LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The family of a man shot and killed by Las Vegas police is now filing a federal civil rights and wrongful death lawsuit against the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
On Tuesday, Latia Alexander, the mother of 19-year-old Isaiah Williams, filed the lawsuit, which alleges that officers failed to abide by what is known as the "knock-and-announce rule" and that Williams' Fourth Amendment rights were violated.
The incident in question happened on Jan. 10, 2022. Around 5 a.m., Las Vegas police responded to an apartment complex in the 3000 block of S. Nellis Boulevard and were executing a search warrant related to a November 2021 homicide investigation.
During a fact-finding review last January, police said the November 2021 homicide happened at a bus stop near the Sam's Town Hotel and Casino and they believed two suspects were involved. On Dec. 18, 2021, police said someone shot into a vehicle at 3050 S. Nellis Boulevard and the same homicide suspect was identified as one of the shooting suspects. On Jan. 10, 2022, at 3:23 a.m., investigators stated they initiated a follow-up call at Nellis Boulevard and Vegas Valley Drive and detectives received a search warrant for evidence related to the homicide, which led to SWAT being dispatched to Williams' apartment.
At 5 a.m., officers arrived and in bodycam footage, officers can be heard yelling "Police Department. Search Warrant" multiple times to announce themselves. When they went into the apartment, Williams could be seen lying on a couch next to the front door with a gun in his hand. Williams and officers opened fire and starting shooting at each other.
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During the fact-finding review, officials said they received a shots fired call at 5:01 a.m. Medical personnel were requested to the scene at 5:03 a.m., medical treatment began on Williams at 5:05 a.m., and he was pronounced dead at 5:10 a.m. According to police, Williams had been shot at least 17 times.
According to the lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Williams' family alleged officers didn't have a "no-knock" warrant, officers didn't have a reason to be at the apartment, and that the suspect they were allegedly looking for didn't live there.
"Plaintiff has been unable to locate any search or arrest warrant of any kind on the day in question and, thus, would seek leave to amend this Complaint to assert that the officers lacked a warrant," the lawsuit reads in part. "The officers lacked probable cause or reasonable suspicion that the suspect, as opposed to other individuals, was actually inside the apartment."
The lawsuit also states that even if officers did enter the apartment, they didn't give Williams enough time to respond whenever officers announced they were outside his front door.
"Officers began ramming the front door just 10 seconds after announcing their presence, an amount of time that is completely unreasonable to [wake up]," the lawsuit reads in part. "At the same time, officers deployed what is known as a stun stick and a noise flash device, which by their very nature would make it difficult for a person to hear officers announcing themselves."
According to the lawsuit, the Fourth Amendment "extends to the manner in which police execute otherwise valid searches" and that because of how officers behaved during the raid, Williams died.
His family is seeking at least $1 million in damages.
Channel 13 spoke to Alexander last January, after the police-finding review, and she said the whole process has been extremely difficult for her family.
"It took them a year to release most of the information to me and we still don't have the warrant. They have released everything but the warrant," Alexander said. "That should be the first thing you produce. Something is not right. If it was right, why would you not ... I would be glad to hand that over immediately. I'm angry. Somebody needs to pay. You just don't get to make these type of mistakes and get away with it. Somebody needs to be held accountable for it."
Channel 13 reached out to LVMPD about the lawsuit and were told that LVMPD does not comment on pending litigation.
