CLASS 1994 NEWS

Erik B. Scott, a 1994 U.S. Military Academy at West Point graduate, was shot and killed by three Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (Metro) officers in front of the Summerlin Costco store on 10 July 2010. The shooting is still under investigation, but here are the basic facts, based on numerous eyewitness reports:

Erik was carrying a legally registered concealed firearm, while he and his girlfriend were shopping at Costco. He also had a concealed carry permit in his wallet, issued by the same Metro department 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 saw the weapon. Erik's shirt had lifted up, revealing an inside-the-belt holstered pistol tucked into the back of his jeans. A civil interchange ensued, and the employee informed Erik of Costco's policy that guns were not allowed inside company stores -- although there are no signs to that effect posted outside or inside the facility. Erik calmly responded that his gun was legal and that he had a concealed carry weapon (CCW) permit on his person. Like many other Boston Scientific pacemaker sales reps, Erik carried a concealed weapon for personal protection, because reps are required to enter dangerous areas of the city at all hours of the day and night to serve patients fitted with cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators. Contrary to wildly erroneous news reports, we don't believe Erik had a second gun on his person.

The Costco employee apparently reported to the store's manager that Erik was carrying a gun. The manager, in turn, informed a young, plainclothes security person, who subsequently placed a 911 call to the police. The contents of that 911 call have not been released, but Northwest Metro cops rushed to the store in overwhelming force. Perhaps as many as 15 police cruisers, a helicopter, an incident-command team and an ambulance were dispatched.

Costco managers announced via the PA system that the store was being evacuated. Unaware that the evacuation had anything to do with him, Erik and his girlfriend walked out with the crowd, passing three Metro officers waiting at the entrance. The Costco undercover security guard pointed to Erik, and the cops started yelling at Erik to stop and turn around.

Erik turned to find three officers facing him, guns drawn, and all three shouting different commands: "Get on the ground!" "Drop your weapon!" and "Keep your hands up!" Erik held his hands up, spoke calmly, told them he DID have a concealed firearm and a legal CCW and was an ex-Army officer. His girlfriend was screaming about Erik being a West Point grad, former Army officer, etc. Erik leaned to his left, hands still up, to expose the pistol inside his belt, and repeated, "I am disarming; I am disarming..." Witnesses say he started to lower his right hand, palm OUT, as if intending to remove holster and gun together — but never got the hand below his shoulder, when one of the cops (William Mosher, who had committed a fatal shooting in 2006) shot Erik in the chest with a .45-caliber weapon. Erik dropped to his knees, clearly in shock, his face a picture of disbelief. He was shot a second time and collapsed. The rest is ugly. The three officers unloaded again, firing a total of seven hollow-point rounds. At least five, possibly six, hit Erik in the back, after he was on the ground and dying.

The cops roughly handcuffed Erik's hands behind his back, and, in the words of an eyewitness, "tossed him onto a gurney [as if he were] a sack of potatoes."

Costco had numerous security cameras inside the store and at least four trained on the entrance portico, where the shooting took place. Metro officers immediately seized the surveillance-camera video data (computer hard disks), including backup drives. Within hours, Metro leaked "news" that the video may be "unusable," and that the hard drives had been sent to a forensics lab in Los Angeles. More than six weeks later, only Metro personnel have seen the video. Sheriff Douglas Gillespie, the Metro chief, continues to say that "there's probably no usable video" of events inside the store or of Erik's fatal shooting. He also has refused to release the 911 audio tape, even though Metro normally releases those 911 call tapes to the media within days.

There's been considerable media coverage of Erik's shooting, and many of the news reports are available on Las Vegas TV station and Las Vegas Review Journal newspaper websites. Erik's family and friends have done numerous interviews, as we search for the truth about Erik's slaying. Many people think one of our more-effective interviews was on Channel 8/KLAS TV with George Knapp of the "I-Team." (http://www.8newsnow.com/global/story.asp?s=12809131)

A Clark County Coroner's Inquest Hearing is scheduled for 22-23 September in Las Vegas. Considered to be unique in the U.S., this particular inquest process is heavily biased in favor of law enforcement personnel. A Las Vegas reporter referred to it as "police investigating police and reporting to police." In 34 years of inquests into more than 190 officer-involved shootings, only one officer has been found at fault — and he was never prosecuted.

Interested parties can follow developments in this case, as well as an "E-Team" weblog featuring commentary and insights, at: http://www.erikbscott.com

  1-4 October 2009 at West Point 
Make plans now to attend and reconnect
with classmates and our Alma Mater!

Reunion Letter from Class President

Hotel Information - You must reserve your room on your own! 

The Class of 1994 has selected the Park Ridge Marriot Hotel located at 300 Brae Boulevard in Park Ridge, New Jersey 07656 for our lodging.   The hotel is located just off the Garden State Parkway about thirty minutes from West Point.  The special room rate is $125 per night (plus tax), single or double occupancy. We have a block of rooms reserved for each of the nights.  Make your reservation ASAP!  Call Marriott general reservations at (800) 882-1038 and ask for the “u94u94a” rate at the Park Ridge Marriott hotel.  Or call the Park Ridge Marriott directly at (201) 307-0800.   One night's deposit to a credit card is required and is refundable if canceled in advance.  The hotel manager will keep our rooms blocked until Friday August 14, 2009, but it is possible they will fill completely before then.  Once again, we recommend making your reservations as soon as possible.  If this hotel fills up, we may have overflow space at a nearby hotel but we will not know that until this one fills up.  For online hotel reservations, go to https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/ewrpr-park-ridge-marriott/.  Type u94u94a in the "Group Code" Box at the right side of your screen.
 

Reunion Agenda

GOLF

We will post more details once we have them.

Reunion Registration

Now Opened!

Update your Cullum File
Your Cullum File is your permanent historical file maintained at the West Point Association of Graduates.  Update your information today! 

 Extra Memorabilia

To order items in addition to those you will receive with your reunion registration fee, please click above. 

 Football Tickets

Football game tickets must be purchased thru the Army Ticket Office via the web http://www.goarmysports.com/ or by phone 1-877-TIX-ARMY (1-877-849-2769).  Tickets for the 3 October contest against Tulane will be sold individually for $36 each.  Indicate that you wish to be seated in the 1994 Reunion Section.  Persons with season tickets or another type of ticket package can exchange the Tulane ticket and receive another Tulane ticket seated in the reunion area with no price adjustment upon request (contact the Army Ticket Office to arrange an exchange).

Questions for the Reunion Committee

  Refund Policy

Full Refund until 31 August 09, contact Nicole Corbin at nicole.corbin@wpaog.org.  No Refunds after 31 August 2009!!!  If you have any questions, contact Brandi Peasley at brandi.peasley@gmail.com. Memorabilia packets for those who cancel after 31 August 09 will be mailed to you after the reunion.

Below is an email from one of our fellow classmates, Patrick McCabe to Ted Williams, USMA 1994 Class President.  Patrick is running for State Representative and here is his message...

I'm Patrick McCabe, and I am a 1994 West Point grad living in Massachusetts. I am running for State Representative because it's time to replace politicians with leaders.

A few months ago, I attended the Founder's Day celebration in Newton, MA. The Dean, BG Finnegan, spoke to us about the great accomplishments of cadets and new grads. He shared a story about a new grad who wrote his Electrical Engineering P to request teaching materials when the new Lieutenant was deployed in Iraq, to troubleshoot a local power station. This story reminded me of my deployment as a company commander in Kosovo, where we had to provide much more than security to the locals. Both situations highlight the results of inept political leadership. Both stories also demonstrate that soldiers are willing to be real leaders and get the job done. Politicians too often compromise and settle for 51%. Real leaders make difficult decisions, build consensus, and make things happen.

I am running for office to be a different kind of leader. In order to do this, I need your help. Running a winning campaign requires volunteer commitments and extensive financial resources. If you share my values and would like to see more USMA grads serving our country in elected office, I would appreciate your support. I would also be honored and grateful if you could forward this message to any family members, friends or neighbors who share your values.

Checks can be sent to the Committee to Elect Patrick McCabe, 62 Walsh Street, Medford, MA 02155. You can contribute via our campaign website at http://www.mccabeforrep.org/contribute.htm, or volunteer at http://www.mccabeforrep.org/volunteer.htm. Thank you for your help.

                Sincerely,

                Patrick McCabe

https://www.westpointaog.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=2735&srcid=10022&srctid=1&erid=532429

Fellow members of the Long Gray Line,

I’m writing to let you know that I have in fact decided to update the lyrics to our Alma Mater and  The Corps. The realization that these songs explicitly exclude our women graduates–two of whom have given their lives in battle–was the driving force behind the changes, and it's simply the right thing to do. I have received unanimous support for this decision from the Board of Visitors and the Executive Steering Group, whose members are the Secretary of the Army, the Army Chief of Staff, and the Army Vice Chief of Staff.

Although this is America’s Academy, you, as its graduates, are critical to our continued success.  Over the past five months you gave me lots of input on this issue, and I recognize that more than half of it was against this change.  However, other considerations besides majority opinion--and the heartfelt support this change did receive from a good number of graduates from every era--made my decision possible.

I seriously considered, as many of you suggested, adding a verse rather than changing the current words, but that would likely underscore our differences, rather than celebrate our similarities. Many also suggested alternate word changes. Again, I considered those, but in discussions with the musicians on the staff here, particularly our Glee Club director, keeping the lyrical and metrical integrity was paramount.

The responsibility for the U.S. Corps of Cadets is mine. The decision is effective for the Corps immediately and, as Bugle Notes has already been printed, we will post an errata sheet before issuing Bugle Notes to the cadet candidates on R-Day.

Clearly the Long Gray Line has no individual leader, and as I’ve already mentioned, many of you obviously do not agree with this decision.  Indeed, I expect that some of you will continue to sing these songs as you learned them years ago.  In any case, I am asking for your continued support of West Point, no matter what lyrics you choose to sing. Let us shift our focus to the continuing task of producing leaders of character over a rigorous 47-month experience who will win our nation’s wars.

BEAT NAVY!

LTG F. L. Hagenbeck
Superintendent

Hi Classmates, I hope this Assembly Update finds you doing well, and ready to celebrate Founder’s Day and the accompanying 206^th birthday of our Academy! Not much new news to share in this issue, unfortunately!

Rich and Kelly Swift just celebrated their 8th anniversary and have 4 kids to show for it. They are the proud parents of Madeleine (6), Charlie (5), Maryjane (3) and Margaret (8 mos) now.  The family lives in New Vernon, NJ, which is close to Rich’s hometown. Rich is in the hedge fund industry in New York and says he doesn’t consider it "going to work" because he enjoys it so much.  He travels internationally for work to some incredible places. Despite what sounds like a very cosmopolitan and interesting lifestyle, he says his favorite things to do now include playing "Go Fish," wiffle ball, and air hockey with the kids! Pretty much my wavelength too! Rich also says he wants to strongly encourage each of you reading this update to visit the wonderful class website engineered by Jenny Kim at www.usma1994.com.  I think you will agree that Jenny’s done an amazing job. He also says you should click on the donations tab and please give what you can to our class gift fund, and I second that motion!  You may recall that at the time of our 10-year reunion, our class gave the largest ever donation by a class at their 10-year mark. That is due in large measure to the forward thinking of our former class officers including Spencer Dodge, who dreamed up the idea of automatic payroll deductions being directed toward our Class Fund. If you haven’t contributed, I encourage you to give it some thought.

I also heard from Tom Clark. He said that Steve Adams and he are serving in the same Battalion at Fort Hood (1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th ID). They are deploying in March with Mike Birmingham (the Brigade's planner) to Iraq.  Tom also sent a beautiful family picture of he and Richelle with their daughter.

That’s it for now, thanks for reading, and I will thank you even more if you send in an update for next time! Take care! Rita

Happy New Year! I hope you’ve all had an enjoyable and safe holiday season with your families and loved ones. For our classmates deployed overseas, thank you again for your continued service to our nation. I can honestly say you are in my thoughts frequently and in my prayers as often as I remember my own family. I am sorry to begin this class update with sad news. Shannon Carter, the wife of our classmate Mike Carter passed away on 21 OCT 07 after a several year long battle with brain cancer. She leaves behind Mike as well as two beautiful daughters, Quinn and Emma, who live near Sacramento, CA. If you wish to share your condolences, they may be reached at home:  1664 Baroness Way, Roseville, CA 95747 or at michael.carter@stryker.com. Shannon and Mike, and of course the girls have been on my thoughts and I am so very sorry for their loss, as I am sure you all are too. You may also read Shannon’s obituary at: http://www.legacy.com/SacBee/DeathNotices.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=96643434

Loren Long emailed me that he and his family are recent transplants to Mexico City, and will be there for about the next 3 years. He says they have plenty of room for guests and would welcome anyone traveling through on business or vacation. Kaye (Warzynski) Dunham emailed a great update and beautiful photos. She and Landy moved back to Northern VA over the summer with their daughters Kaylan and Luci. Kaye is also back to work as a pharmacist, and everyone’s settling right in. They are happy to be reunited with other West Pointers like our classmate Bill Ryan (who I spent some time with at the Annual AUSA Conference in DC this past October). Bill is the senior aide de camp to the Secretary of the Army,  and he and Lorry live with their sons Liam and Campbell (a possible Ft. Campbell association?) with all the other muckety-mucks at Ft. Myers. Kaye also said she and Landy were honored to be asked to be the godparents of Kyle and Troy Remick’s newest son, Carsten. Carsten joins older brothers Keegan and Bergan, and Kyle is a surgeon and CDR of the FST at Ft. Campbell, where the Dunham’s were most recently stationed. While at Campbell, Landy worked with our classmate Randy Johnson and the Dunham’s got to know Randy and his wife Coretta, as well as their children Bella and Roman. Lastly, Kaye said that Sophia Kim came for a visit over the summer, but that she lives in Chicago, travels a lot, and is having a great time.

Lastly, John Horning wrote in – from Iraq, where he’s the CDR of C/1-15 IN. Yes, Company Command – John got out in ’99, reactivated with his Guard unit, stayed on as AGR, but then ultimately went back to Active Duty. He’s a YG 99er, and despite the IN designator, John is actually commanding a tank company. So go figure. He and Michelle have two kids, Kyle and Brooke, who are staying near home in Cincinnati, OH while John is deployed. Since being in Iraq, John has bumped into Joe Pierce, Rick Black, and emailed back and forth with John Hixson.  That’s it for now, thanks for all the updates, and please remember to email me a note with a family photo for our next issue! We all love hearing how you’re doing. I may be forced to bore you with Flaherty family photos! Thanks again. Rita