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StumblePolice shoot at SUV after traffic stop on Strip
Published Friday, Sept. 11, 2009 | 9:03 p.m.
Updated Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009 | 9:48 p.m.
Police shooting
A Metro Police bike officer fired four shots at an SUV on Friday night when the vehicle tried to flee after being stopped on the Las Vegas Strip and grazed the officer, police said.
No one was injured in the shooting, police said on Friday.
Metro released additional details Saturday about the shooting, which happened shortly before 8 p.m. after officers assigned to the bike detail noticed a black Lincoln Navigator headed north on the Strip playing loud music, police said.
When the occupants of the SUV saw the officers, they made an abrupt lane change into the turn lane at Fashion Show Drive, disregarded a red light and started to head south on the Strip, police said.
The officers stopped the vehicle at Spring Mountain Road and had a brief conversation with the occupants, police said. After one of the officers reached into the SUV in an attempt to control the passenger, the driver accelerated and drove over the officers’ bicycles, police said.
One of the officers was grazed by the SUV and fired four rounds at the vehicle, hitting it several times, police said.
A Metro news release issued Saturday did not say what happened to the vehicle after the shooting or if any arrests were made.
But police said Friday night that a patrol unit stopped the vehicle a short distance away at Manhattan and Twain avenues. Two men were taken in custody for questioning, police said. The names of the officers involved were not immediately released. Under department policy, they were placed on administrative leave with pay.
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Good. Wish he would have hit him... the cop I mean. I wish the cop would have hit the driver.
I love this Sun news blog. Always some sort of craziness to report. Glad the cop is ok, and that no one got hurt.
I love the fact that the idiots were stopped by officers on bicycles. Good stuff.
More target shooting though. Two rounds, should be two dead knuckleheads.
Scum from Cali?? No, can't be, not the golden state.
Good thing no innocent tourists were hit by richochatting bullets. Just think of the story Metro would have made up then. It would have been the officers returning fire. Though hundreds of witnesess would have said they only heard two shots Metro would have said they were mistaken.
It'll be interesting to learn the identity of the two idiots in the SUV. More bad stuff from SoCal scumbags.
Hey hermit,
Why not comment on the story that is posted here instead of making up what you want in order to further your obvious agenda?
No innocent tourists were hit by "ricocheting" bullets. Metro did NOT make up any story. No witnesses disputed anything the police said.
My sincere hope is that some California scumbag tourists will go into road rage and run you off the road, pull you out of your vehicle and beat some sense into your tiny birdbrain, all the while with Metro's finest just ignoring you. Now that would be justice!
hermit you are a loser. Please go stand in front of a speeding bus.
Ah c'mon guys, let's be fair. The hermit is only expressing that inalienable right to freedom of speech, no matter how ignorant or misguided the written results may appear.
Remember kids, the hermit you read today may be the hermit you hit tomorrow.
As for all the Vegas bus drivers, you don't need Sandra Bullock at the wheel to fully flatten a hermit. Just reasonably good aim . . .
hermit
"When the SUV backed up toward a bicycle officer, an officer shot out the back window of the vehicle, police said"
Justified shooting; it's considered assault with a deadly weapon.
So the car had california plates, that doesnt make him a tourist. Most of the cars in vegas have out of state plates.
Hey getalife afvetran, I've got dinnerat8 with fdupwitvgs at california pizza kitchen tonite. we'll be discussing tourism while we wait for a table
So, a police officer discharges his firearm at a crowded location on the Strip during "prime time," and there are 11 comments. Some talking bobble head on Ch. 13 does something stupid and unethical, and there are 100-plus comments. One thing is certain, people who visit this site certainly have their priorities in order.
(Full disclosure, I've commented on the other story myself.)
RustyShackleford
Again..
"When the SUV backed up toward a bicycle officer, an officer shot out the back window of the vehicle, police said"
Justified shooting; it's considered assault with a deadly weapon.
note "shot out the back window" - not into that "croweded location" on the Strip; the bullet is probably lodged inside the DVD player in the back seat.
Another reason tourism is down, I never heard this happening at an Indian Casino in Palm Springs.
Playing the music too loud, we heard that one before.
Why would innocent tourists want to come here so some cop (trying to prove his or her "manhood") can take pot shots in their direction.
Just like reckless officer Manor, with his 109 mph, no lights, no siren, disregard for the safety of the public.
Wow. Detective Munch. I thought you were the cynical, skeptical one on the SVU team.
But I don't remember ever questioning whether the action was justified or not. And the sentence you quoted has since been removed from the story and corrected to say that the shots weren't fired as the man attempted to back up over the officers, but that shots were fired as the vehicle attempted to flee. It's right there in the lede if you're interested.
But while the officer did fire at a vehicle, he was also firing at everything that was beyond the vehicle, which includes a crowded area of the Strip.
But the only point I was making was that it strikes me as odd that a story about a talking head on the TV has 10 times the number of comments as a story about an officer firing his gun on the Strip. That was all I was saying.
This officer's actions were clearly reckless. He violated two of the four basic rules of gun safety. He pointed his muzzle in the direction of things he did not intend to destroy or kill (that being every single pedestrian and motorist on the Strip at the time who were beyond the SUV). He also failed to properly take into account what was beyond his target when firing (see above sentence).
Whether the shooting is ultimately ruled justifiable is irrelevant. Hundreds of people were put in jeopardy as this officer attempted to do only-God-knows-what in shooting out the back window of a fleeing vehicle.
Yes, the driver is likely a POS. And the driver should be charged with assault with a deadly weapon based on what I read.
But that threat had passed when the shots were fired. The vehicle was fleeing the scene at the time, no longer presenting a mortal threat to the officers or pedestrians. This officer should also be charged with reckless endangerment.
''Metro released additional details Saturday about the shooting, which happened shortly before 8 p.m. after officers assigned to the bike detail noticed a black Lincoln Navigator headed north on the Strip playing loud music, police said''....
So you see, while youre crankin away some loud rap tune like ''F#@k da police''... While gettin pulled over BY DA POLICE, is juuuuuust.. ignorate !!!!!!
Hey RustyShackleford: Your saying that the driver is likely a POS. Fine, You also say that the cop went to far. Fine, So now stop sitting on the fence and tell us just who's side your on if only by a 51% - 49% margin who do you support more the cop or the thug. After reading this and knowing only what i know today i must side with the cop on this one. You do not have the luxury of saying that two people are right or that two people are wrong only one person is right and the other is wrong. WHAT ARE YOU A LIBERAL DEMOCRAT!
Hey hermit,
Why not comment on the story that is posted here instead of making up what you want in order to further your obvious agenda?
"No innocent tourists were hit by "ricocheting" bullets. Metro did NOT make up any story. No witnesses disputed anything the police said.
My sincere hope is that some California scumbag tourists will go into road rage and run you off the road, pull you out of your vehicle and beat some sense into your tiny birdbrain, all the while with Metro's finest just ignoring you. Now that would be justice!"
Metros story did change didn't it? Bullets hit metal and they bounce where ever they want right into an innocent tourist. Note they fired at a fleeing truck.
sounds like you guys have been drinking too much coffee.
By the time an average issue cop bullet, coming from a hand gun, goes through a back window of an SUV, (maybe covered with tinted plastic film) and gets up to the driver's area it is going to be deflected and/or slowed and not worth having been fired at a moving vehicle.
The fact that the alleged vehicle hit in the back window, shows that it was going away and no longer an immediate threat to the cops in their cute little bike pants and yellow shirts.
No where in this article is it stated the SUV had California plates. Where did that come from? And loud music: I am not in your vehicle, so why would I want to listen to music from your vehicle.
All of you cop slammers need to put yourself in their job. They will protect YOU, even though they don't know you. Let's hope an SUV, or any vehicle for that matter, doesn't come barreling at you and the police officer standing there, just watches you get run over. Remember...in your opinion, he shouldn't shoot at the driver with the deadly weapon. That is your opinion and if it were to happen...you might want to hope it isn't his at the time. You would be calling foul if that were the case. Everyone has a right to protect themselves. And that includes the police officers of Las Vegas...or anywhere for that matter. And who is to say that when the SUV is fleeing, the driver doesn't run you over as you step off the curb. The officer did what he was trained to do, which is protect the streets of Las Vegas...and you!
LV2MT,
As Rusty pointed out above, this article has been changed, without notification by the SUN. The original article did state that the car had CA plates. It also changed the sentence that Det_Munch quoted,
"When the SUV backed up toward a bicycle officer, an officer shot out the back window of the vehicle, police said"
...to this...
"The officers stopped the vehicle at Spring Mountain Road and had a brief conversation with the occupants, police said. After one of the officers reached into the SUV in an attempt to control the passenger, the driver accelerated and drove over the officers' bicycles, police said.
One of the officers was grazed by the SUV and fired four rounds at the vehicle, hitting it several times, police said."
...this is just bad journalism on the part of the SUN. There is no reason to delete the former quotes; the SUN should have just added the additional quotes to clarify the article.
I think the names of the occupants in the SUV were Esse and Vato. last name probably Holmes and the SUV is a Cheby, I don't know what there were doing on spring mt cause there is no Home Depot or Star nusery there.
In the words of Jeff Dunham's pal "WALTER" if a cop on a bycyle stops you what is he going to say to you? "..ching..ching pull it over. O.k. you'r under arrest, hop in the basket!"
Las Vegas is the wild west all over again...or still. Man...shoot at a car in a traffic area, now that is nuts... Suppose some tourist or passenger in another car had been hit, injuured or killed? They had the license number, description of car and occupants, why not call for squad car support? Don't they have cell phones? Did this fleeing idot plan on getting away in heavy traffic? Its nuts.....
Sheriff Gillespe you need to get a handle on your speed prone cops in squad cars and now gun happy officers willing to shoot wildly on a heavily trafficed street. It is ridiculous.....
Sheriff you need to get a handle on your speeding cops and gun happy cops.
Say you just turned 60, say you are celebrating 39 years of marriage? Wouldn't you aim for the Strip, pick a nice restaurant, do a little gambling and stroll the Strip? Say in the back of your car is a "Obama" sticker, say you drive under the speed limit, say you signal your left turn waiting for the light to go green on Tropicana and you are enjoying, after a week on the job, a still young night?
Not so! Bandits are on the prowl"
Their mission? Fill the jail with about a 500 arrests! Make your life miserable and worse, make sure you disapear completely for 12 hours so nobody knows where you are, screened and locked with 30 others in a 10X10 cell, the neon on and no place to sit or rest for 29 hours with the AC blowing full blast, ideal place to catch the flu"
And when your wife pays the bail, you still have to wait 12 more to be released at 3 AM downtown"
The crime? A warrant for my arrest! Profiling my car for no reason "Obama?", the cop found out I did not surrendered my previous car plates to the DMV! Pulled over, he comes to my window, yelling that I'm going to jail tonight! Funny, I was at the DMV 2 weeks before to get my license renewed and had no problem"
He even tried to implement with "a resisting arrest" ready to taze me, he was bragging to his boyfriend backing up the whole scene that "He got a DUI"! No such luck, bastard!
I was clean and sober, you were on crack or something? Had no time that day to relieve yourself? Hey! Cowboy you are the shame of your trade! You are more dangerous than most people in this city and someday you will finish like this officer cruising at 109 mph or you will kill a kid because the music is too loud"
How much commission did you make on me? You earned my disrespect for P.O.S like you"
Habla Espagnol? Parla si Italiano? Sprachen zie Deutch? Parlez-vous Francais?
Thanks God, there is officers that still do an honest job and I admire their courage. Thank you for trying to discourage me to do something for the economy but you loose! I love my Mayor"and sin city.
vsestini,
Your comments and questions are valid; I'm sure they will be addressed at the review; and yes, this incident will definitely be reviewed, as it should be.
I am much more concerned about the actions of the driver and passenger, ie...
"The officers stopped the vehicle at Spring Mountain Road and had a brief conversation with the occupants, police said. After one of the officers reached into the SUV in an attempt to control the passenger, the driver accelerated and drove over the officers' bicycles, police said.
One of the officers was grazed by the SUV and fired four rounds at the vehicle, hitting it several times, police said."
...I am much more reluctant to criticize the actions of the officers as I was not there and not the one being assaulted and having my life threatened.
only in las vegas can a person get shot for loud music! las vegas advertises as a party place and tourists believe it. They believe what happens here stays here , they believe the party scenes from movies. But the truth is las vegas is a police state. The image does not fit actuality. It's a shame life is not considered sacred and loud music and reaching in a car while on a bike is not viewed as a dangerous practice but a sensible way to fight crime. Why not outlaw any behaviors we deem as annoying, why not shoot people for talking loudly, incorrect English, not saying excuse me (my biggest pet peeve). I see how Garrido was released early, he didn't annoy people with his loud music, he just raped and molested. Loud music=death, child molesters=freedom to rape and kill again
oh yes I play my music quite loud, I'm from the big city the police have more to handle than just annoyances like real crime. I forward these stories and the race based comments. I want the word to get out about the realities of Vegas not the fake party image. People from other parts of the country are in disbelief of the realities of Vegas, so the comments and reality are an eye opener.
some comments I get after posting articles from Vegas are "damn it's so racist there" " I can't believe how many unarmed people are killed by the police and it's justified" and then people share their stories of the rudeness they experienced in Vegas. New Yorkers are always amazed that people in Vegas are ruder than them. Good work by both your citizens and the police.
before you jump on me when I see the police I change the music to rock and they leave me alone. If I play music with bass I will get stopped so I switch it to rock (I don't change the volume) and the police will just ride by. I have no a/c so I need some enjoyment in the heat lol.
I bet the Sun won't run the names of the perps. The Sun staff is very hesitant to NOT run stories on crimes and escapades caused by illegal aliens.
Burritobandit :
Esse and Vato Holmes will be the first to tell you that they are Yale graduates with well documented degrees up the wazoo , 1st degree, 2nd degree, 3rd degree, etc....
At least thats how they pronounce 'Jail'.
Looks like these kids were playing Grand Theft Auto one too many times
Burritobandit...
LMAO...oh how Vegas has changed over the last 20 years...
Ah...the good old days...leaving your dough on the crap table where it was safe..
Now you have curfew to keep the TUPAK wanna bees off the game..
Sad...
The real Yale grads will never go back to the California turf wars..Vegas is a golden turd doomed by it's own greed...
As for one who did wear a badge for a few years,it was a bad lack of judgement of this officer.Did this officer not have a radio?Its friday,and traffic is allways backed up in that area.What if these knuckle heads had guns,and fired back?I work close to that area,and saw 17 units code 3!I just think better judgement could have been used.And its a good thing no one was hurt or killed by these kids with badges acting like Billy the kid!