Metro officers fortunate to dodge bullets

A bullet hole through the windshield of Metro Police officer Christopher Catanese's patrol car serves as a reminder of how close he came to tragedy in an early-morning shootout Friday.

Catanese, 31, and K-9 officer Robert Johnson, 37, were the first police to arrive at Industrial Road and Thompkins Avenue on a report of a man firing shots at passing cars just before 5 a.m. Friday.

"They were very lucky, especially the officer in the patrol car," department spokesman Steve Meriwether said. "The suspect fired one shot that hit off the patrol car's hood and the other one penetrated the windshield only inches from where the officer's head could have been."

Devin Monfils, 26, was arrested at the scene after he was shot in the right arm by one of the officers. Monfils has been charged with three counts of attempted murder and was released from University Medical Center into police custody about noon on Friday, Capt. Greg Jolley said.

Monfils was reportedly shooting at passing vehicles from the sidewalk in the 4700 block of South Industrial in front of the Palms Business Center, police said.

When officers arrived, Monfils fired the two shots that hit Catanese's car, Jolley said.

Police returned fire, and Monfils was hit in the right arm, dropping him to the ground, police said.

Detectives are not sure whether the gunman was firing at traffic on Industrial or at cars on nearby Interstate 15.

As part of normal procedure, Metro is conducting an investigation into the shooting, and department officials could not comment on the apparent textbook nature with which officers handled the incident.

Catanese has been with the department almost eight years. Johnson has been an officer almost seven years.

Meriwether was reluctant to discuss the case further, but North Las Vegas Police Lt. Chris Larotonda noted that in general nonlethal force is used when possible by police.

"In North Las Vegas we attempt to use nonlethal force when we can, but each situation is different and brings in different variables," Larotonda said. "In a situation where you're being fired at you may only have seconds to make a decision."

It was the second time this year that there has been an officer-involved shooting at the Palms office complex.

Donald Oswalt, 32, was shot and killed on May 13 by police after he reportedly tried to crush an officer between a parked car and the pickup he was driving, police said. Metro Officers Gregory Ziel and Clifford Mogg were found justified in the shooting by a coroner's inquest.

Sun staff writer Jerry Fink contributed to this report.

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