Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Video shows fleeing suspect hit officer with truck before being shot

Lon Clark

METRO POLICE

Lon Clark

A suspect who was shot by an officer as he accelerated his rental pickup truck toward him Friday night has been released from the hospital and booked on a count of battery with a deadly weapon, officials announced Monday. 

Lon Clark, 41, remained at the Clark County Detention Center where he was being held on $3,000 bail, jail records show. 

Clark County Assistant Sheriff Brett Zimmerman broadcast body-worn camera footage that showed Clark accelerating his a 2019 Ford F-150 toward  Officer Cory McCormick, hitting him with the side mirror.

McCormick, 31, fired his 9 mm pistol seven times, striking Clark once in the back, Zimmerman said. Clark was treated at nearby Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center.

Metro had increased patrols in the area, near Vegas Valley Drive and Maryland Parkway, due to an uptick of shootings and illicit drug activity, Zimmerman said.

McCormick and his partner had pulled up about 10:30 p.m. to a neighborhood in the 2900 block of El Cajon Street, where they believed a drug deal was taking place, Zimmerman said.

Clark, who was standing next to another man outside the U-Haul pickup, subsequently got into the driver’s side and refused to come out, Zimmerman said. 

Guns drawn, McCormick stood in the front of the truck and his partner next to the driver’s side, Zimmerman said. The second suspect stood nearby, next to his bicycle. 

Clark then put the truck in motion, Zimmerman said. McCormick pivoted and fired his gun. Video shows him shooting at least two rounds into the driver’s side.

Clark's truck, which he'd rented the previous day, didn’t make it more than a few yards before crashing into a curb, Zimmerman said. Meanwhile, the second suspect is being sought after he fled in the commotion.

Investigators only found drug paraphernalia, Zimmerman said. 

Clark has an extensive criminal history in Nevada, including felony convictions and arrests for drugs, kidnapping and battery with a deadly weapon. He has a history of allegedly evading and assaulting police, Zimmerman said.   

McCormick, who's been with Metro two years, was placed on routine paid administrative leave while the investigation continued.