Coroner's jury rules officer justified in fatal shooting

A Clark County coroner's inquest jury ruled Friday that a Metro Police officer was justified last month when he shot and killed a schizophrenic man who was wielding a knife.

Officer Alfred Woodruff told the jury that before he fired the fatal shot with a handgun, he shot David Herrera four times with a shotgun that fires beanbags as four other officers spread out in a semicircle around the man at his parent's house.

"He told me I was going to have to kill him," testified. "I didn't want to."

Woodruff and four other officers arrived at the house in the 4900 block of Terra Circle, near Tropicana Avenue and Nellis Boulevard, on Jan. 17 after two state mental health workers retreated from the home when faced with Herrera armed with a knife.

The two state mental health workers were called to the home by Herrera's mother, who said her son was not taking his medication and needed help.

Police said Herrera's mother also called 911. Prosecutors said they tried unsuccessfully to serve Herrera's mother with a subpoena to have her testify at the inquest.

Officer Won Cho, a policeman for about six months, was the first officer to arrive. Cho choked back tears as he described the events that led up to Woodruff firing five shots.

"We didn't think it was going to go that far," Cho testified.

The officers devised a plan to enter the house, take Herrera into custody and put him into the waiting ambulance to go to a hospital.

After officers were blocked from opening the front door with a key provided by the mental health workers, Herrera appeared at the door with a knife. Woodruff fired four beanbags from the shotgun, but he said they appeared to have little effect. Sgt. Juanita Goode then doused Herrera with a large canister of pepper spray, which also had no effect.

"I told him to drop the knife," Woodruff said adding once he fired all four beanbags in the shotgun he pulled out his handgun. "He was about three to five feet away. I thought he was going to stab me."

The other officers testified they had their guns out and would have fired if Woodruff had not.

archive