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Henderson Police SWAT Officer Brian Pollard testifies to the events that led him to shoot Richard Nolton Sr. during an inquest into the shooting at the Regional Justice Center Friday, Sept. 10, 2010. Nolton was shot in Henderson in July.
By Cara McCoy 
Published Friday, Sept. 10, 2010 | 1:50 a.m.
Updated Friday, Sept. 10, 2010 | 7:25 p.m.
Sun Archives
A Henderson Police SWAT officer testified on Friday that he had no choice but to fatally shoot a man during a July standoff at the man’s Henderson home.
Officer Brian Pollard shot and killed 42-year-old Richard Bernard Nolton in the early morning hours of July 3 after a tense standoff during which Nolton repeatedly told officers he wanted to die.
The standoff began at about 7 a.m. at the home on Severn Street that Nolton shared with his wife, two of his children and his mother-in-law.
Nolton’s wife called 911 and said her husband had threatened her with a pair of scissors. When police responded to the home, Nolton told them he was not going to go to jail and said he hadn’t threatened his wife. He also said he wanted the police to kill him, according to testimony at a Friday inquest into Nolton’s death.
A toxicology report revealed that Nolton had been using methamphetamine before he was killed and had a lethal level of the drug in his body when he was shot.
After about four hours of testimony and 45 minutes of deliberations, jurors ruled that Nolton’s death was justified.
Jury forewoman Diane Lehman said Pollard’s testimony on the stand was what convinced the jury.
“I think the part that it came down to was the officer who shot him stated that he felt that gentleman with the gun was going to turn and harm his guys, his police officers,” she said after the proceedings concluded Friday afternoon. “At that point, you have to feel that it’s justified. The way the information was presented was all very clear. The district attorneys had their ducks in a row.”
Of the seven jurors — five women and two men — only six signed off on the verdict form.
Lehman, a 48-year-old Las Vegas resident who works in accounting, said that while the all the jurors were generally in agreement over the shooting being justified, one woman didn’t feel right signing off because she believed Nolton was mentally ill and said police should have different ways of dealing with people who have mental illnesses.
A coroner’s jury doesn’t have to be unanimous in its verdict; four out of seven must agree. The jury had to decide whether the officer’s actions were justifiable, excusable or criminal.
“We all did believe the gentleman had a mental illness,” Lehman said.
Several officers testified that over the course of about an hour, Nolton was asked numerous times to come outside and surrender.
Lisa Gavin, a medical examiner with the Clark County Coroner's Office, describes an entry wound as she testifies during an inquest for the shooting of Richard Nolton Sr. at the Regional Justice Center Friday, Sept. 10, 2010. Nolton was shot by an officer in Henderson in July.
Shortly after 8 a.m., Nolton left the home and confronted officers with a handgun; police said officers repeatedly told Nolton to drop the gun and surrender, which Nolton did not do.
At that point, Pollard fired one shot. Nolton died at the scene.
“I feared that if he got that gun up on target, that he was going to shoot at my partners and I. And I knew that I couldn’t let that happen,” Pollard testified. “I knew I had to do something to stop that action. It was at that point that I fired one round and hit him on the back right side of his head.”
Pollard said that Nolton repeatedly made suicidal statements and was baiting the officers to shoot him.
Police later determined the gun, which appeared to be a semi-automatic handgun, was actually a B.B. gun.
Dr. Lisa Gavin, a medical examiner with the Clark County Coroner’s Office, testified during the inquest that although the amount of meth in Nolton’s system was enough to kill a person, he died from the gunshot wound to his neck. The bullet severed his spinal cord, and he died within seconds, she said.
The toxicology report indicated that Nolton was a long-time meth user who had built up a tolerance to the drug, she said.
Patrol Officer Steven Brown was one of the first officers to respond to the 911 call. He said that Nolton’s wife, a 13-year-old son and Nolton’s mother-in-law were able to exit the home as officers arrived. Another son, 15-year-old Richard Nolton Jr., remained in the home with his father.
Brown said Richard Nolton Jr. had a broken leg and was unable to get out of the home on his own.
Another officer, Doug Lynaugh, was able to reach Nolton by phone, and Nolton agreed to bring his son outside in a wheelchair, Brown said. But Nolton came out the front door with his son behind him, on crutches.
Nolton was wearing a black parka and told the officers that they “might as well just shoot me because your Tasers won’t get through my jacket,” Brown testified.
As he came out the front door, Nolton also said his wife was lying and told police to “check the cameras” because he was innocent. Officers later learned that the home across the street had surveillance cameras out front.
According to testimony on Friday, a subsequent review of the neighbor’s tapes showed that the cameras weren’t focused directly on the Nolton home and didn’t capture the events that unfolded that morning other than a short snippet that showed two officers as they ran across the street.
Investigators also found that Nolton was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, a tank top, underwear, shorts and two pairs of denim jeans under the parka.
It was hotter than 100 degrees that day.
Nolton’s wife, Velma Nolton, was asked to testify at Friday’s inquest but didn’t appear. A recorded statement she gave to police shortly after the shooting was played for jurors.
In the statement, Velma Nolton tells police she had learned in April that her husband, to whom she had been married 15 years, had been using meth when he was hospitalized following a suicide attempt.
She said he had a history of depression and anxiety and had attempted suicide several times in the past.
Coming down off meth made his anxiety worse, she said.
“He would be crazy. He would be gone for days at a time and come home angry and threatening, and that’s not who he was,” she told police.
Velma Nolton told the officer she woke up in the middle of the night July 3 and didn’t know where her husband was. She made a pot of coffee and waited. Finally at about 5:30 a.m., she heard the dog growl and went to the garage, where she began questioning her husband about where he had been.
She said he told her not to ask any questions.
“I put my arms around him and told him I loved him and told him, ‘you have to stop, you have to make a better choice than this,’” she tells the detective.
Her husband then grabbed a pair of scissors and told her he was going to kill her. She called 911.
In the meantime, her husband popped open a bottle of Xanax and took the remaining pills, she said. He also began threatening her with a knife.
He told her there was no way he was going to jail.
She said he kept repeating, “They’re not going to take me out of here alive.”
She said although he had a history of depression and anxiety, her husband had been a “normal” person until about a year and half ago when he lost his job. He lost his insurance and could no longer get medication.
“As long as he was on his medication, he was fine. Our insurance ran out shortly after we moved here and he couldn’t get his medication, and that led to a very deep depression,” she told the detective.
The Noltons were living with Velma’s mother and grandfather, who had lived at the home on Severn Street for about 30 years.
Velma Nolton’s grandfather died in January. Her mother was sick and awaiting a heart transplant, she said. “It’s a lot of stress,” she said.
A photo of a gun that was held by the victim is displayed during an inquest for the shooting of Richard Nolton Sr. at the Regional Justice Center Friday, Sept. 10, 2010. Nolton was shot by an officer in Henderson in July.
She said she knew her husband and her son had been watching videos on the Internet about police officer-involved shootings. She said she knew that if he was going to kill himself, that was how we wanted to go.
“He wasn’t thinking clearly,” she said.
She told the detective that her husband had threatened her before and on different occasions had swung a baseball bat at her, thrown a cinder block at her and threatened her with knives. She said he would head-butt people and had busted her lip by doing so the previous week.
Lynaugh, one of the officers who responded to the scene, said he spoke with Nolton on the phone during the standoff. Nolton told him over the phone that he wanted police to kill him and that he was not going to go to jail.
While speaking with Nolton on the phone, Lynaugh took notes, which he reviewed from the witness stand. Among other notations, he said, he wrote that Nolton said, “I will have something in my hand to make sure you kill me.”
Henderson Police Sgt. Robert Hart said throughout the standoff, the officers were very concerned about Nolton’s teenage son, who didn’t want to leave his father’s side.
“A person who is suicidal may also become homicidal and may want to end their life along with another person’s life,” Hart said. “So the concern was to get the son out of the situation.”
Nolton came out once with a knife in his pocket; he then went back into the house and came out again with the gun. Hart said he tried various tactics to get Nolton to drop the weapons and to get the boy away from the scene, but neither Nolton nor his son complied.
At one point, Hart said, father and son struggled over possession of the handgun, which Nolton held in his hand. Though he didn’t specifically aim it at anyone involved in the situation, he waved it around haphazardly, Hart said.
While Nolton, holding the gun, was saying “just shoot me, just shoot me, let’s end this right now,” his son was imploring him, “Dad, don’t do this,” Hart said.
Hart said he was armed with a non-lethal beanbag-shooting gun, but such a weapon was “very unlikely to have any effect on anyone in that kind of clothing and in that kind of state.”
Firing at Nolton with a nonlethal bullet, Hart said, would likely have agitated him and caused him to bring up the weapon.
Henderson Police Officer Doug Lynaugh testifies during an inquest for the shooting of Richard Nolton Sr. at the Regional Justice Center Friday, Sept. 10, 2010. Nolton was shot by an officer in Henderson in July.
As for the shot Pollard fired, “I think it was the correct shot to be taken,” Hart said. “Unfortunately, the only type of shot that will instantly stop a person from doing what they are doing is a shot to the head.”
Patrol officer Bret Hyde, who was present throughout the standoff, said he saw Nolton, holding the gun in one hand, hug his son with his other arm and whisper something in his ear.
“To me, it looked like he wanted to end this,” Hyde said. “It seemed like he was saying goodbye to his son.”
Nolton let go of his son and turned, which is when Pollard fired the shot.
Pollard, who has been a SWAT officer for 12 years and with the police force for more than 16, testified that SWAT team snipers said over the radio they were unable to get a clear shot of Nolton that wouldn’t endanger his son.
“I decided that if we had a shot, we were going to do something about it,” he said. He said he raised his rifle and placed the sights on the back of Nolton’s head; as Nolton turned away from his son, he fired.
“Since this happened, I’ve been able to go over this hundreds of times. I’ve what-if’d, could’ve’d and should’ve’d it over and over and over again. And faced with those circumstances at that point in time, there was nothing else I could do,” he said. “I knew that I had to stop his actions right then, and the only way I could do that was to fire a gun.”
Odds on not justified..1,000,000 to 1
Why even bother with this process, we already know the outcome of this one and all future inquests.
Even if it was a good shoot, this system won't prove it. The inquest system is unfair to citizens and cops alike.
Where is the video?
let the idiotic comments begin..
as far as our public is concerned every shoot the police make is unjustified. They will never be satisfied.
Since the police do more harm than good in most people's eyes these days.. let just take em off the street and let the criminals run things.
What will people b*tch about then..
This jerk got what he deserved
You guys should realize that the inquest is not about the "verdict," but rather the process. Honestly, they'd do better getting rid of the "verdict" altogether. No matter what the verdict, the DA and Attorney General look at the case and can prosecute the officer either way.
You have a gun in your hand, standing in front of police, its suicide by cop if you don't comply, simple as that.
First immediate reaction should be to drop the gun.
Guy got what he deserved.
this one sounds legit, the others we've been discussing, not so much
this one is pretty easy to determine unless some strange evidence was produced, unlike cole who was shot and unarmed.
On Meth, selling ice cream either way justifiable shooting.
Whether you hate the police or you're a law enforcement apologist, you have to admit that because of previous cases, the inquest process is highly dubious and compromised. That is why a fair and just process is needed, because once you have even so much as one cover-up, it undermines the credibility of everyone who is part of the process, from the sheriff's office down to the coroner.
for all of you dumb retards who posted negative comments STOP. Your bein very disrespectful and im sure none of you know what REALLY happened.you dont know if somebody who was close to him is reading this.STOP bein cruel people. A wise person taught me that if you dont know something then dont act like you do. it really just makes you look stupid. and by the way i apologize to those of you who didnt say negative things and i hope god blesses you.
is that a .22? That's a toy gun!
It looks like an AMT of some nature. They made a lot of weird guns. Maybe it is an enlongated or modified AMT Automag II or III.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMT_AutoMag...
Glad they shot him in the neck. After all, shooting him in the leg would mean he might survive another day. No, let's just kill him. Oh, don't shoot him in the back. Then you have to prove he was running backwards with his gun drawn.
Another police/military veteran assassination. Don't you love this redneck town?
nednuts -
Why would shooting him in the leg be right?
MSH1 because he would be alive! Is there something about being alive you don't understand? Let's see, I saved all the articles about police shooting for the past 10 years. You know what is a common thread? "He asked us to shoot him." "He made a "furtive" movement." "I felt my life was in danger." "He pointed a gun at me." These statements are repeated over and over in EVERY statement they make, FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS, FOR GOD'S SAKE!! Don't you see the pattern????
Alex2.... So you are saying that the officer should have shot the "bad guy" in the leg??? Would that have prevented the "bad guy" from firing his gun and possibly killing his son or another officer??? Alex,You live in a dream world where Hollywood is reality or you're just an idiot.
The coroner's inquest process has become so suspect that the results are meaningless.
First, the system must become completely transparent, then a new review system can be built.
Police credibility in the valley is gone, as is that of the coroner's office. They created there own problem.
The coroner's inquest process has become so suspect that the results are meaningless.
First, the system must become completely transparent, then a new review system can be built.
Police credibility in the valley is gone, as is that of the coroner's office. They created their own problem.
LV1,
Haven't you been paying attention? The criminals are already in charge. Just because they have a badge and are being paid by taxpayers doesn't make them honest. They lie under oath (criminal) they solicit prostitutes (criminal), they have sex with underage girls (criminal), they shoot innocent civilians (criminal). How about we hire honest police officers to protect us and get a DA that isn't scared to prosecute the criminals that infiltrate Metro. Only then will we all calm down and feel safe under the protection of the badge.
Why is demanding an honest police force always the first step to anarchy?
Velma had to call 911 because her husband was high on meth and threatening her. There is no conspiracy there. He was high on drugs, he made threats to himself and others, he had a weapon, he pointed the weapon at officers...what do you think is going to happen? By the way, getting shot in the leg CAN kill you. That pesky femoral artery hangs out there. If you happen to miss that artery though, you've now got someone firing back at you. In a residential neighborhood no less. As a neighbor, I'm glad there was no gunfight. I am sincerely sorry that Velma and her family have had to go through this, but I don't know how the outcome could have been any different based on Richard's actions. I really wish he could have gotten off the drugs.
So.. Salsaboy, what is your next statement, that the murder of Eric Scott is justified too??? Give me a break. I'm tired of corrupt cops. Little punks with a badge that get VERY excited about murder. Guess that's the only thing that excites them, besides each other, if you get my meaning.
Tom, A .22 is extremely lethal. DUH!
Alex, you because you got beefed by a cop doesn't make them corrupt.
Clean your act up and you won't have any problems.
I've seen .22 kill people just as easily as a 9mm. All it takes is one shot hitting the right spot and it's lights out.
I'm quoting you Getalife "Alex, you because you got beefed up by a cop doesn't make them corrupt" I don't have a clue as to what you are talking about. I don't understand the term,"beefed up", would you care to explain??
My act? I've never been stopped by a cop. Again, I don't have a clue as to what you are talking about. Would you care to write in plain english?
He lost his job, his insurance and access to the drugs he needed to deal with his depression.
Henderson Police shot him dead like a dog. I hope all you people are happy. What a sick society this truly is.
@lv1: "as far as our public is concerned every shoot the police make is unjustified."
Funny, I've found that those questioning the police are mainly concerned about two cases (Cole and Scott) out of the dozens of police shootings. It's the folks like yourself that seem to find a reason to justify EVERY police shooting.
You know Metro is screwed up when you type "Las Vegas police" in the Google predictive search engine. The first phrase that comes up is "Las Vegas police department". The second most commonly searched phrase? "Las Vegas police shooting".
Chunky says:
His blood test reads like a garbage dump for a pharmacy! Yikes! No wonder these freaks think they're superman! Hopefully the cops and the rest of us are carrying a major caliber and an extra mag! People yap about Tasers instead of guns but someone this jacked up would just look at you and laugh if you Tased him!
Chunky isn't comparing this guy to Erik Scott but it will definitely be interesting to see if and what Mr. Scott did or didn't have in his system!
That's what Chunky thinks!
Erik Scott was killed because Metro is too stupid to tell the difference between a pair of sunglasses and a gun. They are too paranoid and think the public are little more than dogs. They shot first and make up stories later to justify the "kill". Every citizen of Las Vegas is at risk.
alex, I used "you" instead of "just". Either way you can't read. I never used the phrase "beefed up". Next time cut and paste.
I didn't say "stopped", I said "beefed".
I missed one word, you missed the point.
Is it me or do they kill and beat up a lot of people?
I for getting rid of a lot of bad guys but
I am glad I live in LAS VEGAS not HENDERSON.
Hey...don't bring a gun to a gun fight unless you are prepared to use it.
I've been extremly critical of the Scott and Cole murders but I have no problem with this one.
too many innocent people could have been hurt or killed and police gave him plenty of chances to give up.
After the facts came out regarding Yant, I agree he needs to be fired, and criminaly charged. However, how about a little math. Less than one percent of all Metro and Henderson officers are involved in shootings. There are more non police shootings and weapons violence in the valley every year. Chances are against the officers since they respond to situations, make traffic stops, and simply have encounters with subjects the rest of us avoid. I would guess that an officer has around 2000 citizen contacts a year. For about 2500 officers, that is 5 million contacts. 26 shootings in a year? That is very good. I would say they are using their training to avoid violent encounters. Unfortunately, some people don't comply, some are impaired by drugs, and others have mental issues. Either way, they decided the outcome, not the police. And, stop comparing Metro to the Nazi's. You have no idea.
Manlaw,
And if a frog had had wings it wouldn't bump his butt a hoppin'. Even if your numbers were more than simple speculation, why does Vegas have higher death by officer rates than cities twice and even three times our size?
And before we go on and on about how dangerous being a cop is, consider this; Commercial Fishermen, Timber Cutters, Air Pilots, Construction Laborers, Garbage Collectors, Truck Drivers and Electricians all fare a better chance of being killed on the job than a cop.
But when city trash collector dies on the job serving you, there's no fanfare, no flags flown at half mast, no five foot flower monuments. No motorcycle caravans of garbage men swarming into the funeral from seven neighboring states. It is this hyper-inflated myth of a hero sacrificing his lives for you that allows police to create a shield against criticism of any misdeed. Can it be this myth also clouds the judgement of officers making them more fearful than they have to be? After all, of the cops that are killed at work, most die in car accidents, not at the hands of a citizen.
When did administering euthanasia become a key function of being a police officer? Maybe we should go ahead an build one of those centers from Soylent Green where people go to die... Hey there's a new economic boom for NV in the waiting.
MURDER!
Nothing to see here, folks, move along.
"Police later determined the gun, which appeared to be a semi-automatic handgun, was actually a B.B. gun." quoted from the above story...
This man had a plan, a very sad and tragic plan. He made sure that Tasers or non-lethal weapons would not penetrate his clothing. I don't know if the officer had any other choice but to use deadly force. Regardless of whether the man had a mental illness, he could still pull a trigger and these toy guns look so real these days.
The only thing that concerns me, now this 15 year old boy has to live with the fact that his father wanted to die in "suicide by cop" fashion, and he had to watch it happen. I hope this family is getting counseling for the boy.
I wonder if the counseling for the officer who fired the fatal shot is ongoing? I think it would be darn hard to live with that for the rest of your life. Even if you felt you had no choice, a good man (?) took the life of another human being. (The question mark is there because I don't know this officer, just assuming he is a good man). Imagine the beat down he would be taking from private citizens and himself if the man had shot his son or an officer. Seems most of us are willing to demonize the police no matter which way they go in these situations. Shoot, it was murder for no reason, don't shoot.. a dead child or officer and we chastise for not reacting quicker. How long can an officer let an armed man erratically wave a gun around? What should be the limit, or should there be no time limit?
What a tragedy for all involved!
Only the criminals of Clark County would or should mourn this TWEZOD. There is no value for a CRIMINAL life, we have too many already. You are fortunate that I am not making the laws, the first thing I would do is ban non-lethal force as this will get good officers and the public killed. Shooting for the legs offers a smaller target I would believe the officer was aiming for the torso but pulled the shot in the excitement. It was a good shoot!
The officer should fire as soon as a firearm or other weapon is produced and moved in the direction of anyone in a threatening manner to save lives.
Everyone knows that you follow the orders of the police immediately in a situation like this, anything else is at your own risk.
Nez212,
"The officer should fire as soon as a firearm or other weapon is produced and moved in the direction of anyone in a threatening manner to save lives."
Why exactly do you think this. Is it because you have fallen under the spell that being a cop is really a dangerous job? When in fact the a gardener is as likely to be killed on the job as cop.
Do you feel the same way about,say, a pair of binoculars? A tube of Carmex. Do they really need to bring a gun to a knife fight. I am all for treating cops with respect if they earn it. However far too much of my money has gone to settle with the families of people that were killed in what the inquest called good shoots.
Why is Las Vegas the only place where police are never held accountable?
"Everyone knows that you follow the orders of the police immediately in a situation like this, anything else is at your own risk"
In any given episode of "Cops" you can see conflicting commands are often given. If one cop says freeze, and one says hands up. You can't obey both, so your dead. Because "You didn't Mind the cops."
bghs1986:
Do they really need to bring a gun to a knife fight?.......YES. If you don't believe me, let's meet up...I'll bring a knife and you stand still!!
A edged weapon at close range is more dangerous than a gun. Now we get into distance and lag time which render all non lethal weapons ineffective.
OH...BTW.....BGHS Class of 1975
JG28,
You're on. You bring a knife and I will bring every non-lethal weapon in the Metro arsenal. You knife against, my taser, billy club, bean bag shot gun, mace, fire hose, and don't forget I also can have 100 friends similarly equipped at my side. And we will all be dressed in riot gear. Still like your chances? You will lose every time. But you will live. Too bad people like manlaw and nez212 have hearts so black that only death can satisfy them.
Go Gaels.
What happens when you are alone on a call and don't have 100 of your friends there?
Now what?