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Metro Police Deputy Chief Jim Owens briefs the press at the scene where a police officer opened fire Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2012, on a man swinging a knife inside a Travel Inn on Fremont Street.
Published Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012 | 6:15 p.m.
Updated Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012 | 8:22 p.m.
Downtown incident
Metro Police patrolling downtown Las Vegas fired at a man waving a knife after officers initially confronted the man for jaywalking.
The incident happened at 4:47 p.m. when two officers tried to stop a man walking in the street, said Deputy Chief Jim Owens.
Owens said the man ran from police into a Travel Inn on Fremont Street near 21st Street.
Officers pursued the man, who took out a knife and started swinging it at officers when one officer opened fire, he said.
“The officer fired several rounds,” Owens said.
The suspect was taken to University Medical Center to treat his injuries, Owens said.
No other injuries were reported and the investigation is ongoing.
That area is so drug and hooker infested, they need to drop a big net over that section and clean up the area. I live off of Stewart and I heard what I thought was gunshots but was not sure. They need constant surveillance in that area. Put plain clothes detectives out there. I can't even stop at the light on Fremont and 15th without someone coming up to my car on a red light and trying to push drugs. I am sick of it.
Couldn't pay me to live in that area. No offense to those that do, but I'd look for the first opportunity to get out. There's cheap housing all over Vegas in much better areas. Still can't fathom those that live in the Ogden and walk down any streets in that area. Cops have a tough job.
Tom, you have never bothered to verify your registration, so your comments will disappear within 48 hours. Still, I find important to point out that you are spreading misinformation about downtown. The Ogden is 100% leased, and not by the types of people waving knives in the street 16 blocks away. Sixteen blocks, dude.
Downtown Vegas has been deteriorating for 30 years. The city just can't get it together. It's disjointed and generally looks like hell. You have to be high just to tolerate it. And when you're high there's nothing like a good hooker. It will be 2-3 generations before it gets better.
Reza is on crack whack. The Ogden may now be about 2/3's leased to the hipster wannabes downtown who wear black and drink "cocktails". The rest of the bums further east drink 40 oncers and booze and occasionally stab and shoot each other. There are also whores and drug dealers not in your precious downtown but just east where they to moved to when Fancy Fremont East started.
Can you say great timing. Just will add more things for the Sheriff to talk to the DOJ about tomorrow. Doesn't Metro have a history of having minor incidents change into major confrontations? Thinking this may be another example of that tendency. Was it just me, or did he not take out the knife until Metro followed him into the motel office?
Without regard to whether or not the shooting was justified, it indicates Metro needs more time at the practice range. Several shots and the target is still alive?!?
And where did the strays go? I'm sure Metro will say they have training to address target backgrounds, but why do I have the feeling they pay lip-service to this at best?
Downtown Las Vegas has gotten much better in the last few years, I think many of the reader's who have posted haven't walked Fremont between Main Street and 8th in awhile. The area is safe and a lot of work has gone into improving the area. I'd feel safe walking it with my wife, kids, grandparents - anyone. However, once you go East of 8th street the area does turn bad quickly, and gets worse the further east you go. The shooting in the story took place about 2 miles east of the Fremont Street Experience. The area doesn't really improve again until Fremont turns into Boulder Hwy and you come up on Sam's Town and the East Side Cannery which are both great places if you haven't been there.
The story isn't about how bad or improved conditions downtown have become. It is about a cop who reacted with deadly force when he saw a person with a knife.
I'm sure there will be comments tomorrow saying the cop should have used a taser or other non-lethal means to subdue this person.
That said, I can't help but think of the scene from the first Indiana Jones movie where Indy, when confronted by a sword wielding opponent, appears to say "screw it" and pulls his gun and shoots the bad guy. I'm not going to find fault with this attitude unless it can be demonstrated that the target was not a danger.
Metro's finest strikes again. It is sad how quickly they go into panic mode.
allaroundtown, how do you know it was "panic mode?". Where you there, did you actually witness the incident as it occurred? Have you been in a position that this officer was in? Before issuing a statement that this was panic mode, truly think about what your reaction would be if were in those officers shoes. None of us (unless you are a law enforcement officer or a member of the military) knows for sure how you would react. Bottom line, if a law enforcement officer says "freeze", then you freeze. And if they tell you to drop your weapon, do so.
"I can't even stop at the light on Fremont and 15th without someone coming up to my car on a red light and trying to push drugs."
secretpuppy -- I'm calling you on this one. That's been my neighborhood for over a year. I've never had anyone approach me while stopped at any intersection around there for any reason. Maybe you should stay secret.
"Still can't fathom those that live in the Ogden and walk down any streets in that area. Cops have a tough job."
TomD -- we've been through this before. The Ogden is @ 6th/Ogden -- "Sixteen blocks, dude" (thanx, JamesR). Once you get east of 8th/Fremont it's like you're on another planet.
"Reza is on crack whack."
777s -- see above. You have no more credibility in this Discussion than a grade school kid who'll say anything for attention.
"Was it just me, or did he not take out the knife until Metro followed him into the motel office?"
Tanker -- excellent point! And from my encounter with Metro's badged bullies last year, you're spot on.
"And where did the strays go? ..... It is about a cop who reacted with deadly force when he saw a person with a knife."
boftx -- another excellent point. But how about the guy at the federal courthouse last year who pulled out that shotgun? Downtown and the count was something like 80+ shots fired for 2-4 hits. As your entirely accurate view of how they reacted to someone in defensive mode, Metro needs a lot more than time at the practice range, they need to be completely reprogrammed.
"allaroundtown ... None of us (unless you are a law enforcement officer or a member of the military) knows for sure how you would react."
kptrojans -- your post is wrong on soooo many points. Just from this bit, comparing "a law enforcement officer" with "a member of the military" is like an apple and a potato. A cop's oath is his individual promise he understands he's hired and entrusted to respect the limits the Constitutions put on him, and an understanding those he deals with are protected by those limits. Military are tasked with wholesale missions to follow orders and destroy the nation's enemies with limited, if any, Constitutional protections.
Additionally We the people expect a lot more from each Metro officer than from just a posse. For the investment made in each one of them, damn straight they better "react" better than they did in this kind of situation!
Until you're faced with our Metro officers in standard bully mode, you have no credibility in this Discussion.
"If the exercise of constitutional rights will thwart the effectiveness of a system of law enforcement, then there is something very wrong with that system." -- Escobedo v. State of Illinois, 378 U.S. 478, 490 (1964)
Over the years, there have been numerous instances where very bad things happened to jaywalkers at the hands of police.
Right after we moved to LV, a jaywalker crossing Rainbow just south of Tropicana while carrying a basketball was shot by a police officer who testilied at the Coroner's Circus that the jaywalker "made a furtive movement."
Since then, it seems every Coroner's Circus has someone uttering something about "a furtive movement."
It's like Groundhog's Day.
Before that jaywalker shooting, we had intended to move to buy property in that neighborhood thinking it would be safe since it was so close to the rich enclave of Spanish Trails. It turned out not to be so safe after all. And that was before the RAT invasion.
@Pmmart. No tickets, no record. Just a concern about the shoot first ask questions later approach of Metro. I get upset when the image of Metro is officers like Yant, Collins, etc. I get upset when citizens are deprived of their due process rights. Before you say they were low-lifes, thugs and criminals, please show me in the Bill of Rights where it doesn't apply to those people. Last time I read it, it says NO PERSON, not just law abiding citizens. I get upset when a confused veteran is killed because somebody forgot the plan. I get upset when police become judge, jury and executioner in less than 30 minutes. I get upset when officers lie under oath and are not held accountable. If that makes me a whiner, I'll proudly take that title.
@Killer B.
Great quote. When people can't argue facts, they attack people.
"I get upset when police become judge, jury and executioner in less than 30 minutes."
Tanker -- more like "30 seconds" if that long! I've driven down Fremont near there and seen a second Metro car pull up to an arrest scene where the suspect was already face-down on the pavement with an officer on top of him. Metro #2 ran over and kicked the suspect in the head. That was before my encounter last year. Now I wish I'd made an official complaint of it then.
"Indifference to personal liberty is but the precursor of the State's hostility to it." -- United States v. Penn, 647 F.2d 876 (9th Circuit, 1980), Judge Kennedy dissenting
Is it a coincidence that the same people who support legalizing things like illegal drugs are the same people who are quick to bash law enforcement?
"Is it a coincidence..."
pmmart -- you're outed. You have no relevance here. Expect to be ignored and disrespected.
"The Fuhrer is always right." -- Joachim von Ribbentrop, the 1939 Konigsberg address
@pmmart. Please show me one comment that I have made supporting the legalization of drugs. I have always been anti-drug. I have a medical condition that would allow me to use medical marijuana, but I don't because it is a violation of federal law. How about discussing the issues instead of making personal attacks, or can't you argue the facts?
pmmart's rules.
Rule # 1. Metro is always right.
Rule # 2. If Metro is ever wrong, see rule # 1.
kptrojans~~~yes I have been in that position and guess what...no one got stabbed and no one got shot.
I just don't believe he had a gun. The cops in this valley lie so much and so often; i doubt everything they say.
The men in uniforms should no longer be patrolling the area. The onus for crime prevention should fall on the shoulders of all those who bemoan the methods currently employed by the police. Man waving a knife - don't call the police. The ever intelligent citizens should begin a dialogue with the person to determine the reasons for their current state of mind. No one needs the police involving themselves in situations that could easily be dealt with by those that have believe they have honed better techniques at dealing with the criminal element.
This method would reduce costs of patrolling and eliminate the needless "heavy handed" methods that the police are clearly employing.
KillerB - you clearly have what it takes to make a difference within Metro. Have you applied to join their ranks so you can bring your voice of reason into the force? You obviously have a keen eye and intuitive reasoning that allows you the ability to view a situation and correctly formulate the correct opinion of what is ocurring. You are an asset to this city and Metro - step up and make a difference.