LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said the officers in three police-involved deaths in April 2011 acted "reasonably and lawfully" during the situations.
The deaths of Abdul Hamlan, David Paul Gonzalez and Michael Chevalier were the ninth, 10th and 11th incidents of officer-involved deaths that the Clark County D.A.'s office has reviewed this year.
According to the District Attorney's office, each case concluded with the following:
- On April 3, 2011, police responded to an apartment on the 2800 block of East Charleston Boulevard where Chevalier was assaulting a woman. When police arrived, they saw the injured woman and Chevalier, who had a gun. During the ensuing standoff, Chevalier shot at officers and threatened to kill himself and the woman. Early the next morning, police stormed the apartment. Chevalier shot at the officers and then, while using the woman as a shield, pointed his gun at an officer who then shot Chevalier.
- On April 11, 2011, police tried to pull over a vehicle on Flamingo Avenue near Cambridge Street because the vehicle's rear tail light was not working. Instead of pulling over, the driver ran a red light and sped towards the Las Vegas Strip. Police intentionally spun the vehicle around near Swenson Street, and then the driver, Gonzalez, got out of the vehicle and shot at the officers who shot back, hitting Gonzalez. Police later learned that Gonzalez was in violation of his parole (he had been in prison for second-degree murder), and the gun he used was also used in a shooting three weeks earlier.
- On April 12, 2011, police were called to a home on the 3900 block of Grand Meadow Street because of a suicidal man with a gun. When police arrived they found Abdul Hamlan inside a garage, crying. He told the officers, "just go ahead and shoot me then," before aiming his gun at the officers, who were telling him to drop the weapon. When he did not drop the gun, the officers shot him.
The D.A.'s office said the reviews are not binding decisions or a method to replace the coroner's inquest hearings, which are currently stalled due by pending legal challenges. The District Attorney noted 19 cases are in backlog.
"When law enforcement is involved in a deadly confrontation, the public deserves to find out what happened and why," Wolfson said. "Public confidence in our police and justice system demands transparency."
You can view the cases the District Attorney's office has already reviewed at www.clarkcountynv.gov/Depts/district_attorney/Pages/DecisionMemos.aspx.
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