Making a tough call

In a perfect world, newly appointed District Attorney Steve Wolfson would not have learned of the police assault of diabetic Henderson motorist Adam Greene from the media.

In a perfect world, he'd have learned of it when the Henderson Police Department arrested Sgt. Brett Seekatz on charges of oppression under color of authority for repeatedly kicking Greene as five other officers pinned him to the ground.

But that's not the way it happened. Instead, the Henderson Police Department quietly imposed some sort of discipline on Seekatz -- the department won't say what, but Seekatz retains his stripes -- and settled with Greene.

Nevertheless, because the beating was captured on the dashboard camera of a Nevada Highway Patrol cruiser, and because of a rash of high-profile incidents of police violence, Wolfson considered filing a felony case against Seekatz, but ultimately decided against it.

There's only three questions a prosecutor must answer before deciding to proceed on any case. First, was a crime committed? Second, can you identify the perpetrator? And third, can you prove to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt the perpetrator is guilty?

As to the first question, Wolfson says yes: "Yeah, I thought a crime was committed," he said simply in a brief interview on Friday.

And the video backs him up: Greene was immobilized by five other cops when Seekatz casually strolls up and delivers five kicks. While Seekatz's fellow officers did not have Greene in handcuffs, he was clearly no threat to the officers. A shouted admonition to "stop resisting mother (expletive)," is almost comical, given the situation.

As to the second question, the answer is also yes. Thanks to the video, we know exactly who did what. (And, in case there are doubters, Wolfson said there was nothing leading up to the incident that was not captured on video that might have justified a higher-than-usual level of aggression.)

That brings us to question three. And here, Wolfson says his answer is no.

"Ethically, I have to think whether I can prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt," Wolfson said on "Face to Face with Jon Ralston" Thursday. "Seasoned lawyers in my office -- and myself, you know the buck stops with me -- made the decision that we could not prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. And because of that, I didn't think it was in the community's best interest to charge an officer or officers with crimes for conduct that occurred a year and a half ago."

There will be plenty of people who will second-guess Wolfson's judgment on this point, notwithstanding his three decades both prosecuting and defending cases, including cases involving cops.

Wolfson acknowledges his decision will be unpopular, especially against the backdrop of a growing list of police-involved shootings. (A short list: the killing of an apparently drug-addled Erik Scott outside the Summerlin Costco store; the highly questionable killing of low-level marijuana dealer Trevon Cole; the more recent killing of disoriented Iraq War veteran Stanley Gibson as he sat in a blocked-in car in an apartment parking lot; the Henderson shooting of ice cream truck driver Deshira Selimaj as she stood beside her truck, holding a knife.)

But Wolfson says those incidents -- and the community's growing sense that something is wrong -- wouldn't have made a difference with a jury. Juries generally don't allow outside incidents to influence their deliberations, he said.

Except, Wolfson also allows that juries give cops more leeway: "There's a tendency to not want to convict a police officer," he says.

Even with videotaped evidence?

Well, the cops who carried out the Rodney King beating were acquitted in their initial state trial, sparking riots.

Count me among the skeptics: With an obvious crime, a suspect, a witness and a videotape, my (totally untrained, never-spent-a-day-in-court) instinct would have been to prosecute.

We should demand more of our cops.

Steve Sebelius is a Review-Journal political columnist and author of the blog SlashPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter (@SteveSebelius) or reach him at (702) 387-5276 or ssebelius@reviewjournal.com.