Family to sue Silver City, Grant county in murder-suicide
The family of Nikki Bascom, the victim who was allegedly abused and then murdered by Silver City Police Capt. Mark Contreras in April, is preparing to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the Silver City Police Department. The claim against the department, which was provided to the Daily Press by attorneys for Bascom’s family, maintains that inaction by law enforcement in the months and hours leading up to Bascom’s death allowed Contreras to enact his brutal final acts.
After threatening both Bascom and her colleague, Dr. Darrick Nelson, multiple times throughout the day on April 21, Contreras — who Silver City Police Chief Ed Reynolds called a “stellar” officer in the wake of his suicide — tracked Bascom down and murdered her, before turning the gun on himself.
This tragedy was preceded by at least two incidents — one on March 9, when Bascom’s ten year-old son called 911 to report contreras hurting his mother and threatening suicide. The second came on March 25 when Contreras first threatened Nelson.
According to reports from both the Grant County Sheriff’s Office and the New Mexico State Police, as well as interviews with people close to Bascom, she had reported both of these instances directly to Chief Reynolds.
Read more: http://www.scdailypress.com/site/2016/09/10/family-to-sue-town-county-in-murder-suicide/