Officers identified in Mesquite gunfight

By Ken Ritter, Associated Press

Published Thursday, March 21, 2013 | 9:58 a.m.

Updated Thursday, March 21, 2013 | 5:10 p.m.

Authorities have identified the officers involved in the Thursday morning gunfight that left one suspect and one officer injured in Mesquite, about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

The officers involved in the shooting were identified as Craig Empey, 43, and Gary Erickson, 44, both of the Mesquite Police Department. It was not clear which officer was injured in the exchange.

The wounded officer was hit in the leg by gunfire by a man who stepped from a blue 1996 Geo Metro and fired at least one shot with a revolver during a traffic stop at 7:50 a.m., said Mesquite Police Officer Jeffrey Smith, the department spokesman.

The gunman was hit twice by return fire during the encounter on Sandhill Boulevard just off Interstate 15 at one of Mesquite's main crossroads, Smith said.

The officer was taken to Mesa View Regional Hospital in Mesquite, where Smith said he was in good condition. It was unclear which officer was injured.

The alleged gunman was wounded twice, Smith said. He was flown by medical helicopter about 75 miles to University Medical Center in Las Vegas. His condition wasn't immediately available.

The Geo Metro, with Utah license plates and one man and one woman inside, had been stopped by the officer in a marked patrol car and a detective in an unmarked vehicle during an investigation of an earlier incident in Mesquite, Smith said.

Details of the earlier case weren't immediately made available.

Smith said police have the revolver used in the shooting.

The woman, 48, from Utah, wasn't injured. She was detained by police at the Mesquite city jail for questioning, Smith said. Her name and hometown weren't made public. Smith described her as cooperative and said she wasn't charged with a crime.

Las Vegas police were handling the shooting investigation.

Sun reporter Will D’Urso contributed to this story.