Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Filipino community wants answers

Outraged by a death they insist did not have to happen, Filipino community leaders are organizing an emergency meeting tonight "to see that justice is done" on behalf of a 31-year-old Las Vegas man slain by Metro Police gunfire.

The meeting will focus on planning a public demonstration in the wake of Gerry Waje's death, and hammer out a strategy to make police accountable for their actions.

"The fact that this man is Filipino is incidental," said Nick Warque, president of the Federation of Filipino-American Organization of Nevada, Inc. "We are concerned because a life was threatened and that, if we are not careful, it could happen again."

Warque joined several other local Filipino leaders and concerned neighbors Tuesday for an informal meeting on Waje's driveway, a few yards from a shrine of flowers marking the spot where he collapsed after the shooting Sunday morning.

Waje's family was instructed by their attorney not to take part in the meeting.

Instead, neighbor Queen McGlone spoke on behalf of the family.

"The reality is that these officers decided that Gerry's life was not valuable enough to save," McGlone said. "The police decided to take the easy way out and shoot this little guy so they could get the job done and go home."

McGlone has said she was not an eyewitness to the shooting, having walked out of her house after hearing the shots fired.

She also told the media in previous coverage that three officers were involved in the shooting and brutally clubbed Waje as he lay dying -- statements which have since been disputed by homicide investigators and an autopsy report that found no evidence of police baton wounds.

Her statements have angered local police, both those who know the officers involved and those who have experienced firsthand having to pull the trigger.

Officers Kirk Hamblin, 33, a six-year Metro veteran, and Edward Jones, 33, who has been on the force six months, have been identified as firing the four bullets homicide investigators recovered. Neither has been involved before in a situation that required having to use deadly force.

Jones and Hamblin were dispatched to Waje's home at 9937 Whalers Landing Court after his brother, Alex, requested help with a family argument.

Gerry Waje, standing on the driveway when the two officers arrived, allegedly yelled in a dialect of Tagalog, a Philippine language, and waived his hands before running into the house to retrieve two steak knives.

The armed man was shot when he charged within 15 feet of the officers who were standing outside in the cul de sac, police said. A third officer, whose name Metro is not releasing, arrived moments later as backup but never shot at Waje.

"I can appreciate the pain that the family is feeling right now, and the fear that can start amongst neighbors who start hearing rumors, but what people don't often think about is what we see on our end," said one Metro detective, who in a separate incident fired his gun and struck a suspect after witnessing the man stab someone.

"We get a call that a family needs help, we show up and find someone out of control, and then that person gets a weapon and runs at us. Our lives are in danger, and so are the lives of anyone else around us. It doesn't matter how big the subject is. As minor as small knives may sound, they can do a lot of damage in no time at all."

Jones and Hamblin have been placed on administrative leave and are undergoing mandatory counseling, said homicide Lt. Larry Spinosa.

During their meeting, McGlone compiled a list of questions her neighbors want Metro to answer regarding Waje's death. They include why two police officers could not subdue the 128-pound Waje, why paramedics were allegedly not called for 20 minutes after Waje was shot, and why police did not ask Waje's family to act as translators to help calm the agitated man instead of using a gun to stop him.

"This man's usefulness could've lasted more than 31 years," said Tonie Sison, chairman of the board of the Filipino Chamber of Commerce in Las Vegas. "There are more options available than shooting someone. They could have used martial arts."

Sison said he spoke to Clark County District Attorney Stewart Bell and Sheriff Jerry Keller about the shooting, but neither can address the situation until Metro's homicide investigators complete their investigation.

Services for Waje will be held Friday at Davis Funeral Home, 2127 W. Charleston Blvd., between Martin Luther King Boulevard and Shadow Lane. The viewing, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., will precede a 2 p.m. Mass.

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