District Attorney clears BLM officers in fatal shooting

By Las Vegas Sun Staff (contact)

Friday, April 10, 2015 | 9:42 a.m.

The Clark County District Attorney’s Office has cleared two Bureau of Land Management officers in last year’s shooting death of a man who was reportedly harassing bicyclists along State Route 159.

According to a report released today, D’Andre Berghardt was uncooperative with the officers who approached him on Feb. 14, 2014, and became combative and tried to leave.

Berghardt then pulled a flathead screwdriver from his pocket and resisted officers’ attempts to detain him, according to the report.

The officers used a stun gun and pepper spray on Berghardt, and one of the officers hit him with a baton after he tried to get into two different private vehicles, the report said.

During the struggle, a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper arrived to help, and Berghardt got into the trooper’s vehicle and tried to remove an AR-15 rifle, the report said.

The BLM officers shot him to prevent him from running over an officer in front of the vehicle or further endangering people in the area, the report said.

Berghardt was declared dead at the scene.

A toxicology analysis showed Berghardt had a hallucinogen in his system that has depressant and reality-distorting effects, the report said.

Furthermore, several witnesses, the BLM officers and the trooper, heard “alarming statements” from Berghardt, including: “You better be ready to end this here today, just shoot me in the head,” “I’m going to get your gun and shoot you,” and “Are you ready to end it? You’re going to have to end it today,” according to the report.

“The BLM officers in this case used multiple, non-lethal methods, to attempt to get Mr. Berghardt to cooperate,” District Attorney Steve Wolfson said in a statement.

“Only after Mr. Berghardt attempted to take control of a Nevada Highway Patrol vehicle, and a secured AR-15 rifle in that vehicle, did officers resort to using deadly force. It is fortunate that no other citizens were harmed in this incident,” Wolfson said.

The determination that the officers acted lawfully in this situation is based upon the evidence available at this time and the case could be reexamined if new information comes to light, the District Attorney’s Office said.