Metro officers wounded in shooting

By Jeremy Twitchell

Published Monday, Dec. 29, 2008 | 11:02 a.m.

Updated Monday, Dec. 29, 2008 | 2:51 p.m.

UPDATED STORY: Man charged with attempted murder in police shooting

Three Metro Police officers were wounded Sunday night after they were fired upon while they served a warrant on a home in Henderson's Seven Hills neighborhood.

Metro was serving a narcotics warrant at the home just before 10 p.m. when an occupant shot at officers as they entered, police said. The injuries the officers sustained were not life-threatening, according to a Metro Police spokesmen.

Police arrested Emmanuel Dozier, 32, and booked him into the Clark County Detention Center on suspicion of three counts of attempted murder of a police officer and three counts of sale of cocaine. He is being held on $3 million bail.

KLAS-TV reported that a woman who lived in the home said police did not announce that they were coming in the house and that the man who fired on them, who neighbors said is her boyfriend, believed he was protecting the home from intruders.

In a statement, Metro Lt. Lew Roberts said Dozier fired on the officers through the door as they attempted to enter the home, and that he surrendered a short time later.

Monday morning, the home was boarded up, the porch had shattered glass on it and a number of bullet holes were visible on the front door. As the final police detectives left the scene, neighbors began to venture out of their homes and survey the damage.

Most of them were in their homes when they heard the shooting begin.

"We were in the back room and I heard four or five big shots, and then four or five smaller shots, so maybe 10 shots total," said Brad Otton, whose lives next door.

Otton said he looked out the window and saw SWAT teams everywhere. Police knocked on his door and told the family they should leave. Once the road was cleared, Otton said, he and his family went to a hotel for the night.

Most of the neighbors said they didn't know the residents of the home and hadn't seen any suspicious activity.

"I was surprised and scared," Deanna Otton said. "There's blood on our driveway."

Across the street, Melody Detwiler said she was visiting her father's home and playing cards with family members when she heard a series of loud bangs and then looked out the window.

"We didn't see the shots, but we did see one of the officers down," Detwiler said. "It looked like he had been shot in the leg. The other officers were around him and trying to encourage him and support him, but you could tell he was in pain — just in agony."

Detwiler said she had SWAT members all around her house, including a sniper who was positioned on her front porch.

"It was crazy," she said. "It was really, really scary. It was scary to see all the SWAT people and all of the guns."

Mike Henry, who was the only neighbor who said he knew the man arrested, said he didn't believe the man had anything to do with drugs.

"I got him a job at the sheet metal union," Henry said. "He was on the right track. He's a good guy. Him being a drug dealer? No way."

Henry said there are a lot of people coming and going at the house, but they are all family members of the residents.

The Clark County Department of Family Services has taken three children from the residence into protective custody, department spokeswoman Christine Skorupski said.

Skorupski said it is department policy to take children into custody if they are believed to be in imminent danger of physical harm.

"Considering that there was a shooting at the residence, I think it's safe to say that (the children) were in danger of being harmed," Skorupski said.

A hearing will be held within 72 hours to determine who will have custody of the children, she said.

Jeremy Twitchell can be reached at 990-8928 or [email protected].