LVRJ Throws Metro Under The Bus. Again.

The Las Vegas Review Journal is really pulling out the stops to win a Pulitzer Prize by throwing Metro police officers under the bus.
From the LVRJ: When Miami police shot and killed eight people in 16 months, the U.S. Department of Justice investigated.
When Portland, Ore., police shot and killed five people over 18 months, there was a federal investigation.
Las Vegas police have shot 15 people dead in the past 18 months.
There is no federal investigation.
In Miami and Portland, the deaths touched off loud calls for federal scrutiny from advocacy groups, city officials and members of Congress alike.
In Las Vegas, the shootings have not sparked the same reaction.
Even after a Review-Journal investigation found Metropolitan Police Department shootings have risen while authorities are reluctant to hold cops accountable, local civil rights groups are taking a wait-and-see approach. http://www.lvrj.com/news/federal-scrutiny-missing-from-las-vegas-police-shootings-135399508.html
Since I have been here, a little over 5 years ago, I have only seen 2 questionable shootings by the Metro cops and 1 shooting by Henderson police that warrant an outside investigation. The Trevon Cole, Erik Scott shootings and the shooting of an ice cream woman in Henderson have been questionable. The rest of the shootings by Metro are no brainers and virtually the only people complaining are the families of the people shot along with the ACLU, which comes as no surprise.
The ACLU and others also complain that there is not enough scrutiny given to the shootings and of course, that is a bunch of crap. Last year, if there was a shooting, there would be an investigation my Metro officers and then the DA. After the DA gets the case, the shooting then goes to the inquest stage where a public hearing is held and the police officers and witnesses are called to the stand and give testimony. The family of the shooting victim can submit questions to the DA to be asked, though they are not allowed to ask the questions directly.
However, now the inquest process has become more adversarial to the police officer. Officers can be questioned by outside attorneys and officers can have their statements used against them in a criminal or civil proceedings. Because of these changes, police officers no longer are cooperating in the inquest process. The inquest process went from a neutral process to an adversarial process.
And the inquest process, while not perfect, is still better than what other major cities do. In cities like Milwaukee, WI. and otters, they rely on the district attorney to decide whether the shooting is justified or not. There is no openness not are there hearings. You have to rely on the honesty of the DA to decide whether a shooting is justified or not. In Las Vegas, at least there is a hearing and a jury deciding whether a shooting is justified or not.
The LVRJ says their should be a federal investigation. Why? While most shooting occur in the poor areas of town, this also where most of the crimes occur. What a shock. And what a shock, many minorities live in these neighborhoods as well. So, naturally, there will be more minorities shot.
So, the LVRJ is trying to win their Pulitzer on the backs of the Metro police officers. While the Metro cops are not perfect, the cops do a good job under trying circumstances. Not only do they have to police the 2 million people in the Valley, they also have to police the 33+ million people that visit Las Vegas every year. Even the LVRJ tried, they just do not make the case that there needs to be an investigation by the Fed's. What the LVRJ did show is their ignorance and their biased view of the cops when they wrote these articles. You would expect these articles coming from the Las Vegas Sun, where they have a hatred of the cops and where journalism ethics don't exist. But the LVRJ showed they really are not that different from Sun- they can run unethical articles just as good as the Sun.