Internal investigations conclude April 2011 officer-involved shootings were justified

By Jackie Valley

Wednesday, July 11, 2012 | 2:45 p.m.

Metro Police’s internal investigation has cleared officers of wrongdoing in three April 2011 officer-involved shootings, but one case led to a change in department policy.

The department’s Office of Internal Oversight released the three latest deadly-force summaries Wednesday as part of its mission to provide transparency while the coroner’s inquest system hangs in legal limbo.

The reports relate to findings released earlier by the District Attorney’s Office, which in these cases also determined the officers’ actions were justified.

Metro’s Office of Internal Oversight made the following conclusions about each case:

April 3, 2011: Police said 48-year-od Michael Chevalier entered an unlocked apartment at 2895 E. Charleston Blvd. and took a woman hostage. Chevalier did not know the woman. Chevalier pointed a handgun at officers while dragging the woman into a back room. Officers retreated and deemed the situation a barricade. Chevalier then fired shots toward an Officer Aaron Perez in the parking lot a short time later. Perez returned fire, but missed Chevalier.

The standoff continued until the early morning hours of April 4 when officers decided to enter the apartment and rescue the woman. Officers encountered Chevalier, who had positioned the female hostage on top of him as a shield. Chevalier then pointed a gun at Sgt. Michael Quick, who fired one round and struck Chevalier in the head, killing him.

The report concluded that Perez and Quick acted in defense of themselves and others when confronted by Chevalier. “SWAT took control of the scene, successfully planning, coordinating and executing a rescue of the female victim,” the report states.

April 12, 2011: Officers Gregory Watkins and Roberto Henderson responded to 3916 Grand Meadows Drive after receiving reports of a suicidal man. A female roommate observed the man, 52-year-old Abdul Hamlan, crying and lying on the garage floor with a gun to his head. Watkins and Henderson, both Crisis Intervention Team-certified officers, arrived and saw Hamlan through the open garage door.

They took cover behind a vehicle parked in the driveway and tried to engage Hamlan in conversation. Hamlan told the officers, “Just go ahead and shoot me then.” Hamlan then moved his hands, revealing a handgun and pointed it at the officers. Watkins immediately fired two rounds, which struck the hood of the car they were positioned behind. Hamlan continued pointing his gun at officers, so Watkins fired four more rounds and struck him. Hamlan died after transport to Mountain View Hospital.

The internal investigation determined the officers’ approach to the residence and their use of cover and concealment was reasonable. The report concluded Watkins acted in defense of himself and Henderson when Hamlan pointed the gun at them. “Officer Watkins fired his weapon to stop the threat,” according to the report.

April 19, 2011: Officers Patrick Burke and Angel Suarez attempted to stop a car that didn’t have a working taillight near Cambridge Street and Flamingo Road. When the car sped away, they followed and enacted the Precision Intervention Technique — a police maneuver to safely spin out a vehicle — to prevent 32-year-old David Gonzalez from driving onto Las Vegas Boulevard. The maneuver successfully stopped Gonzalez’s vehicle.

Gonzalez then exited his car, immediately fired a handgun at the officers and ran southwest at the intersection of Swenson Street and Flamingo Road while continuing to point the gun toward them. Burke returned fire, striking Gonzalez, who later died at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center. One of Burke’s rounds also struck the driver’s side roof of a vehicle waiting for the light to change on Flamingo Road.

The report concluded that Burke acted in defense of himself and Suarez and “fired his weapon to stop the threat.” The internal investigation, however, also determined that Gonzalez presented no threat other than evading officers when Burke initiated the PIT stop. Burke said he initiated it to prevent Gonzalez from reaching the crowded Las Vegas Boulevard. The report concluded that was reasonable based on the department’s policy at that time, which “did not specifically restrict the use of PIT in circumstances where a vehicle pursuit was not justified.”

The department has since revised its policy to restrict the use of PIT. The policy now reads: “PIT will not be used unless the suspect demonstrates he/she is attempting to evade police and the elements necessary for an approved Vehicular Pursuit (6/014.00) are present (i.e., violent felony offense or suspect presents a clear and immediate danger to the public).”