Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Police recording reveals moments before Costco shooting

Audio Clip

  • Metro Police radio traffic during the July 10 officer-involved shooting that left Erik Scott dead

Summerlin Costco Shooting

Metro crime scene investigators, officers and detectives mill about the entrance of the Costco store in Summerlin after the shooting July 10, 2010. Launch slideshow »

Erik Scott memorial

A Metro Police radio recording reveals new details about what happened in the minutes leading up to an officer-involved shooting at a Summerlin Costco last month that left a Las Vegas man dead.

The recording originally was posted on radioreference.com, which broadcasts live public safety audio feeds and archives law enforcement radio recordings. Portions of the audio also have been posted to YouTube.

Metro Police spokesman Bill Cassell said Monday that police haven’t authenticated the audio, but he said he has listened to a portion of the recording.

"The recordings speak for themselves," he said. "When you listen to the recording, it demonstrates the calmness and professionalism of how the situation was handled."

In the recording, a police dispatcher says a man, later identified as 38-year-old Erik Scott, is acting erratically while throwing store merchandise and is possibly high on drugs in the Summerlin Costco, 801 South Pavilion Center Drive. The incident occurred July 10.

Later, officers are alerted the situation is a "413," police code for a person with a firearm.

The dispatcher tells officers the suspect — a white man with a medium build and red hair — argued with a store manager about the weapon and told the manager he was allowed to be armed because he is a Green Beret. A woman with Scott is identified as being in her 30s with long black hair, wearing a tank top and jeans.

Just before the dispatcher says the suspect is in the middle of the building, officers report asking the manager to slowly evacuate customers. Two officers are stationed at the front entrance while watching people exit the store.

An officer then yells that shots have been fired. An officer reports a "413," or a gun, was pointed in his direction.

The remainder of the recording reveals the aftermath of the shooting — officers blocking access to the store's parking lot, requesting medical aid for Scott and taking him into custody.

Metro Police haven’t released the 911 call or surveillance video from the incident.

Calls to the Scott family attorney, Ross Goodman, weren’t immediately returned Monday afternoon.

The family of Scott, a West Point graduate and medical sales representative, has denied police reports that he pointed a gun at officers. Some witness accounts also have countered the police version of events.

Last week, the coroner's inquest into the shooting, which originally was scheduled for Sept. 3, was postponed indefinitely.

Clark County District Attorney David Roger said his office asked for the postponement because it needed more time for the investigation — reading witness statements, identifying witnesses and reading reports on the incident. He also said the Sept. 3 date — the Friday before Labor Day — posed a problem because it would likely take two days for evidence to be presented to the inquest jury.

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