12 minute read
Feature
from April 10, 2014
BY D. BRIAN BURGHART • DESIGN BY BRIAN BRENEMAN I n this, the second part of our six-part Fatal Encounters series, we look at the actual numbers of people killed during interactions with police. This includes incidents of people shot, killed by vehicles, tasered, suicides or beaten to death. Sometimes the causes are uncertain, for example, Walter Inzer, an intoxicated 81-year-old man in Reno, died in the paddy wagon. Since no central government agency collects or data- bases this data, this is the most comprehensive dataset for incidents of police-in- volved homicide that has ever been collected in the state of Nevada. . www.fatalencounters.org All the charts and graphs were developed from our website, While, beginning in December, we requested information from all Nevada state and local law enforcement agencies, a few have not responded. However, because of redundancies in the way the requests were made—and use of media sources —we believe this information is fairly comprehensive. Since Native American tribes do not fall under Nevada public records laws, not all homicides on Native American land are likely included. This dataset also does not include all homicides by offi cers of federal agencies.
JUSTIFIED / EXCUSABLE 154 SUICIDE 15 CRIMINAL (ALL BY VEHICLE) 5
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19.7 %
BLACK OR AFRICAN- AMERICAN
2.6 %
ASIAN 45 %
WHITE
0.7 %
NATIVE HAWAIIAN & OTHER PACIFIC ISLANDER 3.8 %
TWO OR MORE RACES
1.6 %
AMERICAN INDIAN & ALASKA
7.9 %
ASIAN
NATIVE
8.9 %
BLACK OR AFRICAN- AMERICAN
10.9 %
2.6 %
NATIVE AMERICAN
2.6 %
MIXED 19.7 %
HISPANIC OR LATINO
6.2 %
UNKNOWN
6.2 %
NATIVE AMERICAN
3.1 %
HISPANIC OR LATINO
6.2 %
BLACK OR AFRICAN- AMERICAN 71.4 %
WHITE
52.9 %
WHITE (NON-LATINO)
0.7 %
NATIVE HAWAIIAN & OTHER PACIFIC ISLANDER
2.1 %
AMERICAN INDIAN & ALASKA NATIVE
5.5 %
ASIAN
2.6 %
BLACK OR AFRICAN- AMERICAN
65.1 %
WHITE (NON-LATINO)
27.3 %
HISPANIC OR LATINO
3.2 %
TWO OR MORE RACES 23.0 %
HISPANIC OR LATINO
THIS SUGGESTS A MINIMUM OF OF THE PEOPLE KILLED BY POLICE ARE MENTALLY ILL
FEMALE: 12
OF PEOPLE KILLED BY POLICE IN NEVADA 2000-2014
OF PEOPLE KILLED BY POLICE IN NEVADA 2000-2014
10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49
OF PEOPLE KILLED BY POLICE IN NEVADA 2000-2014
GUNSHOT:
50-59 60-69
TASER:
VEHICLE:
OLDEST PERSON KILLED IN A POLICE INTERACTION
AVERAGE AGE AT DEATH
YOUNGEST PERSON KILLED IN A POLICE INTERACTION
70-79 80-89
Age Unknown WASHOE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE OTHER (WASHO TRIBAL POLICE, NEVADA PAROLE & PROBATION, NEVADA GAMING CONTROL, RENO COURT MARSHALS)
RENO POLICE SPARKS POLICE
BREAKDOWN OF DEATHS BY PRIMARY AGENCY (EACH SYMBOL = 1 DEATH)
It’ s happening in !
ACTIVITIES
FLORAL ARRANGING FOR FUN
Create beautiful flower arrangements like a pro that will smell wonderful and decorate any room beautifully. Th, 4/10, 5-6:30PM, $49. Sparks Florist Design Center, 1440 Hymer Ave. (775) 358-8500
TOMATO MANIA
Learn how to grow and produce delicious tomatoes. Sa, 4/12, 11AM & 1PM, free. Rail City Garden Center, 1720 Brierley Way (775) 355-1551
SCHEELS KIDS KLUB: CAMPING 101
Learn great tips and different ways to enjoy the outdoors! Meet in the camping department. M, 4/14, 6PM, free. Scheels, 1200 Scheels Dr. (775) 331-2700
ZUMBA FOR KIDS AND ADULTS
An exhilarating, easy-to-follow, calorie-burning dance fitness party incorporating Latin and international dance rhythms. Tu, 4/15, 6-7PM, $69. Dilworth Middle School, 255 Prater Way (775) 353-5740
CROCHET CONNECTION
Learn to crochet or share tips with other crochet enthusiasts. Th, 4-5:45PM, free. Spanish Springs Library, 7100A Pyramid Lake Highway (775) 424-1800
CLICKETS KNITTING GROUP
Jean Peters guides this class for knitters of all ages and levels. Yarn and needles are available. First and Third Su of every month, 1:30-3PM, free. Spanish Springs Library, 7100A Pyramid Lake Highway, Spanish Springs (775) 424-1800
SCHEELS RUNNING CLUB
Run with expert pacers and enjoy running in a group Tu, 6:30PM through 12/9, free. Scheels, 1200 Scheels Dr. (775) 331-2700
FOUR SEASONS BOOK CLUB
The book club meets the first Saturday of each month. Call to find out each month’s book title. First Sa of every month, 1-2PM, free. Sparks Library, 1125 12th St. (775) 352-3200
CONVERSATION CAFE
The drop-in conversation program meets on the first Saturday of each month, 2-4PM, free. Sparks Library, 1125 12th St. (775) 352-3200
PERFORMANCE AND MUSIC
TYLER STAFFORD
F, 4/11, 8PM, no cover. Great Basin Brewing Co., 846 Victorian Ave. (775) 355-7711
MIMIC
F, 4/11, 9PM, no cover. Sidelines Bar & Nightclub, 1237 Baring Blvd. (775) 355-1030
STEVE KAUFMAN
Sa, 4/12, 8PM, $TBA. Great Basin Brewing Co., 846 Victorian Ave. (775) 355-7711
THE MARK CASTRO BAND
Classic Rock and Pop. Sa, 4/12, 9PM, no cover. Paddy & Irene’s Irish Pub, 906-A Victorian Ave. (775) 358-5484
ROCK & ROLL WITH DROPKIKK
Sa, 4/12, 9:30PM, no cover. Sidelines Bar & Nightclub, 1237 Baring Blvd. (775) 355-1030
DJ BOBBY G
DJ Bobby G rocks The Cat’s Meow at Bourbon Square Friday & Saturday nights! 8PM. No cover. Bourbon Square Casino, 1040 Victorian Ave. (775) 997-7177
HYPNOTIST SUSAN ROSEN
4/11-4/12, 7PM-9:30PM. Tickets $20 + service fee, available at http://bpt.me/622893 Bourbon Square Casino, 1040 Victorian Ave. (775) 997-7177
BUDDY EMMER
4/18-4/19, 8PM, free. Bourbon Square Casino, 1040 Victorian Ave. (775) 997-7177
COUNTRY NIGHT
Thursdays, 6:30PM – 10PM, free. Bourbon Square Casino, 1040 Victorian Ave. (775) 997-7177
6TH ANNUAL UKELELE FESTIVAL
What began as a small event in 2009 has grown into the largest festival of its kind in the West. The Reno Ukulele Festival features headliners the Leftover Cuties and Seinfeld’s heidi Swedberg with Daniel Ward on night one. Grammy-winning virtuoso Daniel Ho will perform on the second night. Th, 4/24, 6-9PM, F, 4/25, 9AM6PM and Sa, 4/26, 9AM-6PM. Tickets: $32/Friday, $28/Saturday. Free admission to public stage. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave. (775) 356-3300
LIVE MONDAYS WITH TANY JANE
Open mic night every Monday at 8PM, hosted by Tany Jane. M, 8PM, no cover. Sidelines Bar & Nightclub, 1237 Baring Blvd. (775) 355-1030
ERIKA PAUL
Enjoy Louisiana-style food and the soulful, breathtaking jazz sounds of Erika Paul on keyboards and vocals. No cover. Th, 6PM, no cover. Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen, 1180 Scheels Dr. (775) 657-8659
BLACK AND BLUES JAM
Tu, 8:30PM, no cover. Sidelines Bar & Nightclub, 1237 Baring Blvd. (775) 355-1030
LIVE JAZZ
Vocal and instrumental jazz from “The Great American Songbook”, performed by First Take featuring Rick (SAX) Metz. Fridays, 6PM through 12/27, no cover. Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen, 1180 Scheels Dr., Sparks, NV 89441 (775) 657-8659
KARAOKE
Th-Sa, 9PM, no cover. Bottom’s Up Saloon, 1923 Prater Way (775) 359-3677
Th, 7-10PM through 4/24, No cover Elbow Room Bar, 2002 Victorian Ave. (775) 356-9799
Sa, 8PM, no cover. 50 Yard Line Bar & Grill, 400 S. Rock Blvd. (775) 358-8848
THis secTion is pRoViDeD as a pUBlic seRVice BY THe Reno neWs & ReVieW anD is noT FUnDeD oR aFFiliaTeD WiTH THe ciTY oF spaRKs
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13
Jace Herndon is a hard guy to feel sorry for. He was a tweeker, a meth addict, a junkee. He was also a thief, a violent four-time felon. He spent time in prison, sentenced for holding a stolen AK-47. He’d attacked police. All you have to do is look at the mug shot that ran in all the local media to see he was about as nasty an individual as one would care to meet.
Herndon must have been a bad seed. Born on March 1, 1971, he’d begun his run-ins with police by 1991. He met his clichéd end in a hail storm of bullets on the Friday afternoon of May 18, 2012—a beautiful spring afternoon, 73 degrees, blue skies and no breeze.
Reno police did the deed, but it’s not hard to imagine that if it wasn’t them, it would have been some other police agency. He didn’t know it, but he already had a date with destiny, as an off-duty detective from the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office had gotten word (apparently from a “friend” of Herndon’s) that Herndon was on his way to exchange a stolen Pontiac Grand Am for $100 and an ounce of meth. The deputy had communicated this information with his supervisor and the Reno Police Department.
A Reno detective, Jason Daniels, intercepted him before he reached the Reno Royal Motel on West Street between Third and Fourth streets. Daniels caught up with him on Second Street heading toward Arlington Avenue. With Daniels behind him, Herndon turned south. Daniels called for backup, and soon officers Joey Deal, Jason Stallcop and Adam Blount were also on Herndon’s tail.
Herndon must have been freaking. In fact, his shadows could see how agitated he was, either moving or hiding something while he drove. The stolen, maroon Grand Am had serious problems. Its front was bashed in, and it had already died once on Herndon and the friends he was with, Julie Dempsey and Ken Norton. He made it about 20 feet west on Court Street before it died again, then another hundred feet before he pulled behind a parked car. Suddenly, he was boxed in by vehicles, sirens and lights.
“Reno Police Department; please show me your hands,” Daniels ordered, according to Washoe County sheriff’s deputy Joe Bowden’s report. “He [Daniels] noticed the female front passenger and male rear passenger put their hands up; however, the driver (Jace Herndon) did not put his hands up. Detective Daniels was concerned because it was a stolen vehicle, the driver was not complying with orders, his hands could not be seen, and he had previously seen him moving in the front of the vehicle and that he possibly was in possession of a weapon. Detective Daniels also noticed the other officers were also yelling ‘Police,’ and, ‘Show me your hands.’ “Herndon then stated, ‘Fuck you, you’re going to have to shoot me.’”
It’s been said that the three deadliest words in the English language are “Go ahead, shoot.” Herndon once again showed himself the norm that proves the rule. On the crime scene, there were 11 empty casings found near the suspect vehicle, nine of which were .40 caliber and two were 9mm. There was also one live 9mm casing found, two intact bullets and one bullet jacket.
Dr. Ellen Clark of the Washoe County Medical Examiner’s Office found 15 bullet wounds on Herndon’s body. They included trauma to the chest, abdomen, right back shoulder, front right chest, left upper arm, left elbow and left index finger and back of left hand. There were seven intact bullets and four fragments consistent with .40 or 9 mm bullets taken from his body. It seems every bullet fired found a home.
In the car, two knives and a baseball batshaped club were found. One of the knives was designed to look like a revolver with brown wooden grips, a trigger guard and a hammer and a flip-out blade.
He’d literally brought knives to a gunfight. Herndon seems like one cliché after another. A bad guy comes to a bad end, betrayed by a friend. A junkie gets his just desserts. But peeking through the police and media reports with the two mug shots, that gaunt, gaunt junkie face and the much younger one with the blackened eye is the mystery, the unknowable back story of a guy who wasn’t all bad.
Surely, his two children, a boy and a girl, must have loved him. He had other family, too. He had a wife. He laid tile for a living. He had friends—he had two with him when he was killed. Pastor Danny Rost of A
Voice in the Wilderness, that street church on East Second Street, counted him among his flock. That’s a church that specializes in people who crave redemption from drugs and alcohol.
Hard to say whether Jace Herndon was on his way to becoming a better man. But if he wasn’t trying, why was he in church? What is nearly certain is that he was on his way to a hundred bucks and an ounce of meth in a stolen car.
Pastor Rost was a bit taken aback to hear Jace Herndon’s name after almost two years.
“I loved Jace,” he said. “He was a good brother in the Lord. [After the incident], he was horribly misrepresented in the media. Jace had been a member of our fellowship for about three, three and a half years, during which time he led worship. He also taught several Bible studies. He headed up several different outreaches, mostly musical outreaches. He was the lead singer of a local Christian band named Risen. Played biker outreach events, played park outreach events, played concerts at various churches. He ministered up at Jan Evans Juvenile Facility for a while. He did a lot of good things around the community.”
Herndon was struggling with his addiction, Rost said, trying to be the man that he knew he was, and to come up and out of the garbage that he’d allowed to once again entangle him.
“For several months before the incident happened, he’d give me a call, and I’d go meet with him wherever he was at, whether it was a motel room or a park. We’d pray, and he’d bare his heart, tell me the struggle that was going on, always asking for prayer. The situation that he found himself in at the very end just really shocked me. I know he had a past. There was nothing unfactual in regard to the record, but the man that he was, I have a hard time reconciling with the way the situation went down.” And it’s those questions combined with the haunted look in those shrunken and drug-addicted eyes in the mug shots that make it a little easier to feel sorry for a man who could have been something besides a cliché and a statistic.
Six days after the death, on May 24, 2012, Washoe County District Attorney Richard Gammick ruled the homicide justified, and this is one where few, if any, would second-guess the determination.
A partial police report and findings of justification can be read at bit.ly/1e892oX
