Officer fatally shoots man who threatened police with walking stick

By Jackie Valley

Published Monday, Nov. 15, 2010 | 6:58 a.m.

Updated Monday, Nov. 15, 2010 | 9:40 a.m.

Metro Police said an officer fatally shot a man outside a convenience store this morning who threatened officers with what appeared to be a wooden walking stick.

Officers responded at 5:50 a.m. to Speedee Mart, 3011 E. Desert Inn Road, at the corner with Pecos-McLeod Drive after receiving reports of a man and a woman involved in an argument outside the store. Three officers arrived and noticed the argument appeared to be escalating, said police Capt. Patrick Neville, with Metro's homicide bureau.

Police said the man wasn't following the commands of officers. An officer tried to use a Taser on the man, but it appeared to have no effect on him, police said. The man then moved away from police, prompting an officer to use the Taser a second time, also with no results.

Neville said the officer then used "low-lethal force," in the form of a weapon that fires bean bags.

"It hurts, but it's not lethal," Neville said.

Police said that also didn't appear to have an effect on the man.

"They deployed a lot of strategies and a lot of lower-level force to get the individual in compliance," Neville said.

Police said the man had what appeared to be a wooden walking stick with a pointed end. Neville said the man made a threatening motion toward officers with the object.

"I don't know which end of it was pointed at the officers," Neville said.

One officer fired a single shot at the man, killing him, police said. The man was described as white and in his early 30s.

Neville said police believe surveillance video cameras from the Speedee Mart captured the incident. Police were working with management at the store to obtain the video.

Police were interviewing the woman who had been arguing with the man. The woman wasn't injured.

The officers were placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation. This is the 24th officer-involved shooting this year in Metro Police's jurisdiction.

The names of the man and the officer weren't being released this morning. The Clark County Coroner's Office will identify the man and police will identify the officer about 48 hours after the shooting, which is standard procedure in officer-involved shootings.

Police tape was blocking a small portion of the road but traffic was moving through the intersection of Desert Inn and Pecos-McLeod this morning.