Man shot, killed by police in east valley
A Las Vegas police officer shot and killed a man who was running from police Monday night.
Sources said the man died from one gunshot wound to the back.
A Metropolitan Police Department release said officers with the gang crimes unit saw a man "acting suspiciously" about 11 p.m. in a courtyard at 4450 Karen Ave., near Sahara Avenue and Lamb Boulevard.
When officers approached the man, he ran, police said.
During a short foot pursuit, police said "shots were fired," and the man was killed. A gun "believed to be the suspect’s" was found by the man’s body, police said.
Seven officers were involved in the incident. Only one officer fired.
Police did not say whether the man pointed a gun at officers before he was shot. Police do not think he fired his weapon, but the investigation was still active late Tuesday.
One officer was placed on routine paid administrative leave. The officer’s name will be released in 48 hours.
The county coroner’s office will identify the dead man.
The shooting was similar to another Las Vegas police shooting earlier this month.
On Nov. 9, gang crimes officer Ricardo Rodriguez, 30, shot at a man running from police near Edmond Street and Flamingo Road.
Rodriguez fired after seeing "some sort of movement," police said.
That man, who was not hit, was carrying drugs but did not have a weapon, police said.
Las Vegas police have a written advisory for officers that allows them to pursue suspects the officer thinks is linked to criminal activity.
One of the safety concerns officers are advised to consider is the potential for violence toward officers or the public.
Police said officers involved in the incident did not give a statement to homicide detectives.
If any officer saw the man point a gun at police, detectives were not told.
In January, leaders of the two largest police unions told officers not to cooperate with investigators after officer-involved shootings or in-custody deaths. The move was prompted by changes to the Clark County coroner’s inquest process.
Las Vegas police officers still are required to give a statement about an incident at least twice: At the scene, they must talk to their immediate supervisor to determine where any shots might have gone and whether a suspect is still at large, and they must talk to internal investigators.
What officers tell internal investigators cannot be used against them in a criminal case.
Police are waiting for a judge’s order to determine whether the proposed revamped inquest system is constitutional.
The unions contend the new rules transformed the inquest from a fact-finding process into an adversarial process that would treat officers like criminals on trial. The change at the heart of the dispute was the introduction of an ombudsman who can directly question witnesses on behalf of the deceased’s family.
The last inquest was held in October 2010.
Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283.
SPECIAL REPORT: R-J investigates police shootingsA five-part special report, "Deadly Force: When Las Vegas Police Shoot, and Kill,” begins Sunday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal and online at lvrj.com.
The culmination of a yearlong investigation covering more than two decades of officer-involved shootings in Clark County, the series will analyze the systemic issues that help determine when, where, how and why police shootings happen — and what can be done to limit them.
The Review-Journal investigation includes online documentaries, a searchable database of all police shootings since 1990 and other interactive features.
