Country Tase Gets Settlement

An attendee of a Neal McCoy concert in Yerington, Nev., three years ago is expected to receive a $100,000 settlement from law officers accused of using excessive force when he tried to exit the concert’s VIP tent.

Cody Herbst, now 25, claimed in his lawsuit that he had wristband access to the VIP tent at the county fairgrounds but, after he left the tent, the wristband fell off. He returned and was told to leave, according to the lawsuit.

As he was walking to the exit, Herbst was struck on the back by one of the officers, then was grabbed from behind by all four officers and knocked to the ground, the lawsuit claimed. He said the officers shot him multiple times with a Taser gun and pepper spray.

Herbst, an epileptic, hit the back and side of his head when he was pushed to the ground, according to his attorneys. He was taken to the Lyon County jail despite pleas from his mother, father and an uncle who is a Reno police officer who said Herbst must be allowed to take his seizure medication. The suit said he was given no medical treatment and not permitted to take the meds.

The county has agreed to pay him $100,000 and the city $8,000.

“This is an outstanding result,” his attorneys said in a statement Nov. 2.

Herbst said he was pleased with the result but was still upset the Yerington Police Department dismissed his previous internal complaint.

“They should really have looked into the conduct of these officers internally,” he said. “This never should have happened, and the police departments should police their own bad apples.”