Undercover officer shot by fellow cop

Cathy Scott

Thursday, Dec. 18, 1997 | 10:02 a.m.

A Metro Police officer was in fair condition this morning after being accidentally shot late Wednesday by a fellow officer during a planned undercover drug buy, Sgt. Jim Young said.

About 10 p.m., the officer who was shot was sitting in a pickup parked in a shopping mall at 1360 E. Flamingo Road at Maryland Parkway with a woman who was allegedly selling drugs to him, Young said.

"They were doing a controlled-buy operation which was to end in the arrest of both the suspect and the undercover officer," Young said. "A takedown (arrest) was planned."

The patrol cop, acting as the "take-down officer" in the buy, pulled up behind the pickup in front of Save-On Drugs at the Mission Center strip mall. He got out and began faking an arrest of the undercover officer, Young said.

The undercover officer's 40-caliber gun accidentally fired and hit him while he was being disarmed, Young said.

The bullet struck the officer in the abdomen, said Sgt. William Minor, spokesman for Metro. The bullet entered his abdomen, went through his groin area and hit his knee, exiting through his leg, a University Medical Center spokesman said. The officer was taken to UMC and underwent surgery shortly after arrival, Minor said. He was upgraded from serious to fair condition this morning.

Internal Affairs Bureau investigators were called to the scene to investigate.

The injured officer "was working in an undercover capacity," but Minor said he wasn't necessarily an undercover cop.

"As police officers, at times we're put in undercover capacities," he told reporters. "That doesn't mean he's an undercover officer."

Just before 10 p.m., Debbie Musemici drove into the parking lot to shop at Save-On, she said. She said she parked next to the pickup and noticed someone in it.

"There was somebody in the truck when I drove in," Musemici said. "I remember because I made a point to look at the truck because I didn't want to get too close to it and block their door."

She went into Sav-On, and when she returned a few minutes later her car was behind police tape and surrounded by police.

"It obviously happened right next to my car," she said. "But it was over by the time I came out."

An officer told Musemici and a couple of other people that they would have to wait several hours to get their cars, until the crime investigation was completed.

Security officer Jerry Hulsey, who works for American Protective Services, said he was on the other end of the shopping center when the undercover buy was happening. "I didn't notice anything unusual," he said.

Young said detectives determined that "no one intentionally discharged the gun" and that it was initially ruled an accident.

Both officers were placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation. The incident was not considered an officer-involved shooting minor said, noting that it was an accidental shooting.

The woman who was allegedly selling drugs to the officer was taken to the Clark County Detention Center and booked on drug-related charges, Young said.