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By Jackie Valley (contact) 
Published Thursday, Aug. 26, 2010 | 12:08 p.m.
Updated Thursday, Aug. 26, 2010 | 4:04 p.m.
Approximate area of incident
The Metro Police homicide unit is investigating the death of a man who was tased Wednesday night after authorities say he was acting erratically on U.S. 95.
The Clark County Coroner's Office today identified the man as 21-year-old Eduardo Lopez-Hernandez, of Henderson. The cause and manner of his death haven't been determined. The coroner's office said that process could take six to eight weeks.
Lopez-Hernandez died at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, according to the coroner's office.
Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Joseph Fackrell said Lopez-Hernandez was driving erratically and collided with at least one vehicle in the northbound lanes of U.S. 95 near Charleston Boulevard at about 7 p.m. Wednesday, soon after the highway re-opened following a chemical spill earlier in the day.
Fackrell said the man then got out of his car and acted violently toward other motorists. Lopez-Hernandez eventually jumped the highway median and crossed into traffic in the southbound lanes of U.S. 95, Fackrell said.
When NHP troopers approached him, officials said Lopez-Hernandez became violent and combative with troopers.
Lopez-Hernandez started a physical altercation with NHP troopers, forcing them to use a Taser to subdue him, the Nevada Department of Public Safety said. After Lopez-Hernandez was controlled, officers noticed he wasn't breathing and began performing life-saving measures, the highway patrol said. He was pronounced dead at Sunrise Hospital.
Several civilians and officers suffered injuries during altercations with Lopez-Hernandez, authorities said.
Metro wasn't releasing details about its death investigation. Officials are asking any witnesses to contact the Metro Police homicide unit at (702) 828-3521 or Crime Stoppers at (702) 385-5555.
I'm a "benefit of the doubt" person until all the facts are revealed, but is the new law enforcement approach, "If they don't conform, kill them"? There's a lot of extreme social stress and anxiety thanks to 2+ years of economic turmoil ... Perhaps it is beginning to take a toll on people.
A clarification from the reporter, please:
The headline claims the person died "in custody" but the story states "When NHP troopers approached the man, officials said he became violent and combative with troopers. Fackrell said he couldn't comment about what happened after that point during the incident."
So was the suspect in custody or were they trying to get the suspect in custody? If it's not known, then the headline should be changed.
RPJ, Metro is calling this an "in-custody death."
at least this clown died from the use of a taser, which means they didnt choose to pop this idiot full of lead right away. im proud of our police for this one not using extreme measures first and ask questions later!
I ran to an idiot with road rage once. it was not fun.
Coroner already licking his "justified" rubber stamp.
As another motorist on the road, I would have shot that idiot myself if he would have approached my car in a violent way. Either way, he would have died.
One less idiot off the road.
I bet he was drunk or under some sort of mediciation.
This is getting out of hand with the cops in this place. In NYC were I'm from they might pump 40 rounds into one dude, but here they're on pace to pump rounds into 40 people.
This is highly troublesome for a department of this size. It's small in comparison to other cities and yet those cities have less officer-involved shootings. Very, very troublesome. I'd be interested what the actual stats are from other cities. Might be a good story to put things in their proper context.
One unanswered question is whose custody was the suspect in? NHP doesn't have the same rep as Metro lately, and it is Metro investigating this.
My guess (pending further details) is that the man died at the county jail.
That's why I only roll in my Big Wheel...King of the sidewalk!
i say why couldnt they taser some idiot that was texing while driving?
Seriously? Is every Metro office involved incident going to be a civil outcry of wrongdoing on this website? Let's all re-read the story, the man was combative towards other motorists and troopers - aka disrespectful and overall just acting like a complete moron. So let me ask, Why was he tased? Hmm...combative towards motorists and officers...maybe they tased him so the idiot wouldn't run out into oncoming traffic! I mean, he WAS already on the wrong side of the highway causing problems.
If you don't want to get tased, shot at, etc by the cops, LISTEN to what they're telling you to do, and don't heighten the already stressful situation. Yes, the economy is bad, but that doesn't give us all the right to go out there smashing into other vehicles because we're upset.
listen up buttercup, the suspicion will continue until there is transparency and accountability to the public.
worst drivers are the aggressive, tailgating, switching lanes, no regard for anyone...20 somethings.
throw in road rage and you have a recipe for death...
Buttercup3381, NHP is part of Department of Public Safety not Metro.
Want to bet that the guy was a regular poster to the RJ and Sun? Let's face it, we have a lot of whackos in Vegas. If we could only get them to take their meds....
I'm sure the toxicology report will make things a little more clear.
Chunky says:
How hard is it to understand and comply with orders from armed police officers? If you have nothing to hide all you do is stop, follow their orders and don't do anything stupid that requires force!
That's what Chunky thinks!
I like Chunky. I do.
From a Channel 8 News Now commentary speaking on Coroner's Inquests: http://blogs.lasvegasnow.com/politics/ta...
"The Nevada ACLU has called this fact-finding system a "storytelling exercise" that is "like the sound of one hand clapping." In 34 years of inquests, and about 200 hearings, only one officer has been found criminally negligent."
Sounds a lot like a rubber stamp to me.
axiom, thats because nypd cops cant shoot worth a darn. at least metro cops do have good gun skills...wait, then again they do get a lot of practice on the general public
its because nyc news papers don't reports every little shooting in the city like las vegas papers do i hate the media
Tim, can you clarify where the death occurred? Was it at the scene or somewhere else? There are far too many missing facts.
My apologies, I was referring to the comment about "the cops in this area". I shouldn't have been so specific. I particularly like the comment that they killed him. They did not kill him, they tased him. In my opinion, heck of a lot better than actually shooting him dontcha think?
Hi boftx, we just updated the story with a couple of other details, including that he died at the hospital.
I'm putting my $1 on meth...let it roll!
Thanks, Tim!
Based on the updated story, I see two likely scenarios.
One, the man had a particularly bad reaction to be tased. While rare, it has been known to happen. This has been the source of some controversy over the use of tasers.
Two. The man was disoriented, but not entirely incapacitated by being tased and wandered into traffic and was run over.
I'm leaning towards scenario number two at this point based on his age. One would think that a presumably healthy 21 year old would not have a bad reaction to being tased, and could in fact be capable of resisting the effects to some extent. We have all heard stories of how people under the influence of various drugs can be oblivious to pain. Maybe this is something similar.
Speaking as a 50 year old Las Vegas native I would like to pass on the following thoughts. All of you post comments on forums such as this and vent your fustrations about how much you "hate" the area because of Metro, NHP, traffic, road rage, speeding tickets, unemployment, the news media, Harry Reid, and all the "wackos" you claim to be here. I would be willing to bet that all of you moved here from out of state somewhere during the past 20 or so years. I got news for all of you. Las Vegas used to be a great place to live until you all moved here and screwed it up. I now live in nice, quiet Boulder City which reminds me of the Las Vegas I grew up in. So for all of you that don't like the Las Vegas area there is a solution for each and everyone of you. Please pack your things and get your a$$ out of town. And take a couple of thousand people with you. Thank You
Unfortunately Tasers aren't a "magic bullet" as they are advertised. On the face of it NHP looks justified to subdue the guy as soon as possible lest he try attacking them or running into traffic. It seems with the Taser that people whose bodies are already super stressed the Taser can cause death.
Also as a native Las Vegan, you speak the truth TWA767.
@third-person Chunky
Chunky says:
"How hard is it to understand and comply with orders from armed police officers? If you have nothing to hide all you do is stop, follow their orders and don't do anything stupid that requires force!"
While we clearly have no idea what occurred in this case, the central point from the various postings about our trigger-happy heros is the fact that most of these individuals who are shot are most likely NOT doing anything stupid that justifies the use of force by Metro.
The police are not friends of John Q. Public. "Protect and serve" only refers to themselves, no matter whether they are the thugs or covering for their thug fellow officers.
Perhaps if someone internal stood up against Yant earlier (I'm sure his rep was known internally), Mr. Cole would be alive today.
twa767,
Well said. Cheers!
I'm so amazed how people rant that Metro will shoot for "anything" or "nothing"...in any of these situations, if something hinky wasn't happening, Metro wouldn't even have been on scene. In these cases, a citizen or business CALLED for assistance and Metro showed up. I agree with RPJ, there is mounting stress and anxiety not seen in decades and it's showing in the community. Metro's job isn't to serve tea and sandwiches, it's to deal with sh*t...some sh*t is bad and some is worse. This bashing's ridiculous.
I urge you all to get concealed weapons permits and become armed! Its your right!
I want to know if this guy was illegal. It would explain a lot.
Do they keep statistics?
My experience has been our legal immigrants obey the laws and I respect them for the qualities and moral values they bring to the United States.
@kuntakente I see that you support and stand up for dirty cops. Are you a cop? You sound like one.
Think, trying doing that before you post.
Once again class; wait for the facts.
Tasers are great threat deterrents. Nothing is perfect, but a Taser is overwhelmingly less lethal than a bullet.
Either way; you play, you pay.
@Gldngrnize,
The citizenship of the man who died has no bearing whatsoever on this story. (And anyone who is familiar with my posts knows that I am no friend of illegal immigrants.)
The basic facts are that a young man who was acting inappropriately, and who LEO attempted to subdue with what was intended to be non-lethal means, later died in hospital.
There are no other details being supplied as yet. Tthe man's nationality is completely irrelevant to what transpired.
Okay, so after the latest update it appears my first scenario is playing out. As someone else posted earlier, the toxicology report should tell the story.
We'll probably read a story in the future telling how the company that makes the Taser is being sued by the family of the dead man.
OMG, as I was driving home today, a teen with a baby in the front seat kept looking down 90% of the time. After a few stop lights, I could see she was texting. Once she is taken out and kills herself and her little sister or brother, I will feel a bit safer driving on these streets. May God and her family grant her peace.
The problem is the same once again, the Police think they are in a War and treat all without a uniform as cattle. Why the need to tase him? because you didn't want to get your uniform dirty?
This whole thing started from the typical overreaction by the cops to a chemical spill NDOT battled with johnny cat. They closed the Interstate for what? 2-3 hours? why? I will tell you why..because WE don't matter, their authority is all that matters. It was an extra easy gig to stand around for 2-3 hours watching cat litter swept up and Metro milked it. The public raged and you have this incident.
The Cops in this town are totally out of control. They are dangerous to the community at this point. This will go on and on, watch.
Just to point out, here we have a situation where 1.) officers made a first-hand assessment that the suspect was acting erratically and 2.) even when the suspect became physically combative with officers, the officers were able to contain the threat through the use of a taser; 3.) after officers noticed the suspect was not breathing, they began to perform life-saving measures.
Contrast the response of the Nevada Highway Patrol with the response of the Metro officers in the Scott case:
1.) Officers failed to make a first-hand assessment that Scott was acting erratically and needed to someone to "point out" which individual was supposedly acting erratically; 2.) officers resorted to lethal force even though Scott showed no signs of being combative; and 3.) Metro didn't call forward an ambulance until five minutes after Scott had been shot and no one attempted to perform life-saving measures.
Unfortunately, the suspect in this case died, but it appears that the NHP officers applied their training appropriately. Rather ironic that an outside organization--Metro--gets to investigate NHP when it seems all the real problems are at Metro.
from reading the story, it is my sense that the nhp had a "grip" on this issue. even when the guy went sideways & they tazed him, it feels as though they acted with professionalism & team confidence.
completely different deal w/ e. scott.
those boys fell apart early in the game. seems the state boys may be able to teach metro a thing or two.
I don't need no stinking permit...ever hear of open carry? It's legal...
I think that NHP should be commended for trying something other that lethal force first. Maybe Metro could learn something. I have an interesting question. If this happened in NHP jurisdiction, and I believe that the Interstates are NHP, why is Metro Homicide investigating? NHP asked an outside agency to investigate to insure that a fair and impartial investigation was done? Hey, if that is the case, another lesson that Metro could learn, have an outside agency investigate Officer involved deaths.
Seeing all these comments, I sometimes wonder how long it will be until citizens shoot at officers first, presuming they must fear for their lives?
Come on guys.
There at quite some foul eggs, but I still believe the majority of those "serving and protecting" try to do a good job and and uncomfortable with these events, too.
Stephenrblv,
You either didn't read the article or you are a moron. This was NHP's call as it was on US95. Metro is conducting the investigation on the incident. Did you really just ask why NHP tased him? Really? Judging by the article, this man was in a rage and battering both citizens and the troopers. If you don't think this was justified maybe you should run for the supreme court where you can change their rulings on when tasers are justified. Get a clue and get your facts straight before you type. One last thing, the cops shut down the freeway so the firefighters and their hazmat team could clean up the mess. They didn't just do it for fun. Next time there is a hazmat spill, I volunteer you to be the dummy who drives through the scene to see if it's ok for everyone else to drive through.
Look, Sulfuric acid is not worthy of shutting down a major Interstate for 3 hours so two guys from NDOT wearing dust masks can pour Cat Litter on it. NDMV lists SA as a class 8 chemical because it has corrosive issues. Anybody who has ever spilled some battery acid on their arms can confirm this.
Honestly I think this was made into more than it was so this company can be fined majorly by CC. If it truly was a big deal they would have evacuated the surrounding neighborhood, they did not.
When this went beyond an hour it became a Federal Issue. Meaning the Feds had to be notified and the incident logged. I am pretty sure this type of notice helps with securing Federal dollars with which to buy fancy firetrucks and hazmat suits down the road.
as to the taser, well the guy died so somebody screwed up. Was he tased while he was running and fell hitting his head? there was talk he jumped the divider. Was he in such an excited mode the addition of the taser sent him into a death spiral? We know he was in a "road rage" from all reports. Was the person given a safe level of juice? I would submit given the situation a spray would have made more sense. Why was the guy running away anyhow? Where are the witnesses?
I like how people post inaccurate information to prove a point.
for example... summerlincc posted...Just to point out, here we have a situation where 1.) officers made a first-hand assessment that the suspect was acting erratically and 2.) even when the suspect became physically combative with officers, the officers were able to contain the threat through the use of a taser; 3.) after officers noticed the suspect was not breathing, they began to perform life-saving measures.
Contrast the response of the Nevada Highway Patrol with the response of the Metro officers in the Scott case:
1.) Officers failed to make a first-hand assessment that Scott was acting erratically and needed to someone to "point out" which individual was supposedly acting erratically; 2.) officers resorted to lethal force even though Scott showed no signs of being combative; and 3.) Metro didn't call forward an ambulance until five minutes after Scott had been shot and no one attempted to perform life-saving measures.
As a matter of fact in the Scott shooting Metro had an ambulance staged before the shooting even took place and moments after the shooting an officer immediately requested medical on the scene... sounds like dispatch dropped the ball on that one.
The reason NHP tazed the guy and not shoot him was because it was not a deadly force situation like the Scott shooting.
Majority of the calls that police respond too are from witnesses and second hand information and of course a witness or someone involved would have to point out the suspect... do you think police have magical powers like a video game and there is an icon above the suspects head indicating that they are the bad guy ?
Someone waving or holding a gun in a Costco is acting erratic and IS a deadly force situation.
My hat is off to the NHP, they did everything they could do to get this guy, without just shooting him, which would have been the Metro way. I feel bad, that the man died anyway, but by God, the NHP didn't just give up and shoot him, then go have lunch.
Here is another moronic post... from stephenrblv,
as to the taser, well the guy died so somebody screwed up. Was he tased while he was running and fell hitting his head? there was talk he jumped the divider. Was he in such an excited mode the addition of the taser sent him into a death spiral? We know he was in a "road rage" from all reports. Was the person given a safe level of juice? I would submit given the situation a spray would have made more sense. Why was the guy running away anyhow? Where are the witnesses?
So just because he died someone screwed up? Really? Did he get a safe level of juice? Really?
Why was he running away anyway? Really? The report doesnt say he ran away.
Where are the witnesses? Really? the report says that several CITIZENS and officers were injured during the altercation... sounds like witnesses to me.
I would submit given the situation a spray would have made more sense... Really? pepper spray is not like "freeze tag" poeple just don't stop in their tracks after being sprayed, as a matter of fact some people act even more erratic.
Much love to our officers. Thank you!
@who_really_knows: Yes, Metro may have had an ambulance "staged". But if you listen to the dispatch tapes, five minutes had passed and a voice is heard asking where the ambulance was--Metro may have "staged" an ambulance but then never called it forward to render medical assistance. Ambulances are no more effective in a staging area then when they are parked in a firehouse.
"Someone waving or holding a gun in a Costco is acting erratic and IS a deadly force situation."
Scott was neither waving nor holding a gun in Costco. His gun was concealed and was not his hand at the time officers approached. The only individuals with their guns drawn were the Metro officers that needed assistance to figure out which Costco customer had a gun on their person.
TWA767 is one of the few on this post With a
Brain! Would you rather of had the Road
Rage nut take 1/2 Doz. of you with him??
Some piss and moan when the cops don't do their job with soft gloves on.... some are angry when there isn't a cop around when something happens around them.... some just like to bash the police.
I bet those involved in the road rage were EXTREMELY happy to have the officers take action.
I'd bet ANYTHING that this guy was all hopped up and it finally hit him and he expired.
It's so easy to Monday Morning quarterback and blame the officers for everything. Well, at least it keeps the light off of the FD.
Since the usual group of 'cop haters' are present and busy posting their usual same old same old I guess the moron that freaked out wasn't one of them.
SIGH!!!!
@who_really_knows is obviously a cop. They add nothing to the conversation just insults which I would expect from a cop.
Do even a shred of research on tasers and it is pretty clear they are dangerous and their use risky. In normal situations there is a 3% time frame where using a taser on a suspect can lead to death due to risk of inducing ventricular fibrillation. The incident on 95 had circumstances which raised those odds considerably. The fact the man was agitated alone pushes the odds up using a taser will harm the individual. If he was running away the odds rise.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taser_safet...
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/01/us/01t...
To the many of you that tend to "Monday Morning Quarterback" any and every thing that a law enforcement officer does, and think that from a news article you are able to know exactly what transpired, or think you do...
How many of you would qualify to be a police officer? How many of you have any experience in this field whatsoever? The blatant disrespect shown for our law enforcement community in general frankly astounds me. It's not "us vs them" people. The circumstances surrounding every situation vary. You can't lump the actions from one situation into another, and you cannot begin to know what occurred by the amount of information that an initial newspaper article contains.
I am only hoping that the opinions you post aren't those you teach your children. God help us if they are, for you will be responsible for raising another generation of law enforcement haters.
Murders!
Here's an interesting website which looks barely used..http://www.iteris.com/tim/
Not that incident management matters in a Tourist Destination or fast growing community like Las Vegas.
"Incidents can result in traffic congestion. Depending upon the time of day and location, incidents create 55-60% of the congestion on the Las Vegas Metro freeways."
Which is cheaper? incident management or building roads?
A 21 year old man killed by a taser! Sounds a little suspicious to me. Did multiple officers taser him after he was cuffed and laying face down on the ground? There must be more to this story that is not being released. A taser is not designed to kill "if used properly." Based on the police version of this story a taser was justified however was it used properly is my question... Any witnesses out there?
"Monday Morning Quarterback"? they said the same thing about incident involving the cop going 102 mph, no lights, no seat belt. This is not a game.
There is nothing wrong with questioning where and how our tax money is being spent. These people work for us, not the other way around. I would submit the issues like these are a direct result of the public not being involved. Leaving it up to the extremely overpaid "professionals". Those be the people killing citizens, blocking roads, creating major incidents for their benefit, and fighting even 3% pay cuts in a Depression with 20% local unemployment.
I find it amazing that Metro comes to the public asking for more money in the form of increasing sales taxes, etc. but when Metro wrongfully kills civilians, those supporting Metro criticize the very people that underwrite their paychecks. Somewhere along the line, the phrase "public servant" has been replaced by "you owe us".
Every time Metro officers are found to have engaged in misconduct, it costs taxpayers even more. There have been far too many instances of police misconduct for anyone not to conclude that there is a pattern: Darling, Carrillo, Cole, Scott, etc.
In most police departments, I'd say that police officers tell the truth about 95% of the time. Occasionally, you might run across a cop that tries to strengthen the evidence against a suspect by embellishing or a cop that puts "resisting arrest" into an inordinately high number of arrest reports. With Metro, I give it 50/50.
Metro has officers writing up reports on busts that never happened and lie on sworn statements to judges. Metro has cops that charge the innocent victims of officer reckless driving with DUI and resisting arrest, when the victim's only "crime" was try to help the Metro officer that nearly killed him. Metro has officers that killed a successful businessman and former military officer, claiming that he pointed a gun at them--for no identifiable reason. Metro has cops that claim to have broken off a car chase, when in fact they launched the car they were chasing into incoming traffic. Metro has officers provide testimony under oath that runs counter to all available physical evidence.
Even judges in Las Vegas now need to question whether Metro officers are telling the truth. I'm sure Judge Diana Sullivan had no idea that she was signing Trevon Cole's death warrant when she approved Yant's request for a search warrant that contained false information.
As far as I'm concerned, the folks defending this misconduct and unethical behavior are just as morally compromised.
The behaviour of this guy was dangerous to anyone close to him on the freeway. I suspect there is more to it why he ran from the police. Could be he didn't have a drivers license or was wanted for some other reason. Could also be that he wasn't even suppose to be in this country.
As I see it, he didn't give the police much of a choice. I'm just thankful that others didn't get hurt. A friend was in that area last night with her little children in the vehicle. It scared the heck out of her.
The taser saved ICE a little time and effort.
stephenrblv.... go do a 'ride-a-long' (on the midshift especially) and see, hear, feel what we go through. Just maybe your eyes will open just a little.
Are all cops honest? No...most are. And after your ride, you might understand what the vast majority of us go through... and you'll meet some really good guys as well.
mawzy, i do agree that people should go on ride alongs. i have been on a few. i find it interesting. i have not done one with metro and never will tho.
my question is....why is metro, a department that cant even investigate its own properly, investigating nhp? if another agency can investigate another, why cant another investigate metro?
@twa767:
Nice!
LVMPD, cleaning uo the streets of vegas, one dead moron at a time. I mean, even that Erik Scott schmuck, really? Do you really need to carry a concealed weapon into a Summerlin costco? I hope the moron death toll continues to climb, I really do.
olbuddy, you are ignorant. there is no place safe from bad people. carrying a summerlin costco is perfectly justifiable. especially in this town one never knows the true desperation of some.
summerlincc, you are such an idiot... did you even listen to the officers radio traffic? immediately after the shooting the officer requested medical !! and YES, Scott was holding a gun !!
Gimme a break...The guy on 95 was NOT in handcuffs laying face down when he was tazed.
And NO I am not a cop, I just don't rush to judgement everytime something happens that I don't like.
I don't think a police officer is a liar just because he works with one that was caught lying.
I have been on ride a longs and I have seen first hand what goes on out there, and just because it is not on the news doesn't mean it isn't happening.
I suggest that we wait to hear the reason why this guy was running from the police.
Every occupation has it's bad apples....from politicians, doctors, plumbers, cops, etc. To classify all cops as bad is just stupid.
Also referring to Erik Scott as a "schmuck" shows the level of ignorance of the poster. He should now post an apology to the Scott family.
All you people that are bashing our police department should remember how you would feel should the time come when you need one of them. Remember, every time they walk out the door to go to work they are taking their life in their hands to save yours.
If you think its such a sweet job to be out there with all the idiots and cop haters and weather then by all means go apply for the job and see if its all that and a bag a chips. You would be the first to holler for a cop should someone threaten you or your family.
Personally, if you are told to do something by an officer then just DO IT, don't argue, don't cuss them out, don't run or do anything else thats stupid. Stupid is as stupid does. You will not win the game but you just might be shown some respect.
Good Job done officers
damn right im bashing our PD! metro pd is a disgrace to law enforcement as a whole. they are pathetic. full of arrogant officers. its not the shootings alone, its their crappy attitude towards the general public. there is no reason why a cop should be cussing me out when i havent said a damn thing to them other than asking why did you stop me.
im not a cop hater, im a metro hater. the job sucks in a nutshell. sure it has some good points but a lot of bad points as well. part of the job is shooting people and it happens. metro on the other hand, has bad judgement in some cases. when i think back to all the run ins i had with metro, for doing nothing more than speeding or a car accident, im not a hardcore criminal, no record of any kind, etc. and i get treated like i raped the cops dog almost every time. i worked with LE doing warrants and i have never ever treated the known criminals the way i have been treated for being in a car accident!!!
from my own personal experiences with them, i can only wonder how they treat the criminals. when some scumbucket starts being arrogant it is perfectly acceptable for the cop to fight back verbally, but metros people skills are very limited. they are a bunch of neanderthals overall, even the 2 different cadets i have run into to ask a question are arrogant punks, so im assuming its traning because the couple of henderson cops i have dealt with are the complete opposite. so the way i see it, if a perfectly law abiding citizen gets treated like crap i can only wonder how they are for the dirtbags of society. while i agree that many of these scumbags should be wiped off the planet, shooting an unarmed man is stupid and not justifiable especially for a trained officer with multiple weapons choices on his belt. this incident was handed perfectly, he was a threat but no weapon so a historically non leathal weapon and use of force was used to take this dirtball down. good for NHP using common sense. if metro handled this, they would have fired into traffic and probably killed some single mom with kids in her car and called it justified.
metro is just a bunch of goons in turd brown outfits.
i like to call them, gilespies goons
whyamihere, i have treated all officers from metro i have had the displeasure of having to deal with, and only 2 out of 8 have been at the best professional and if 2 were nice to me, why were the other 6 rude and arrogant and near violent towards me when i treated them all the same? by the way, 3 of those interactions were for car accidents and 2 of those cops treated me like i raped their dog and shot their wife. there is no reason at all to even want to be rude towards a cop thats there to do nothing more than call for medical help and write a report. metro cops are arrogant scum and they should be wiped off the force and replaced with people that want to be public servants, not public bullys.
Been here 20+ years and never needed a cop. In fact they would be the last people I would call.
Don't need to do a ride along to know they spend their time writing tax bills they call tickets and shooting people who make furtive moves.
What Metro really excels at is blocking traffic, hassling homeless people, going to traffic accidents to see if they can make some cash off the involved, and chirping their horns at people and driving off at 60 mph smoking a cigarette and drinking their latte.
Why are we playing this game? We all know what little these people do. How arrogant they are. Nice people? as opposed to the people shot and hassled? they were nice too, so what? Drop the damn arrogance, do preventive consistent work and just maybe most of the community who hates your gutts will change. In the meantime you are getting Metro what you sowed.
BTW, just so newbies understand, it did not used to be this way when Jerry Keller was Sheriff. It changed under Young and has completely unraveled under Gillespie. The problem is they are hiring muscle-heads and not law enforcement professionals.
Calm down sigtwenty, You working yourself up over nothing.
I'm sure that I have been around for more years than you have. I've had minimal contact with cops, never had a ticket or accident and my only complaint is that they all take their lunch and breaks at the same restaurant at the same time, instead of leaving someone out on patrol.
No, I don't live in Las Vegas. I prefer smaller towns with fewer people. If I could avoid seeing a doctor in Las Vegas, I would do so. Each time I leave the city, I'm thankful that some idiot driver hasn't run over me.
@stephenrblv: I don't know if it was Young or Gillespie, but in the last 10 years, Metro appears to have gone from a department with a great reputation to one that is no longer trusted to tell the truth in sworn statements to judges. The inmates are running the asylum.
@who_really_knows: If you had listened to the whole tape, you will hear a voice asking for the whereabouts of the ambulance FIVE MINUTES AFTER shots fired was radioed. Yes, I heard a Metro officer call for medical before the incident, but rescue personnel don't do much good when there held back in a staging area and not called forward--particularly when the officers that are on the scene don't render aid.
As for being an idiot, I'm same person that said Yant would be found to be a liar while folks like you continued to defend him.
It is interesting that it seems more people are killed by the police than by criminals in this city. Both accidental and purposely.
The police definately have an attitude problem in this town. I was pulled over last week and they threaten me with jail because I politely ask why I was pulled over. No ticket, no reason, no idea?
I show them respect, they show rude arrogance in return.
Maybe the chemicals from the spill messed him up.
You know what LV really needs? Is for all the Police and Fire personal to walk off there jobs for 7days and let all you Dummy's fend for your self's. That would really be a hoot. I would pay to see that. Then listen to you squeal!! LOL
If they walk off the job you just might be surprised how little killing and intimidation go on around here.
I, for one, would feel a lot safer without them!
Police are supposed to "protect and serve" instead they "harass and intimidate"!
There are a number of witnesses who didn't see Scott holding a gun. Metro and someother witnesses saw a gun. Just like the Costco employee saw a guy going berserk, waving a gun and destroying merchandise and others saw nothing out of the ordinary. Without the corrupted tapes, it will come down to who is more believeable.
@spdmrcht
I wish the firefighters would walk off the job, then we could hire individuals at a reasonable rate of pay. One that doesn't break the budget. There's no reason a FF should be making the same rate of pay as a Family Practioner.
And before you mouth off... I am not jealous of you. I make more than you, but have skills and talent that are worth it. And the free market determines MY salary.
As a taxpayer, I just don't want to OVERPAY for FF skills.
One less car on the road now..
"It is interesting that it seems more people are killed by the police than by criminals in this city." You are kidding right, poly6006? Read the LVRJ today...20th officer involved shooting this YEAR. Now...read the front page of the LVRJ...4 citizen shootings this WEEK. A murder-suicide, a shooting at a car lot and this nut robbing convenience stores with guns a blazin'...
Before hopping on the bandwagon...try a little research with your morning coffee.
Better brace yourself Vegas, you will soon being seeing a lot more of this unless you follow suit and change your laws. Its already been reported that the illegals are leaving Arizona and flooding Nevada, Utah and New Mexico.
Good luck my friend. :}
@sheilacatherine I do not think you can just brush away poly6006's claim that easy. Taking away shootings of people who know each other, seriously what are the numbers? What are the death numbers?
Good luck finding those numbers BTW. Crime figures are some of the most manipulated around especially in a region where the top cop is elected.
According to Gillespie crime is down in LV. Well sure if you stop arresting people it looks down. Do less police work and your numbers look great. Good for incumbents running for re-election.
On the face of it this seems justified use of force. It's very unfortunate the subject died, and my condolences to those he was loved by and those who he supported financially. Compared to other Metro actions resulting in death, this doesn't seem to merit the amount of discussion IMHO.
If this person was known to the NHP officers there is no way they would have tased him. THAT is what this is about. This attitude by Law Enforcement that the public is cattle.
Tasers were developed because Cattle Prods were just a too hard to carry on a holster.
Is it illegal to text and shoot at the same time?
There are too many unanswered questions. Many officers(and others?) are saying Lopez-Hernandez(LH) was violent. How violent? Was he on drugs or drunk? Did he have a medical condition like heart or lung problems? Or maybe something in is brain set him off? Was the tazer used too much in this case? How would the police know if there were medical problem? When did the ambluence arrive? What did they do? Did the officers perform cpr immediately on discovery? He died at the hospital. What was the medical personal at the hospital doing? What was the reponse to this emergency on all sides? I know that if the lacks of service at hospitals don't kill you the bills will. Did the hospital find out he had no insurance? Did LH die DOA or soon after or was it awhile? Was the emergency hospital personal backed up and couldn't get to him? What did they do? Too many questions need to be answered first before jumping to police brutality, negligence, or justified force. Maybe tazer use needs to be reexamined.
rwal2222: I fear that you're absolutely correct. As nearby states such as Arizona tighten up enforcement of immigration laws, Las Vegas may very well see an influx of illegal immigrants.
@ronster, yep cab drivers have to eat too!