Suit: Police could have saved Las Vegas man

Officers went to apartment the night before fatal domestic violence incident

SANTA FE -- The parents of a man who was found dead in a Las Vegas, N.M., apartment last year claim officers could have saved his life if they went inside his apartment after getting a domestic violence call the night before.

Steven Marquez was allegedly killed from blunt force trauma to the head by 27-year-old Daniel Sullivan July 18, 2016 in an apparent domestic violence incident. Sullivan was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in December.

Marquez’s parents, Michael and Karen Marquez, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Santa Fe District Court Thursday against Las Vegas city government and Las Vegas Police Department officers Elias Rael, Caleb Marquez and Joseph Mascarenas. The officers responded to the apartment after a neighbor called 911 to report that she heard banging and screaming from inside Marquez’s apartment.

Officers reported hearing a “sarcastic knock” come from inside the apartment after they knocked on the door, the lawsuit says, but didn’t go inside to see if anyone needed help.

“Had the defendant police officers properly investigated, Steven Marquez would have lived,” the suit states. “This case presents a tragedy that resulted from a toxic blend of apathy and bad police training.”

Sullivan’s arrest warrant says police responded to the domestic disturbance call, but it doesn’t say anything about someone knocking from inside.

Marquez’s parents had the landlord open the door around 8 p.m. the next day after not hearing from Marquez and found him lying facedown near the door, according to the complaint. They are seeking damages for Marquez’s injuries as well as punitive damages for the officers’ and city’s alleged negligence.

LVPD Sgt. David Cordova wrote in Sullivan’s arrest warrant that Officer Rael went to the apartment about 11 p.m. after the neighbor called 911 but didn’t mention that anyone may have been inside. “Officer Rael attempted to look through windows and call people out of the residence but no one responded in any manner,” Cordova wrote.

Las Vegas spokesman Lee Einer referred questions to the Hale and Dixon law firm in Albuquerque. No one in their office could be reached Friday afternoon.