LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -
Clark County's district attorney will not pursue criminal charges against two Henderson Police officers and a sergeant who were videotaped kicking a motorist during an arrest in October 2010.
District Attorney Steve Wolfson released his definitive answer in a five-page document posted online Friday.
In it, he describes the process used to determine whether Sgt. Brett Seekatz broke the law when he kicked Adam Greene in the head as other officers struggled to place him in handcuffs.
Greene was suffering from a diabetic episode when he was pulled over by Henderson police and the Nevada Highway Patrol.
Dashboard video showed an officer with his gun drawn kicking Greene's car before he was pulled out and wrestled to the ground.
"None of the officers acted maliciously," Wolfson wrote in his decision, adding that after Seektaz kicked Greene five times, he "seemed to realize that his actions were not helping to overcome [Greene's] apparently confrontational behavior." He continued by noting that "similarly, Officers (Douglas) Lynaugh and (Seth) VanBeveren stopped administering knee strikes after Mr. Green's resistant behavior subsided."
In February, Adam Greene was awarded a six-figure settlement in connection with the incident.
Wolfson told FOX5 that Henderson's Use of Force policy places no limitation on how kicks are to be performed.
"[Seekatz] was trained before the event that he could use his feet in a kicking manner if appropriate. So, how do I go into a court of law and ask a jury to convict somebody of an act when the officer was trained to be able to do the behavior?" Wolfson said.
Officials said Seekatz and the other officers were disciplined following the incident, but none were fired.
Henderson's police chief, Jutta Chambers, abruptly announced her retirement after the settlement was approved.
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A screen shot of the videotaped incident in October 2010
