Las Vegas Coroner

Group rallies for changes in coroner's inquest process

Alma Chavez understands she can’t bring her son, 23-year-old Ralfy Olivas, back to life.

But it’s why Chavez, along with friends, family and supporters, stood on a corner outside the Clark County Government Center this morning waving signs seeking justice for her son, who was fatally shot by Metro Police last month in his Las Vegas neighborhood.

If others can be spared, she said she will find solace in knowing her son’s memory is helping people.

“Every time I hear someone is arrested instead of killed, I’m going to feel my son lives every time he’s saved a kid,” said Chavez, who wore all black and a T-shirt emblazoned with Ralfy’s picture.

Police said on July 14, Olivas continued toward officers wielding a butcher knife despite commands to stop, prompting two officers to shoot him on Firestone Drive. Officers had responded to the neighborhood, near Westcliff and Buffalo drives, at 6:46 a.m. upon reports of a domestic disturbance between a mother and son.

Chavez contends her son was “in crisis like any other child goes through” and that she requested a crisis intervention team when she called police.

In the wake of his death, she supports changes to the coroner’s inquest system that were adopted by Clark County commissioners in December. Changes include the inclusion of an ombudsman to represent the victims’ families, the release of key evidence and investigative files and the restructuring of meetings before hearings.

A lawsuit by Metro’s Police Protective Association , however, has halted inquests that invoke those changes from proceeding. Fourteen deadly officer-involved shootings await inquests.

“I’m very upset. I feel the police don’t need more rights and protections than the ones they have already,” Chavez said. “We have the right to know why and how our relatives got killed.”

The group cheered as passing motorists on Grand Central Parkway honked their support. They moved inside shortly after 9 a.m. to attend the commission meeting, which was to include updates about the coroner’s inquest process and legal proceedings.

“They need to just get (inquests) scheduled and get it moving,” said Gina Greisen, a community advocate who attended the rally in support of Olivas’ family.

"Chavez contends her son was "in crisis like any other child goes through" and that she requested a crisis intervention team when she called police.

Coroner's inquest, and a pesky weed, on ... - US News Las Vegas

Aside from issues of peddlers, panhandlers and performers on the Strip, the Clark County Commission will have its hands full Tuesday with matters pertaining to the coroner’s inquest process, the lowly Sahara mustard plant and money from Las Vegas to prosecute a malpractice case.

The new coroner’s inquest process will be delayed because of a lawsuit by the Police Protective Association. Are there any new developments?

Commissioner Steve Sisolak wants alternatives for dealing with a growing backlog of police shootings until the lawsuit is resolved. Fourteen deadly shootings await inquests, all on hold because of the lawsuit. “By the time the suit is over, we could have 50,” he said.

He’d like each shooting case to be taken to a grand jury or to District Attorney David Roger for a decision on whether criminal charges are warranted. An inquest jury, traditionally billed as a fact-finding mission, has had the right to determine if a shooting death was “criminal.” In 34 years, only one shooting was deemed “criminal.”

The union sued after the commission adopted a new system that gives families of the deceased the right to have an ombudsman represent them during the inquest.

This is what the union has wanted all along — grand juries or a review by the district attorney, right?

Yes, but if the commission goes the route of grand juries or a DA decision, those would be only temporary union victories. Chris Collins, the police union’s executive director, hopes “if they make that change, I’d be in favor of it becoming permanent.”

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Here is some good news: Las Vegas is going to finally pay its legal bill.

What are you talking about?

In May 2008, the city pledged $100,000 to support the prosecution in connection with the 2007 hepatitis C outbreak stemming from the Gastroenterology Center of Nevada and an endoscopy clinic. About 250 clinic patients infected with hepatitis have filed lawsuits. The county will formally vote to deposit the city’s check.

Why did it take three years?

Because the city finally got a bill from the district attorney’s office.

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The lowly, nonindigenous Sahara mustard plant is despised for its proliferation around Lake Mead. The thing grows like, well, a weed and blocks sunlight to native flowers. But it doesn’t grow so well in the lab, it turns out.

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