http://www.mynews4.com/news/story/Offic ... IFlEw.cspx

Verdi, NV (KRNV & MyNews4.com)--====UPDATE==== According to the Reno Police Department the male subject involved in the shooting is in critical condition.

The incident occurred while the on-duty Washoe County Sheriff's Office Deputy attempted to stop a male subject near Gold Ranch Casino.

http://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/Po ... 80751.html

Police tell KOLO 8 News Now, the man involved in the shooting at Gold Ranch was a hitchhiker.

While attempting to stop the man, the Deputy saw that he had a gun.

They says the suspect took off running ignoring commands to stop.

When the suspect pulled his gun on the Deputy, the officer fired his weapon hitting the suspect in the chest, groin, and leg.

At this time, he is not expected to survive.

Reading the comments posted to the first linked article, there are suggestions that the man shot was in possession of an unloaded firearm, when he was shot 3 times. It is also said in the comments, not in the news story, that the man had warrants out for his arrest.

I don't know anything about the specifics of this shooting (I wasn't there), but I do know the identity of the man who was shot. He does have a felony record, not that the LE would have known about the felony record when contact was made. I'm curious whether he actually was in possession of a firearm when he was shot by LE in the chest, purportedly running away.

When the suspect pulled his gun on the Deputy, the officer fired his weapon hitting the suspect in the chest, groin, and leg.

This suggests he was turning to fire.

SwampGrouch wrote:

When the suspect pulled his gun on the Deputy, the officer fired his weapon hitting the suspect in the chest, groin, and leg.

This suggests he was turning to fire.

That's how I read it too. Sounds more like bad writing than bad cops, not that either ever surprises me.

Shooting in the back is a no-no.

I don't see any info in the report on the reason for the original stop. Was the dude just walking while looking weirdly out of place for the area? Is just plain walking an odd activity for reno nevada this time of year? Was he accosting others? Was he doing nothing out of the ordinary and just going to be delayed by a cop?
Yeah, he ran when the cop told him to halt, which creates the reasonable suspicion for probable cause; but what was the cop's reason for halting the guy?

JayFromPA wrote:I don't see any info in the report on the reason for the original stop. Was the dude just walking while looking weirdly out of place for the area? Is just plain walking an odd activity for reno nevada this time of year? Was he accosting others? Was he doing nothing out of the ordinary and just going to be delayed by a cop?
Yeah, he ran when the cop told him to halt, which creates the reasonable suspicion for probable cause; but what was the cop's reason for halting the guy?

I talked with a local (CA) DA this morning, and his office still don't have any information coming out of Reno. The guy is on probation in CA, so CA LE will be getting the reports eventually, if he survives. Where the incident occurred is along the I-80 corridor coming down from Donner Summit, just barely into Nevada but still at least 10 miles away from Reno. It is the high desert, and there no place to go in this area on foot, without walking some distance to the town of Verdi, and there isn't much in Verdi. The casino/fuel stop where this incident happened is the last NV place to stop before entering CA, mostly for the purpose of fueling up or gambling.

I know the guy, he's had problems with meth in the past, and I would not be surprised if meth was involved once again. What does surprise me and the local DA is the change in behavior if the reports are true that he pulled a gun on the cop. In the past, he's bee a danger mostly to himself. Also, he's got 3 small girls, so it seems unlikely that he would do anything really stupid unless he was cranking again.

Fukshot wrote:

SwampGrouch wrote:

When the suspect pulled his gun on the Deputy, the officer fired his weapon hitting the suspect in the chest, groin, and leg.

This suggests he was turning to fire.

That's how I read it too. Sounds more like bad writing than bad cops, not that either ever surprises me.

I agree too, but what is unusual is not much has been released by Nevada LE so far.

Yossarian wrote:I know the guy, he's had problems with meth in the past, and I would not be surprised if meth was involved once again. What does surprise me and the local DA is the change in behavior if the reports are true that he pulled a gun on the cop. In the past, he's bee a danger mostly to himself. Also, he's got 3 small girls, so it seems unlikely that he would do anything really stupid unless he was cranking again.

Conscience, ethics, and common sense are all methamphetamine soluble. Heroin isn't as damaging as that shit.

Just to clarify your description of the area - so far from anything that on foot there = in distress?

SwampGrouch wrote:

Yossarian wrote:Just to clarify your description of the area - so far from anything that on foot there = in distress?

Nobody will walk to this area, it is an I-80 stop, with nothing else around. There are homes a couple miles away so he might have hitched a ride to the area from CA and intended to walk the rest of the way to Verdi if he had reason to be there at all. It is just an odd place to be on foot.

Yossarian wrote:

SwampGrouch wrote:

Yossarian wrote:Just to clarify your description of the area - so far from anything that on foot there = in distress?

Nobody will walk to this area, it is an I-80 stop, with nothing else around. There are homes a couple miles away so he might have hitched a ride to the area from CA and intended to walk the rest of the way to Verdi if he had reason to be there at all. It is just an odd place to be on foot.

Just so. I spent the last week and a half in Reno, and coincidentally drove this part of I-80 yesterday. There's no "normal" reason anybody would be there on foot.

A bit more information from LE.

The guy was trying to hitch a ride up to the summit to go snowboarding when he was questioned by LE because he fit the description of someone else with a warrant.

Not that the officer would have known, but the guy gave a fake name because he knew he had a CA warrant. Although he was instructed to not do so, he kept moving his hands to his pockets perhaps because it was cold, perhaps because he was tweaking. The officer then did a Terry frisk for safety purposes, to make sure there were no weapons. When the officer felt the revolver, that is when the guy bolted. Possibly the gun was a .22, and it was possibly unloaded. Whether the guy pulled the gun out on the cop is a detail I'm not told.

It seems to me the only thing that makes sense is he used meth, and his impaired judgment led him to make one mistake after another.

Prayers for his girls, may they find a positive male roll model.

Spam. Tree is spam.

Here is a link to an update:

http://www.sierrasun.com/article/201211 ... ofile=1051

A preliminary investigation revealed the deputy — whose name has not been released — contacted Heil, who was suspected of illegally hitchhiking and who resembled the description of a recent stolen vehicle suspect, according to a Tuesday afternoon press release from Reno Police.

Upon a search of Heil, the deputy saw what he believed was a firearm concealed inside Heil's clothing, which Heil eventually said was a revolver. The deputy then attempted to handcuff Heil, who fled on foot. During the foot chase, a Taser was deployed on Heil, who then turned toward the deputy “while reaching with his hands to the area on his person where the firearm was believed to be concealed,” according to police.

The deputy then drew his service weapon and shot Heil, who was then taken into custody and transported to Renown Medical Center for treatment of undisclosed injuries. The deputy was not harmed. Officers located a revolver in the bushes in the path of the foot chase, according to police.

I understand being a felon, caught with a firearm and not wanting to go back to jail. But Heil did everything he could have done to make his bad situation worse, and he almost died for it. Now instead of just having new court problems, they guy is likely going to have physical problems for the rest of his life as well.

I have to get back to my initial thought that he was on speed when this all happened. As someone else once told me, "meth is the devil". Even as a pastafarian, I might have to agree.

Yossarian wrote:As someone else once told me, "meth is the devil".

QFT. I've known many, many addicts. Some heroine addicts are able to maintain and function in the world. Not so tweakers.