Summary: Opperman Report 9-12-14 LAS VEGAS ANTI-GUN POLICY: KILL AND COVER William B. Scott is a former Rocky Mountain Bureau Chief for Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine. During his 22 years with the publication, he also served as Senior National Editor, Avionics Editor and Senior Engineering Editor. He is a co-author of three books: Space Wars: The First Six Hours of World War III; Counterspace: The Next Hours of World War III, and Inside the Stealth Bomber: The B-2 Story. A solo-written novel, The Permit, is based on the murder of his eldest son, Erik Scott. Scott holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from California State University-Sacramento, and is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. In 35 years of military and civilian flight testing, plus evaluating aircraft for Aviation Week, he has logged approximately 2,000 flight hours on 80 aircraft types. On July 10, 2010, Erik B. Scott, a 1994 U.S. Military Academy at West Point graduate with an MBA from Duke University, was shot to death by three Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (“Metro”) officers in front of a Las Vegas, NV, Costco big-box store. While many readers will recall that egregious, senseless murder, few know what followed: A jaw-dropping cover-up more typical of the old Soviet Union than America. To every man and woman, who carries a firearm, the Erik Scott shooting is a chilling reminder that billion-dollar companies, such as Costco, have irrational, secret, anti-gun policies that literally kill their customers. Erik, a Boston Scientific cardiac pacemaker sales rep, was carrying a legally registered concealed firearm, while he and his girlfriend were shopping at Costco-Summerlin in Las Vegas. He also had a concealed-carry permit in his wallet, issued by the same Metro police force that killed him. When Erik squatted on the floor to verify that three metal water bottles would fit into a soft-sided, zip-up cooler, a Costco employee spotted Erik’s Kimber Ultra Carry .45-caliber semiautomatic in an inside-the-waistband holster. A civil interchange with a Costco manager ensued, and Erik was told that a Costco policy banned guns inside company stores—although there were no signs to that effect posted outside or inside, and there’s no mention of a gun-ban policy in the membership application. Erik calmly responded that his sidearm was legal and that he had a concealed-carry weapon (CCW) permit on his person. The manager never asked Erik to leave the store, and the two parted on good terms, according to witnesses. The Costco manager reassured a plainclothes security guard, Shai Lierley, that Erik would be leaving soon. For reasons known only to him, the young, cocky Lierley—defying management practices and company policy—placed a 311 call to the local police, falsely claiming Erik “had a gun and was acting erratic.” Thinking an armed madman was barricaded inside, Metro cops rushed to the store in overwhelming force—15 police cruisers, a helicopter, an incident-command team and an ambulance. An inbound Metro lieutenant suggested that Costco managers quietly evacuate the store. Unaware that the evacuation had anything to do with him, Erik and his girlfriend calmly walked out with the crowd, passing three Metro officers waiting at the entrance and exit doors. Costco’s Shai Lierley identified Erik to an agitated, scared Metro officer, William Mosher, who was clutching a semiautomatic, visibly shaking and sweating profusely. Alarmed, Mosher spun around and immediately yelled something, which even nearby cops failed to comprehend. Erik turned to find a frightened, obese cop shouting three conflicting commands. With his left hand, Erik lifted his T-shirt to expose the Kimber, and repeated, "I am armed, I am armed..." Witnesses said he moved his right elbow enough to expose the Kimber. In his right hand, Erik held a BlackBerry cell phone. Mosher instantly panicked and fired two shots with a .45-caliber Glock 21. The cop’s...
