Man charged in apparent ‘suicide by cop’ police shooting

By Las Vegas Sun Staff (contact)

Published Thursday, Aug. 26, 2010 | 8:14 p.m.

Updated Friday, Aug. 27, 2010 | 10:22 a.m.

A man shot and wounded Wednesday night by a Metro Police officer has been charged in connection with assault on an officer and resisting a public officer, both misdemeanors.

Police said Francisco Aguila Canez, 40, of Henderson, called 911 and then pointed an object at a responding officer in a threatening manner in an attempt to commit "suicide by cop." Authorities said Canez was despondent because of problems at his job and a rapidly deteriorating financial situation.

The shooting occurred shortly after 9 p.m. outside an office building at 3430 East Flamingo Road, at the intersection of Pecos-McLeod.

Dispatchers received a report of unknown trouble from a caller who left the line open, police said.

The first arriving officer spotted Canez standing next to a pickup truck in the parking lot, police said. He appeared to be concealing a dark object behind his leg, and when the officer tried to talk to him, Canez pointed the object at the officer “in a threatening manner,” police said.

The man ignored the officer’s commands to drop the object, and the officer fired several rounds, striking Canez three times, police said. An examination of the object held by Canez revealed a pair of binoculars that had been broken apart and reassembled with duct tape to appear to be a handgun, police said.

Canez was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, where he was reported in critical condition Wednesday night.

Canez “generated the call to the Metro Dispatch Center in order to draw officers to the area, with the intention of committing what is commonly know as ‘suicide by cop,’” a Metro news release said.

Per department policy, the name of the officer will be released until 48 hours after the incident. It was the 19th officer-involved shooting in Metro’s jurisdiction this year.