LV officer in second shooting

The Las Vegas police officer who shot and killed a man Thursday also fatally shot a man almost two years ago.

George Pease’s five-year career with the Metropolitan Police Department also has included an internal investigation in which he was disciplined for meeting with a prositute while off duty.

Once a vice detective, Pease was suspended for 20 hours on Aug. 19, 1991, and transferred to a patrol assignment for "neglect of duty."

The discipline came six months after Pease killed Daniel Bryan Schiess, 20, a convicted prostitute. A coroner’s inquest jury ruled that shooting was justifiable homicide.

Pease, 27, did not return messages left on an answering machine at his residence Sunday.

According to an Internal Affairs Bureau complaint from August 1991, Pease was disciplined for violating two parts of the Vice Section Operations Manual — a section called "Fraternization With Undesirables" and a section called "Use of Informants and Confidential Funds Management."

The complaint states that Pease committed the violations on July 30, 1991, when he met with a known and admitted prostitute with the intent of using her as a confidential informant.

According to the complaint, Pease was off duty and operating a department vehicle. No other investigator was present, and Pease did not document the meeting, the complaint states.

The vice manual states that interviews with female suspects or informants may not be conducted without another officer or employee present. It also states that vice officers may not associate with persons of ill repute, except in the course of their work, and all such meetings must be documented.

The complaint against Pease states, "You did willfully place yourself in a position wherein you could bring discredit upon yourself and the department."

The Feb. 17, 1991, shooting occurred when Pease was working undercover. He claimed he shot Schiess after the prostitute solicited him for a sex act and then tried to rob the officer at knifepoint.

"He had all his leverage over me," Pease said during the coroner’s inquest. "The only thing he had on his mind was hurting me. I thought he was going to kill me. I really did."

The man Pease killed Thursday also was armed with a knife. Pease told police officials he had stopped the man an hour earlier in a vacant lot on the north side of the Fez Motel, 4213 Las Vegas Blvd. South, because he appeared to be loitering.

Pease said he returned around 1 a.m. and saw the man prowling around parked vehicles and attempting to open doors. When Pease began talking to the man, the suspect pulled out a knife and threatened the officer.

Pease, who is assigned to the Southeast Area Command, told officials that he shot the man after the suspect charged at him with the knife. The man fell to the ground but then lunged at Pease again when the officer

approached, prompting Pease to fire his weapon again. The man died a short time later at University Medical Center.

Police said they have identified the victim but will not release his name until his relatives have been notified.

A coroner’s inquest will be held to determine if the shooting was justifiable. In accordance with department policy, Pease has been placed on administrative leave.