The suspect reached into his waistband and mimed drawing a pistol on police officer (trooper) in a video that was tragically shot, the suspect reached into his waistband and mimed drawing a gun on police. 20 October
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Two Nevada Highway Patrol troopers fatally shot a 41-year-old unarmed man last Sunday after he took his hands from his waistband as if carrying a gun, according to the department.
Troopers Michael Abbate and Mark Willner have been placed on paid administrative leave until the outcome of a Metro Police investigation, according to NHP Col. Anne Carpenter, who also released body camera footage.
Carpenter said Abbate and Willner both joined the highway patrol in 2013, and this is their first officer-involved shooting.
At 7:22 a.m., troopers were dispatched to Lake Mead Boulevard and Los Feliz Street after a domestic violence incident was reported from a moving car. Carpenter stated the gunshot occurred at mile marker 11 on Lake Mead Boulevard/State Route 147.
The man who was killed, Adrian Zarate-Cervantes, would have been charged with kidnapping, domestic battery, and assault with a deadly weapon on a protected person. Carpenter stated he had two previous DUI arrests from 2014 and 2011.
Zarate-Cervantes was the one who dialed 911, claiming that his unnamed wife had accused him of kidnapping her. Carpenter claims that the woman picked up the phone and informed him of their whereabouts.
Carpenter claimed that Abbate found the car at 8:19 a.m. and saw the woman flailing her arms out the window. He tried to stop Zarate-Cervantes, but he sped away after the two were halted and Abbate began heading toward the automobile.
Carpenter claimed Zarate-Cervantes pulled over again shortly, and Willner arrived at the scene at 8:22. According to Carpenter, the troopers gave Zarate-Cervantes “clear and calm” verbal directions to depart the gray automobile with his hands up.
Carpenter said Zarate-Cervantes exited the building with his hands in his waistband and “made a move that could not be misunderstood for anything other than pulling a weapon” and pointing it towards Abbate. Zarate-Cervantes clenched his gut after Abbate discharged his rifle. Zarate-Cervantes, on the other hand, reached for his back waistband and pretended to pull a handgun again, this time pointing it towards Trooper Willner.