NLV officers use bean bag ammo on man with gun

Thursday, Sept. 19, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Sostnes Sanchez is a very lucky man.

But lying in University Medical Center today with a broken jaw and other injuries, he possibly does not know it yet.

Waving what appeared to be a pistol -- police later learned it was a pellet gun -- the 31-year-old man made the sign of the cross and implored North Las Vegas Police officers to shoot him Wednesday as he staggered down Las Vegas Boulevard North.

Officers stood their ground during the predawn incident, closing the street to what little traffic there was and and preparing to fire at him with nonlethal ammunition.

But they could not find any bean bag ammo.

"It is very costly and we only have 10 rounds of it on the street at any one time," said Lt. Chris Larotonda. "But the officers had to stand their ground and wait for it because we could not let him advance (to a nearby hotel) where he could take hostages or hurt someone.

"At that point, it was either wait for the bean bag ammunition or shoot him (with lethal weapons)."

When the ammo arrived, officers quickly loaded the cartridges -- bag-like projectiles filled with a powdery substance that do not burst upon firing and do not penetrate on impact -- into two 12-gauge shotguns.

The first shot struck the man in the abdomen, causing him to bend over and take the shot from the second officer in the jaw. Still, the man would not go down or drop the gun. Five more rounds, each retailing for about $3, were fired.

Still standing, but obviously dazed, the man was then tackled by officers who bolted from behind their cars to put an end to the standoff about 4:30 a.m. Officers noted a heavy smell of alcohol on the man.

Sanchez was taken to UMC, where he was listed today in stable and good condition. Police have not yet determined his town of residence or much else about the man whom they described as "uncooperative."

Unspecified charges are pending, Larotonda said, noting that the chief has decided not to put either officer on administrative leave with pay. The incident, however, will be treated as an officer-involved shooting, in that it will be investigated by the department's detectives.

"We had used this type of ammunition effectively during the Rodney King riots," Larotonda said, praising the projectiles as effective means of stopping potential assailants without killing them.

"The tragedy of this incident is that the pellet gun manufacturers make these weapons look just like the real thing. Stand back 10 feet and take a look and it's hard to tell them from a real handgun."

Metro Police officers opted for real bullets earlier this week when a mentally unstable man rushed at them with two small knives. Gerry Waje, 31, was slain Sunday morning by gunfire as he ran out of his house in The Lakes toward the officers.