Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas police have released body camera video from the viewpoint of an officer in a fatal shooting that left one man dead and another officer wounded.
Police said Wednesday that Officer Carlos Luna stopped a gold Jeep Grand Cherokee and approached the driver identified as James Michael Todora, 54, on the driver's side of the vehicle Friday morning.
The video shows Todora was agitated when he was pulled over for a broken tail light and complained about police involvement in a domestic situation with his wife from the day before. Upon questioning, Todora indicated that he had a rifle in the backseat but refused to get out of the car. Meanwhile, Luna is heard on the video trying to reason with driver and calm him down.
"Do me a favor, just step out really quick because I don't feel safe with your rifle in there," Luna said.
There are then about five seconds of blurred footage after Todora tells Luna that he has a gun to shoot himself and reaches toward the passenger seat, lifting a blanket to grab a Ruger 9mm P95 handgun.
Police said that was when a struggle ensued and Luna scrambled for cover as the driver aimed the handgun at the officer's head. No bullet was discharged but police said the gun made a click sound and Todora then fired another round from inside the SUV.
Officer Brian Kroening, one of several officers who assisted Luna but is not seen on the video, approached the Jeep from the passenger side and fired three shots at Todora.
Todora died of multiple gunshots to the torso, the Clark County coroner said.
A third officer, Evan Hogue, is also seen in the video on the ground with a graze wound to the neck, which police said came from the shot fired by Todora. Police said Hogue was treated for the non-life-threatening injury and released from the hospital later that day.
It was previously reported that Kroening and Hogue were the ones who made the traffic stop and struggled with Todora.
Kroening, 32, has more than eight years on the police force and Hogue, 28, has been a police officer since September. Both are on paid administrative leave pending a full investigation.
Police said the video was released because it won't be used to prosecute any crimes.
The shooting was the fourth involving a Las Vegas police officer in 2015 and the second one resulting in death.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
