Buckley has asked several experts to work with the district on possible revisions, she said.

Haldeman, who contacted Buckley before submitting the bill draft request to the School Board for approval, said she welcomed the input.

Buckley noted that the School District reviews the reports instead of an independent third party.

“Parents feel incredibly frustrated by that,” she said. “That’s one of the areas I think we should explore.”

Also, the intent of the legislation was to track how restraint is used and respond accordingly, Buckley said.

“Right now, the information gets catalogued, and that’s it,” Buckley said. “Do we need to add another line to the form? Or do we need school districts to embrace the principles behind it?”

Michael Harley, the district’s chief compliance officer, said his office does look for patterns as it reviews the reports.

“If we see a pattern ... at a school, or multiple reports from one classroom, we flag it,” Harley said. “Sometimes it’s a matter of providing additional training.”

The reports can become a source of contention, even when there’s no indication that staff members went beyond the limits of the law.

Parents sometimes see a report as proof of wrongdoing, said Bill Hoffman, the district’s senior legal counsel.

“There’s a misunderstanding that these reports constituted violations or injuries to the child,” Hoffman said. “That’s not the reality.”

Fifteen pending complaints against the district are based largely on a report having been filed. Some of those could lead to lawsuits, which are expensive and time-consuming, Hoffman said.

The Variety School allegations turned into a lengthy court battle. In 2003, after spending more than $300,000 on outside legal fees, the district settled the case for $265,000.

Since 1999, the district has spent an additional $500,000 fighting lawsuits brought by parents who say their children were improperly restrained and another $200,000 to settle two claims.

Still pending is the case of Maimie Hubbard-Washington, a special education teacher facing criminal charges for alleged physical and verbal abuse of autistic students at Doris Reed Elementary School. The district has been named in a civil suit filed by the students’ families. Attempts to settle those claims have been unsuccessful, Hoffman said.

Buckley said despite flaws in the law and how it’s carried out, she’s seen improvements in the training of teachers and classroom aides since the Variety School case prompted its passage.

“We fought very hard for this legislation to ensure students with disabilities were protected,” Buckley said. “That continues to be our goal.”