Man who allegedly pointed gun at officer charged

Jen Lawson

Wednesday, May 19, 2004 | 9:24 a.m.

A 30-year-old Summerlin man who was shot and wounded last month by a Metro Police officer has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly pointing a BB gun at the officer, which police said provoked the officer to shoot him.

According to the police report, police were called to Cardinal Crest Lane, near Far Hills Drive and the Las Vegas Beltway, the morning of April 11 to investigate a dispute between Bret McNaboe and a neighbor.

McNaboe said he was angry because he had done some handyman work for prominent Las Vegas defense lawyer Michael Cristalli but had not been paid.

Cristalli, the brother-in-law of McNaboe's neighbor, represents Sandy Murphy in the pending Ted Binion murder retrial.

McNaboe allegedly confronted his neighbor about how Cristalli owed him money and punched the neighbor in the chest, the report says.

When Officer Robert Swales arrived and knocked on McNaboe's door, Swales said he looked through a window and saw McNaboe approaching with a gun in his hand.

Swales pulled out his firearm and shouted at McNaboe to drop his gun, the report says. Swales saw McNaboe reaching for the doorknob and, fearing for his safety, the officer struggled to keep him from opening it.

McNaboe managed to get the door open and yelled at Swales to get off his property, then "raised the weapon up and pointed it at Officer Swales," the report says.

Swales said he believed he was about to be killed and fired his gun at McNaboe, hitting him once in the left upper chest.

"McNaboe fell back into the living room area and dropped his weapon," the report says. "McNaboe said, 'It's just a BB gun.' "

The bullet penetrated his left lung and was removed from his lower back. He was in University Medical Center for several days and is recovering from his injury, his attorney, Cal Potter, said.

According to Potter, Cristalli had threatened McNaboe earlier in the night and called 911 but police didn't respond. Cristalli did not return phone calls seeking comment.

McNaboe grabbed a gun when answering his door because he thought it might be Cristalli, Potter said.

He said the fight and subsequent police shooting was not investigated fully or in a fair manner by Metro.

McNaboe's burglar alarm was going off during the confrontation at his front door and Potter said he thinks the officer reacted to that.

"I think they overreacted to the situation," Potter said. "(McNaboe) is suffering the aftermath of a gunshot wound as well as a situation in which he did nothing wrong."

A warrant was issued May 12 for McNaboe's arrest, charging him with assault. He surrendered Friday. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 14.

Metro's use-of-force board, comprised of police officials and citizens, has not yet reviewed the case to determine whether the shooting was appropriate under Metro's policies.