Officer fires at driver after police car rammed

Jace Radke

Monday, April 10, 2000 | 11:12 a.m.

A North Las Vegas Police officer fired five shots Sunday at the driver of a stolen car that rammed the officer's car, police said.

The officer tried to make a traffic stop of a 1982 Oldsmobile Cutlass with three people inside, but the driver would not stop, Lt. Chris Larotonda, a police spokesman said. After a short chase, the Oldsmobile stopped on Clifford Street near Judson Avenue, and the officer stopped and began to get out of his car, Larotonda said.

"That's when the driver of the Oldsmobile put it in reverse and squealed his tires as he rammed the front of the police car," Larotonda said. "The suspect car then drove forward and slammed on his brakes a few feet away causing the car to rock forward and then backward toward the officer."

The rocking motion made the officer believe that the car was seconds away from ramming his car again, Larotonda said.

The officer, who was recovering from the shock of the first jolt while standing next to the driver's door of his car, fired his handgun five times at the driver of the other car. The name of the officer is being withheld for 48 hours, following the department's policy in officer-involved shootings.

All five shots missed, but the driver responded by heading north on Clifford with the officer again following in his patrol car. As the Oldsmobile tried to turn east into the 3700 block of Judson, the driver lost control and crashed into a block wall, Larotonda said.

The driver, a 16-year-old boy, and a second passenger, a 14-year-old boy, ran from the car and were caught a short time later by police. A 20-year-old woman who had been riding in the back seat of the Oldsmobile surrendered to police at the accident scene.

All three have been charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, and the 16-year-old has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon in the ramming of the patrol car. Police had not released any of their names by this morning.

This was the second time this year that North Las Vegas Police have fired at a suspect. The first incident was on March 11 when a 22-year-old man refused to lie on the ground when ordered by SWAT officers. As the officers approached, the man grabbed the barrel of one of the officer's machine guns and was shot once in the hip, police said.