Woman with knife is shot by police

David Kihara

Friday, Dec. 17, 2004 | 11:02 a.m.

A woman who could not be stopped by a police Taser or low lethality "bean bag" shotgun blast was shot and wounded by Metro Police officers on Thursday at an apartment complex on North Decatur Avenue after the woman allegedly made threatening gestures with a knife toward police.

The woman, Toni Card, 47, was treated at UMC and was released Thursday night. Upon her release, the authorities booked Card into the Clark County Detention Center on $13,000 bail. She was charged her with assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer and resisting a police officer with a weapon, Officer Jose Montoya, a Metro spokesman, said.

The incident began at 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday when police responded to calls of an upset woman at the Avila Park apartment complex on the 1800 North Decatur Avenue.

Police found Card, a resident of the Avila Park apartment complex, allegedly holding a knife and threatening to kill herself, Sgt. Clint Robison said. Seven officers were on the scene, and they attempted to calm her down, he said.

Card also allegedly threatened to kill the police officers on the scene, according to the statement.

Card allegedly became more agitated and directed her anger at the officers. As police were negotiating with her, she approached the officers and raised the knife above her head, said Metro Captain James Dillon.

Police used a Taser gun and fired a bean bag round from a shotgun at Card, but she did not respond to either, Dillon said.

An officer then shot her in the "lower extremities," likely a leg, Robison said.

"They would not have shot her unless the officers felt their lives were in danger," Dillon said.

Even though the police did not stop Card after deploying the Taser and the bean bag round, Dillon said he still had full confidence in both weapons.

"The Taser and the low lethality shotgun are effective, but there are occasions when they don't work," Dillon said.

Even after police shot Card, she refused to let go of the knife and several police officers were forced to wrestle it from her, Robison said. He added that there was evidence that Card was under the influence of a substance at the time of the incidence, but he could not elaborate.

The name of the officer involved in the shooting is being withheld for 48 hours, as dictated by department policy. The officer has been placed on administrative leave, according to the police statement.

The shooting is the fourth police-involved shooting in the Las Vegas Valley since October.

On Oct. 12, Metro police officers Gary Torsky and Joey Hernandez fatally shot Archangelito Contreras at the victim's house. Contreras, who allegedly told the police officers that he was suffering from a terminal illness, pointed a .44-caliber revolver at one of the officers and they opened fire, killing him.

A Clark County Coroner's jury determined that the shooting was justified.

In a separate incident on Oct. 12, North Las Vegas Police officer Mike Carmody shot and killed Antonio Corona-Mendoza after Corona-Mendoza opened fire on the officer. That shooting was also determined to be justified.

The most recent shooting, on Nov. 25, involved Metro Police officers James Breed and Sasha Kaster. The officers shot and wounded David Martin during a foot chase. A Clark County Coroner's jury has not yet determined whether or not the shooting was justified.