Officer wounded, suspect killed in NLV shootout

Jace Radke and Keith Paul

Thursday, Aug. 31, 2000 | 11:16 a.m.

A North Las Vegas Police officer was wounded and a suspect was killed Wednesday night in a gunfight after officers kicked in an apartment door during a drug raid.

Two officers were confronted by a man armed with a handgun in a bedroom at the Saratoga Palms apartments, 2175 Las Vegas Blvd. North. The gunman fired four shots with one bullet hitting an officer in the hand and another bullet stopped by the officer's protective vest in the groin area, said Lt. Art Redcay, a department spokesman.

"Thank God the officer was wearing his vest," Redcay said. "It saved his life."

The two officers, each armed with assault rifles, fired multiple shots. The gunman was struck several times and died at 10:07 p.m. in University Medical Center.

The wounded officer was in stable condition this morning in UMC and may be released later today. The wounded officer, 28, fired 11 shots, and the other officer fired five shots during the gunfight.

The narcotics team arrived at the complex just north of Lake Mead Boulevard about 9 p.m. to serve the warrant at one of the apartments. The officers knocked on the second floor apartment's door and announced they were police, Redcay said. When they didn't get an answer, they broke the door down, Redcay said.

"They saw a woman running inside the apartment and within seconds of entering at least two officers encountered a man armed with a handgun in a bedroom," Redcay said. "At least two officers fired and so did the man in the bedroom."

Redcay said that the investigation into the shootout is ongoing, and it is unclear if the officers or the man in the bedroom fired first.

All of the narcotics officers were wearing protective vests, leggings, helmets, black ski-masks and other gear that was clearly marked with the word "police" on them.

"When serving a warrant, the officers announce they are police, and then after some time has passed, if they are still not let in, they usually force entry," Redcay said. "They normally use some kind of ramming device to force the door, and then try to control the area as quickly as they can.

"I'd guess they encountered the armed man within the first 10 or 15 seconds of going through the front door."

The woman inside of the apartment was taken to the North Las Vegas Police station for questioning. The woman, whose name was not available this morning, was thought to be the suspect's girlfriend and was released this morning, Lt. Chris Larotonda said.

The names of the officers involved in the shooting will not be released by police for 48 hours as is department policy. The officers will be on administrative leave with pay pending an investigation. The name of the suspect was not released this morning pending the notification of his family.

Narcotics officers often serve search warrants and each time there is a chance they could confront someone with a weapon, Larotonda said.

"It's pretty much not a question if (a confrontation with an armed suspect) is going to happen, but when" he said. "We all know that every time we go through a door that the person on the other side may have gun. It's fortunate that (the officer) lived to tell the tale."