Las Vegas Metro Police Try to Eliminate the Ability to Sue for "Negligent" Excessive Force in Serious Cases, Limit Liability to "Intentional" Acts Only

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When an officer uses force, can a family sue only for intentional wrongdoing, or can they also argue the officer was careless? Las Vegas Metro's position in a pending case would close the second option.

In K.C. v. LVMPD, Metro officers shot and killed Keith Childress Jr. on December 31, 2015, believing he had a gun. He was holding a black phone. After the first shots, officers fired a second volley while he lay on the ground, and a police dog bit him for fifteen seconds.

The family brought federal claims and a state negligence claim. The trial judge would not let the jury consider whether the shootings themselves were negligent, following an Arizona rule that negligence cannot rest on an officer's intentional use of force. Metro argues that rule should apply in Nevada: in its view, negligent conduct and intentional conduct are separate, so a deliberate use of force cannot be "negligent." The effect is to limit claims about an officer's force to intentional-conduct theories only. Even with the shootings excluded, the jury found the officers 25% negligent and awarded $150,000, which was reduced to $0 under Nevada's comparative-fault rule.

On January 2, 2026, the Ninth Circuit asked the Nevada Supreme Court two questions: Can a negligence claim be based on an officer's intentional use of force? And is "reasonable care" under Nevada law the same as "reasonableness" under the Fourth Amendment? Federal judges in Nevada have split on both. California allows these negligence claims; Arizona does not.

Why it matters: federal civil rights claims face hurdles like qualified immunity, which does not apply to state-law claims. Negligence also looks more broadly at how officers handled an encounter, not just the final moment force was used. If Nevada adopts Metro's view, that path narrows for families.

The case is pending, and no one can predict the result. Our firm is not counsel in this case.

If you or a loved one was hurt by police in Nevada, call Breeden Malpractice & Injury Law at 702-819-7770 to discuss your options.

This post is general information, not legal advice.