Family of slain 12-year-old hostage sues Henderson police

The family of a slain 12-year-old boy has filed a new wrongful death lawsuit that accuses Henderson police of fatally shooting the child during a hostage situation.

Joseph Hawatmeh was killed four years ago during a standoff outside an apartment complex.

A 38-year-old gunman, Jason Bourne, killed the boy’s mother, Dianne Hawatmeh, 38, and paralyzed Yasmeen Hawatmeh, his sister. Bourne then took Joseph hostage in his family’s black Cadillac Escalade and called 911 while still holding the gun.

“I forgot to take my medication,” transcripts show Bourne saying while on the call.

According to the new lawsuit, filed Monday in Clark County District Court, “the scene was set” for a standoff between Bourne and the Henderson Police Department. The SWAT team was called, but by the time it showed up, officers already had shot and killed Bourne and his young hostage, the lawsuit alleges.

“Someone, in one day, losing a 12-year-old child, a wife and having a 16-year-old daughter forever be a paraplegic — the significance of that is so patently difficult,” said Roger Croteau, lead attorney for plaintiffs Iehab, Yasmeen and Layth Hawatmeh.

Iehab Hawatmeh is Joseph’s father, and Layth is the boy’s brother.

The family first filed its case in federal court, but a judge dismissed it. However, the ruling allowed the plaintiffs to pursue the case in state court.

The defendants argued in court records that the complaint made by the Hawatmeh family failed to state a constitutional violation.

“Joseph was a hostage who was, at most, accidentally shot,” they wrote. It also said Bourne “needed to be stopped immediately.”

Madeleine Skains, a spokesperson for the city of Henderson, said the city had no additional comments on the case beyond those already made in federal court filings.

Day of standoff

The fatal events that unfolded on Nov. 3, 2020, happened at the The Douglas at Stonelake apartment complex, 1445 Stonelake Cove Ave., in Henderson.

Dianne Hawatmeh made a noise complaint about Bourne, who lived in the apartment right above the family. But after Dianne Hawatmeh and Yasmeen came home, Bourne burst into their apartment, shooting and killing Dianne Hawatmeh, as well as Veronica Muniz, a housekeeper, and rendering Yasmeen a paraplegic.

Joseph called 911 and told the dispatcher that someone was in his apartment with a gun. Bourne then instructed the boy to retrieve the keys to his family’s car before taking him outside and putting him in the passenger seat.

When Bourne called 911 from the Escalade, he told the dispatcher that he wanted a helicopter, had a gun and had a hostage with him.

“A chopper, a big chopper,” Bourne said, advising the 911 dispatcher that police had 10 minutes to get him the helicopter.

The lawsuit alleges that the dispatcher “knew or should have been reasonably aware that Bourne was having a mental health episode of some type.”

Bourne had taken Joseph and Yasmeen’s phones with him, and when Iehab and Layth Hawatmeh called Yasmeen’s phone, Bourne told Joseph to answer it.

“Ultimately, Iehab and Layth heard the gunshots that resulted in the deaths of Joseph and Bourne,” the complaint states.

Sixteen officers eventually surrounded the Escalade, according to the lawsuit, which states that one officer, James Pendleton, on instruction from officer Jaime Smith, shot once, striking Bourne.

But what ensued is described in the complaint as “a volley of consecutive gunshots” that mortally wounded not just Bourne but Joseph.

Allegations faced by Henderson police

In total, 28 shots were fired into the car, the lawsuit alleges. Under the circumstances, the complaint further alleges, Henderson police officers should have reassessed and de-escalated the scene in accordance with standard procedure in hostage situations.

Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that Smith failed to secure the scene to allow a SWAT negotiator to perform alternatives.

“It was the police defendants’ outrageous decision under these facts to use lethal force to attempt to kill Bourne that ultimately” led to Joseph’s death, the lawsuit states, alleging broad failures in communication.

In a videotaped deposition in August 2023, Pendleton testified that Bourne was never seen shooting anything, raising his gun or threatening officers from inside the car.

But a motion filed by defendants in federal court stated that Smith said Bourne had “put a gun up” to Joseph when Pendleton shot him. “And then everyone fired,” she said.

On Jan. 23, 2023, the Clark County district attorney’s office ruled that none of the seven police officers who opened fire should face criminal charges.

Contact Estelle Atkinson at eatkinson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @estellelilym on X and @estelleatkinsonreports on Instagram.