Officer ruled justified in slaying of motorist

Keith Paul

Monday, July 23, 2001 | 10:57 a.m.

A Clark County Coroner's inquest jury needed only nine minutes to rule a Henderson Police officer was justified in shooting and killing a motorist who rushed him armed with a knife during a June traffic stop.

But the daylong hearing Friday did not answer why 55-year-old Bernardo A. Caberto became so agitated late on June 23 that he went after Officer James Tetzlaff with a nearly 16-inch knife.

"He didn't have any criminal record. We couldn't find any reason for this," Detective Gerry Collins testified.

Caberto's family attended the hearing, but would not comment.

Tetzlaff testified he pulled over the driver of a pickup after the motorist ran a red light at Green Valley Parkway and Interstate 215 about 11:50 p.m. on June 23.

The officer said Caberto was angry from the time the traffic stop started.

"When I walked up he looked up and me and said 'What?' " Tetzlaff testified. "He started arguing with me, saying there was no light and he didn't run a light."

The officer went back to his police car to start writing the ticket and told Caberto to continue to look for his insurance information, which he was not able to find when he gave his license to the officer.

A few minutes later, Caberto got out of the truck with a black folder in his hand. Tetzlaff told him to put it on the hood of the police car, but Caberto continued to become agitated, Tetzlaff testified.

"He raised up his hands and said '(expletive) you,' " Tetzlaff testified. "I told him to put his hands on the hood of my patrol car and he said "(Expletive) off. Give me my ID. I'm leaving."'

Caberto went back to his truck, reached in and came out with a long knife in a sheath made out of a magazine held together with rubber bands. He started walking toward the officer and pulled the knife out of the sheath, Tetzlaff testified.

"I ordered him to put down the knife several times," said Tetzlaff, who choked up while testifying about the shooting.

As he backed up, Tetzlaff said, he pulled out a can of pepper spray, but dropped it before using it, because Caberto was charging closer.

"I wanted him to stop. I just wanted to give him every opportunity to stop," Tetzlaff said. "I didn't want to have to shoot him."

Caberto was within eight to 10 feet from him when he fired two shots, dropping Caberto to the ground, Tetzlaff said.

Inside the truck, police later found a metal pipe covered in newspaper, another knife under a floor mat, several hundred dollars in cash, two passports and other personal papers.

Several passing motorists saw parts of the encounter, including an off-duty Henderson Police officer, and their testimony supported Tetzlaff's statement.

"He had something in his hand. He was going toward the officer," Yron Kachinsky testified. "He was going toward the officer and then started moving quicker."

Kachinsky and her husband were driving by the area at the time of the traffic stop.

Vincent and Shirley McMenamy also saw part of the encounter as they were driving home.

"A man was standing in front of the officer and shaking his right hand," Vincent McMenamy testified. "He looked very angry."

Officer Taun Yurek testified he was driving home with his fiancee, and when he saw the confrontation, he stopped and, before he could get out of his truck, heard the shots. Yurek, who was off duty, said he saw a long knife near Caberto after the shooting and kicked it away. At the time he said he didn't know if the man was dead.

Paramedics were called to the scene, but Caberto was already dead.

Caberto's family sat quietly through most of the testimony, but several of them bristled when both Tetzlaff and Yurek described Caberto as about 6 feet tall. Caberto was listed at 5-foot-4 in the coroner's report.

Tetzlaff also testified the battery was dead on his portable police radio. When he called for a backup officer from his patrol car as Caberto was running back to his truck, he was told no officer was available, he said.