Man taken to hospital after being shot by officer

Karen Zekan

Friday, Aug. 14, 1998 | 11:44 a.m.

A man who Metro Police say pointed what later turned out to be a toy gun at them and their helicopter remained hospitalized this morning in critical but stable condition after being shot in the chest by an officer.

The suspect, whose name was withheld, was expected by medical personnel at University Medical Center to survive his injury.

Police were dispatched to the area of Sammy Mel Drive and Lamont Street in northeast Las Vegas at 11:38 p.m. Thursday after a 911 caller reported that two male roommates were arguing over a broken window and one of them had a gun.

Patrol units arrived and were trying to determine the circumstances of the altercation when a male started walking toward one of the officers, police said. The police helicopter also spotted the suspect and notified the officer that the man was carrying what appeared to be a gun. Police did not know until after the incident that the gun was a toy.

An officer positioned himself between the people he had been interviewing and the approaching suspect, taking cover next to a street light pole.

"The officer observed the suspect pointing what appeared to be a gun at the helicopter and the officer," said homicide Sgt. Ken Hefner. "The officer gave the suspect repeated verbal commands in English and Spanish to drop the weapon."

The suspect seemingly ignored the officers' commands, police said, instead running toward a nearby apartment building's staircase landing. Concerned that other people were on the landing, the officer fired three times, striking the suspect once before he made it up the stairs, Hefner said.

Department policy prevents police from releasing the name of the officer until 48 hours after the shooting.

Thursday's incident was the second Metro-involved shooting this week. On Tuesday, Officer Craig Lousignont fired one round and missed a 17-year-old boy fleeing an apartment in the 200 block of West Monroe Ave. in West Las Vegas.

Police and FBI agents assigned to the Weed and Seed Task Force had gone to the home with a search warrant for weapons and drugs when the suspect and another teen ran out the front. The suspect was shot about 9:10 p.m. when he stopped running, turned toward the seven-year Metro veteran and pulled what police initially suspected was a weapon from his pants but later said was narcotics.

North Las Vegas Police Officer Mike Carmody was determined by a coroner's inquest Aug. 7 to have justifiably fired in self-defense July 14 when he fatally shot Sergio Oliva, 34.

Carmody and other officers were responding to a domestic dispute involving a man with a gun at 2329 Belmont St., near Lake Mead Boulevard, about 2:45 a.m. when they encountered Oliva. Carmody had identified himself as a police officer and repeatedly told a non-compliant Oliva to put down a loaded .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol when he fired the deadly round that pierced Oliva's chest.