Police Fatality Public Fact-finding Review - Regular Meeting

Of Cesar Reyes on 12/08/2024. I am Mandy McKellar. I will be presiding over today's proceedings. This review is being held because the Clark County District Attorney's Office has made the preliminary determination that no criminal prosecution of the offers officers involved in the death of Cesar Reyes is appropriate. Clark County ordinance chapter 2.12 requires public review following such a determination.

This is not a trial. The purposes of today's proceedings is to present the public with essential facts surrounding the death of mister Reyes. Chief deputy district attorney Pan Reckerly is will present today's fact finding review on behalf of the district attorney's office and will determine the witness or witnesses to be called. The ordinance does not provide subpoena power on my behalf and does not allow for any other party to call witnesses. Willard Ewing has been appointed as the ombudsman.

He represents the public and the Reyes family. He will have the opportunity to ask questions of the witness or witnesses. The procedure for questioning witnesses shall be informal with a view of providing the public with relevant information regarding the use of force in this case. The rules of evidence shall not be strictly enforced. Members of the public observing this review may submit proposed written questions on the forms located in the back of this room and present it to any of the officers.

I will ask the question unless I determine that it is irrelevant, redundant, or an abuse of the review process. At the conclusion of this review, no formal determination regarding the manner or cause of death shall be rendered. Additionally, the following material that may be presented can contain graphic images or language. Viewer discretion is advised. Does anybody have anything to add? No. Okay. Then go ahead.

The state calls Andrew Evans. Okay. And sir, how are you employed?

With the force investigation team of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

What is the force investigation team?

We investigate officer involved shootings, in custody deaths, and violent crimes against police officers.

Were you the primary officer investigating an officer involved shooting on 12/08/2024?

Yes.

Can you describe where in Clark County that shooting took place?

The shooting took place inside of a hotel off South Las Vegas Boulevard and Silverado Ranch.

And who was the subject officer?

The subject officer was officer Zach Adam. He was hired in January 2006. At the time of the incident, he was 45 years old, assigned to SWAT. His body worn camera was not activated. However, his partner had a camera mounted to their helmet, which was placed on the floor next to their position. Officer Adam did provide a walk through, which we'll go through later, and he did not provide a statement to FIT.

What was the weapon involved?

His weapon was a Leroux tactical LT 10 rifle, it was a three zero investigation revealed he fired one round.

And, were there witness officers?

Yes, the witness officers were Sergeant Dixon, Officer Bunting, Officer Lee, and Officer Nord.

And, what can you tell us about the decedent in this case?

The decedent was Cesar Reyes II. He was 26 years old. He was from California. And had he survived, he would have been charged with assault on a protected person with deadly weapon, two counts, and resisting a public officer with a firearm.

Did the decedent have weapons?

Yes. He was armed with a Winchester shotgun, which wasn't unloaded at the time of the incident, and an unloaded Glock twenty six nine millimeter.

What were the findings at autopsy?

The autopsy was conducted by Doctor. Simons on 12/09/2024. The cause of death was a perforating gunshot wound of the head, the manner of death homicide, and additional injuries noted were self inflicted lacerations to the forearms. Toxicology screening showed alcohol and caffeine in his system.

Can you walk us through the timeline of how this event unfolded?

Yes, so on 12/06/2024, Reyes was arrested in California for possession of child pornography. On 12/07/2024, he was bailed out of jail by his family, and he was entered into NCIC as a missing person, possibly suicidal, and armed with a handgun and shotgun. The family found out that he had checked into a hotel in Las Vegas. On December 7, at seventeen o five hours, an attempt suicide call was created. The family advised security at the hotel that Reyes left a suicide note and his firearms were missing.

Family members traced his credit card activity to the hotel. At seventeen o six, security advised that they attempted to contact Reyes at the room, but it was locked from the inside with the latch. While security was at the door, they heard a gun rack from inside the room. At seventeen fifteen, arrived on property and met with security who advised that Reyes was the only person in the room. At nineteen twenty, SWAT and crisis negotiators arrived.

At nineteen thirty six, negotiators obtained a search warrant. At twenty sixteen, negotiators began using a PA system for Reyes to exit the room. Reyes was also called on a cell phone and the room phone, but there was no answer. At twenty twenty six hours, officer learned that Reyes had walked into the hotel room earlier in the day carrying a long black bag. At twenty one fifty three, SWAT attempted to place a camera under the door, but it did not fit. An explosive breach was placed on the room door. SWAT advised Reyes to stay away from the door. At twenty one fifty five, explosive breech was deployed. Reyes ran out of the room with the shotgun in hand, and the shot fired was broadcasted. At twenty one fifty six, the tac medic and tac doctor assessed Reyes, and he was pronounced deceased at twenty one fifty eight.

Was contact made with civilian witnesses?

Yes. The civilian witness was a casino security officer identified as BP. He went to the room for a welfare check of a suicidal guest. Ray, as his uncle, had called security and said that Ray has left a suicide note and may have weapons with him. BP knocked on the room door three times, but there was no answer. BP used a master key to open the door, but the door was latched from the inside. BP called Ray's name, but there was no response. BP heard a pistol rack inside the room and backed away from the door. BP took cover down the hallway and security dispatch called the police. BP was able to observe and monitor the hotel room door until police arrived and confirmed with officers that nobody entered or exited the room.

Was there any video from the casino?

Yes, this video is from the hotel elevator. It shows Ray is going up to his room with the long black bag.

Can you walk us through the evidence at the scene?

Yes, this is a diagram of the scene. The star on the bottom depicts where Officer Adam was positioned. The red square on the top is Reyes' room. The robot next to the red square is the tactical robot that was deployed to assist SWAT and the negotiators. Officer Adam to the room was about 176 feet, and then at the time of the OAS, Officer Adam to Reyes was about 33 feet, showing that Reyes ran approximately 143 feet towards Officer Adam.

And does the robot have video itself?

Yes, this video shows the breach deployed on the room, and then Reyes will come out, run towards the robot, he'll trip over the robot, and then run the opposite direction in the hallway towards Officer Adam.

And was there body worn camera video?

Yes.

Please be advised. Your discretion is advised with this next video.

Again, this video is from officer Nord, who was Officer Adam's partner. The camera was mounted to Officer Nord's helmet, which was placed on the floor next to their position. Reyes' room is down the other end of the hallway. You'll see the breach go off, and then Reyes will run towards Officer Adam.

Were officers interviewed at the scene?

Yes. This is a still shot of Officer Nord's body worn camera showing Ray as carrying the shotgun. Officer Nord was interviewed. He stated that he responded to a suicidal subject who was barricaded inside a hotel room of a casino. Prior to arriving, officer Nord learned Ray has left a suicide note with his parents, and Reyes' family called in a welfare check.

SWAT also learned that Reyes was a current or prior juvenile probation officer known to be in possession of a shotgun and handgun. Officer Nord and his partner, Officer Adam, were the first arriving snipers to provide cover for the entry team. SWAT formulated a plan to use an explosive breach to open Reyes' room. After the breach, Reyes exited the room holding a shotgun. Reyes tripped over a robot, then ran towards Officer Adam and Nord with a shotgun.

Behind Officers Adam and Nord were additional police and medical personnel. Officer Nord gave multiple commands for Reyes to drop the gun. Reyes shook his head indicating no. Reyes was approximately 10 yards away when officer Adam discharged his rifle. If Reyes were to make it by the snipers, Reyes would have access to other rooms and areas occupied by civilians on an extremely busy day.

Officer Bunting was the tac medic. He was assigned as the tactical emergency support officer for SWAT, along with a volunteer tactical doctor. He stood with the doctor behind a SWAT sniper south of the suspect's location. He heard SWAT conduct a breach at the door, followed by a radio broadcast that Ray has exited the room and was running down the hall. An officer yelled, drop the gun multiple times, followed by single gunshot. Officer Bunting and the doctor were advised it was safe to approach Reyes and provide medical care. Officer Bunting observed a shotgun and handgun on the ground next to Reyes. Officer Bunting and the doctor checked vitals and determined Reyes was deceased. Due to conclusive signs that Reyes was deceased, no further medical aid was necessary.

Were there officer walk throughs done in this case?

Yes. The purpose of the walk through is to assist crime scene analysts and detectives with developing an understanding of the scene, including identifying officers' locations at the time deadly force was used, identifying items of potential physical evidence, and recreating a timeline of the incident. Walkthroughs and statements conducted with the involved officer are voluntary. Officer Adam participated in a walk through, which was led by the attorney. The officer would ask a question, and officer Adam would confirm the question with the answer of yes. Officer Adam was assigned to a suicide call. Casino security approached Reyes' room and heard a weapon rack. Officer Adam was positioned on the south end of the hallway. Negotiations with Reyes failed. Reyes would not talk.

SWAT used an explosive breach on the room door. Reyes ran out of the room and tripped over the robot. Reyes sprinted towards officer Adam's position carrying a shotgun. Officer Adam gave verbal commands to drop the weapon. Reyes did not drop the weapon and did not stop advancing towards officer Adam. Officer Adam feared for the safety of his partner and himself.

Can you walk us through the crime scene?

This is a view from officer Adams' position. The first circle on the bottom is the shotgun. The circle in the middle is the handgun, and the circle and the door frame is where officer Adams' bullet impacted the door frame. This is a closer look at where Officer Adam's bullet impacted the door frame. This is where the robot was positioned after Ray has exited the room and the door to Ray's hotel room. This is inside Reyes' hotel room. There was a knife found on the bed with the blade open, and a box of razor blades also found on the bed.

Thank you. That concludes questioning from the state.

Go ahead. You can go ahead.

Thank you, detective. Good morning. On. Is that better? Yes. As you're aware, my responsibility today as an ombudsman is to represent the public and also to pose questions that may have been requested by the family. Yes. And in this particular case, I did have an opportunity to speak to the family. And their specific questions are kind of interspersed in my questions I'm gonna be asking you today. One of the first things you did today in your presentation was to kind of establish a timeline.

Correct? Yes. You indicated that, metro officers begin arriving around 05:17, which was about actually, seventeen, which 05:17. Is that right? Is my math right? Yes. 05:17PM, which was just about twelve minutes after they received the initial call from the South Point. Correct. Is that right? And they received information about a possible suicidal guest.

Yes. And their first course of action was to start to evacuate the 24th Floor. Correct. And that took place or started around 06:12PM or eighteen twelve hours. Is that right? Correct. And SWAT arrived a little less than an hour later. Is that right? Correct. It looked like you obtained a or Metro obtained a room search warrant at 07:36 p. M. And is that protocol to get your search warrant in order?

Yes. Negotiators have a person on their team that is responsible to obtain any search warrants that might be necessary.

And that was obtained, right? Correct. Your timeline on page eight of your report indicates that SWAT was positioned in Rooms 2419 And 2424 at about 801. That would have been twenty zero one hours, is that right? Correct. And those two rooms were right next to the suspect's room?

They were down the hall a little from the suspect room, not directly next to.

And they were on either side, correct? Excuse me? And they were on either side of the room? Correct. Is that right? And SWAT officers were in both of those rooms. Correct. Do you know if during the course of the incident those doors were opened so they could see the hallway? Yes. And also, Officer Nord and Adam were positioned down by the elevator? Correct. And what was the reason why they were positioned by the elevator?

Their assignment to SWAT are snipers, so they provide a longer range coverage for the officers are gonna make entry into the room if that's necessary.

Was there any safety reasons or safety protocols that put them close to the elevator?

That was the position that they determined to be the best for their their assignment as a sniper.

When you look at these kinds of barricade possible suicide scenarios, is there a list of priorities priorities that Metro has when they approach those kinds of situations? To preserve life. Is that the number one priority? Yes. Preserve life of who? Everyone. Everyone? Would the public be first? Yes. Who would be after the public? Who would be next? I don't think

you can rank the importance. I think everyone involved would be a priority. Okay. I don't think it's fair to list them in order of importance.

Were you attempting to do all that you could to limit the scene to that floor?

Yes. Had officers blocking stairwells to keep people from being able to go up or down the stairwell onto that floor, and then also the elevator bays.

So protecting the elevator was important? Yes. Officer Nord and officer Adam were positioned by the elevator with

one sniper rifle. Right? They're both snipers, so they rotate because they can't be actively working as a sniper for an extended period of time. It's tiresome. So, they spot for each other and they swap on and off.

Is it safe to say that they had been on at their location for about three hours?

They were there for several hours.

Between the time they arrived and the time of the shooting, were they there about three hours? Yes. And so they switched everyhow often would they switch?

I don't know the time frame, but I know that they switched.

And that was to prevent fatigue? Yes. It indicated in report that the sniper rifle was equipped with a magnifier. Would that be a scope? Yes. Do you know if it's common to use a scope in a setting when you're in a hotel hallway? Would that be common?

Yes. For a sniper, yes.

Would they have the option to take the magnifier off and go with maybe the red dot sights or things like that?

That would be their call. I'm not trained as a sniper, so I can't answer when and where they would use which tool.

But that would be their decision? Yes. And your timeline indicated that mister Reyes' room door was breached at twenty one fifty four or 09:54PM?

Yes.

And that he immediately ran out? Correct. Tripped over the robot robot and proceeded then towards officer Norden Adams. Is that correct? Yes. Do you know which room he passed by in the still shots in your report? It shows him passing a room. Do you know which room that was? Yes, stand by. 2419. You know and clearly you have a picture of that. Yes. Did any officers in that room try to detain him or take him down or anything at that point in time?

They didn't have the opportunity because he ran right by the room.

So you're saying they didn't have time? Correct. Then Reyes was unfortunately shot by officer Adams at 09:55 or twenty 01:50 five hours and pronounced deceased at 09:58. Correct. In this particular incident, there was only one shot fired.

Yes. And that shot inflicted the injury to mister Riaz and also struck the door frame that you identified earlier? Yes. When officers are trained, whether it be regular officers or snipers, are they normally trained to shoot center mass if they're in a situation where they feel like they have no choice but to shoot?

They shoot to stop a threat and to shoot at the center of the target presented.

During the course of your investigation and your interviews, were you able to get any information about why this particular situation ended up with a headshot?

Officer Adam didn't give us a statement, so I didn't have the opportunity to ask him.

So that would be speculation. Correct. Based upon your training experience, do you think that the fact that the magnifier or the scope was used could have had any effect on the location of that shot?

I think it would make the shot more accurate.

Did you ever have a chance to look through the scope and see what Officer Adams would have seen in terms of the hallway and the perspective when he actually fired the shot?

I did not look through his scope, no.

Is that something that you think could have been relevant?

No, because scopes are adjusted for the user. So his eyes are gonna be different than mine.

Would it be kind of common practice for him to look through that scope at his target, for lack of a better word, to make sure that he could see things correctly? Correctly?

I'm sorry, say that again.

I guess my question is, I'm trying not to be vague here, but is it possible that the headshot resulted because the scope magnified things so much that it might have affected what he could actually see when fired the shot?

Again, he didn't provide a statement, so anything I answer as far as what he was aiming at or not aiming at or where he chose to shoot would be speculation.

Thank you. Were officers on scene made aware that Reyes was a probation officer and therefore might have had some tactical firearms training?

Yes.

Would that have affected the way they did things? Yes. How would that have affected the way they did things?

It would put the officers in a mindset of having a reason to believe that Ray's had above average training with the firearms and police tactics.

You testified earlier that neither of the handguns were loaded. Correct. And you didn't find any ammunition in the bedroom. Correct. Talked a few minutes ago about negotiators, metro negotiators. Were negotiators involved in this case?

Yes.

Are negotiators required to have continuous contact with Metro police officers on scene as they learn things?

They're in contact with the SWAT commander. And who was commander? The I believe it was Centrone that night.

Was the SWAT commander made aware that negotiators were in contact with Reyes' family during the event? Yes. And was that by phone and text, if I don't

know how they were in contact, but it's typical for them to contact family members of subjects who were in this situation.

And if they'd received information from the family by text or phone, would they have relayed that information to SWAT commander? Yes. Are you aware if the family members informed negotiators that Reyes had no bullets. Quote unquote had no bullets.

I don't know if the negotiators passed that information on or were aware of that.

Don't have any information about that? No. How long had Mr. Reyes been in Nevada? I guess it was just a matter of hours, correct?

Correct, based on the timeline not very long.

Okay. Does METRO have any way to do any kind of a database search and make a determination as to whether had purchased ammunition on a given day or at a given time.

Purchase of ammunition is not something that's tracked or available real time.

So you don't have any information about whether or not Mr. Purchased ammunition in Nevada? No. Were negotiators and through negotiators, the SWAT commander aware that Reyes' family, including his mother, were actually driving to Las Vegas during the incident?

I can't speak directly to what they were aware of. Do you have

any information about that? No, don't. If the family had been traveling from California to the scene, is that something that would have been a factor for SWAT to consider with how they were gonna proceed?

It would have been a consideration, but not an ultimate decision changing consideration.

Do they ever make the tactical decision or I guess just the decision to wait for family to arrive so they may be part of the de escalation process? It would be situation dependent. Was that something that was discussed at all as you were debriefing this case?

None of that came up in any of our interviews, no.

The negotiators, when they deal with the family members, do they sometimes ask them to record messages to give to the suspect to de escalate? Yes. Do you know if that was done in this case?

I don't believe so.

If those recordings were requested, would there be a reason why Metro wouldn't follow-up and try to obtain them from the family so they could be utilized?

If the negotiators felt that that would

be a useful tool, they would do that. In this case, Mr. Reyes, while in his room, just he was silent, right? He didn't do anything, say anything?

They made several attempts to contact him by the room phone, by his cell phone, and then through a PA system, and they were getting no response from him. And do you

have any indication how many times they tried to contact him during the three hours that they were there prior to the shooting?

I don't have a specific number of times, but they were there for several hours attempting to contact him and they were getting no response.

Were they hearing anything from inside the room? No. Are you aware, detective, if the negotiators were notified at nine three nine hours that the family was a mile away but stuck in traffic?

I'm not aware of that.

Did that ever come up during your No. Were you aware that they actually sent a text message that they arrived at the casino at 09:57, which would have been two minutes after the shot was fired?

No, I'm not aware of that.

And so that never came up in your debriefing? No. Would that be something negotiators would be expected to relay to the SWAT commander? Situational dependent. Situational? Yes. And this is more of a specific family related question, but how would you respond to the family if they asked you why you didn't wait for them?

Again, I wasn't there. It wasn't me that waited or didn't wait. Ultimately, the decisions are up to the supervisors and the leadership on scene. Again, they were there for hours. They were getting no response. They had a person barricaded in a hotel room in a very busy hotel with firearms. And as we

established earlier, they were there for about three hours in between the time of the arrival and the time of breach of the door. Correct. Is there any kind of a a maybe I'm thinking of the right word here, but a timeline that they try to follow in this situation where they give them so much time before the next process or step would be

Every situation is different and independent of each other. So the negotiators and SWAT team needs to handle every situation differently. You can imagine it would be hard for the negotiators to negotiate with someone that isn't responding to them. When

the the breach breach of the room was ordered, what was the purpose for that? What goal was for breaching the door?

They attempted several ways to deploy a camera so that they can see in the room and see what was going on in there. They were unable to do that. And then when the breach was deployed, it's to try to enable some response from the subject. And then if the SWAT team does need to make entry for either life saving or to take him into custody, it makes them easier for them to get into the room.

Was it the intention to send the robot in first? Excuse me? Was it the intention to send the robot in first?

Yes. Typically, they would send the robot in first to get a visual of the room before sending operators in.

And is it safe to say, detective, that Mr. Reyes ran out of the room almost instantaneously with the door being breached? Immediately after. Maybe a second? Yes.

In situations like this, where you've barricade situation and there's no hostages, or that you're aware of anyway, but you have information, the individual may have one or two weapons, or there were situations where they would Metro would try to deploy non lethal methods to stop the perpetrator or the suspect?

I think everyone would always prefer a non lethal method. However, in this case, you have a subject running down the hallway with a firearm towards several police officers. And he actually let him run a very long distance down the hallway. They gave him ample opportunities to stop running and to drop the gun. Did they have any non lethal

implementations to use in that situation?

They always have non lethal options.

Did they have anything like bean bags or foam projectiles to shoot or anything like that?

Yes.

But based upon the situation in this particular case, do you agree with their decision that that wouldn't have been the right way to go?

It's not my job to agree or disagree. We generate a fact based report that we submit to the DA's office for a review, a use of force review.

Then does Does the type of weapon that the suspect has influence the decision as to whether or not non lethal tactics may be employed? Absolutely. Bat, it may be different than if it's a shotgun. Correct. In a typical training program or training experience of both police officers and SWAT snipers, assumptions they make when it comes to firearms?

In

terms of?

Is it drilled into them that they always have to assume that guns are loaded?

Yes. That is the safest way to operate. Do they ever take it for granted or assume that

a gun may be unloaded? No. Don't have other questions.

State, any follow-up? Just a couple questions, please. Mr. Reyes had two firearms with him. Is that correct?

Correct.

One's a shotgun and the other's a nine millimeter? Correct. Did he have another weapon in the hotel room as well?

A knife What and razor

else was in the hotel room on the bed besides the knife?

On the bed, there was a guitar bag. On the nightstand next to the bed, there were several suicide notes.

Okay. And after the breach, I think you told mister Ewing that mister Reyes almost immediately exits the room. Is that correct?

Correct.

He wasn't directed to do so. He just went out? And then he, at that time, is holding the shotgun. Is that fair?

Correct.

And as he's running down the hallway, officers are directing him to drop the gun? Correct. He fails to do so? Correct. And I think you said that he's able to kind of travel quite a distance. Can you give us an approximation of how far that was?

Yes, we had that in the diagram. I think it was overwe can actually go back.

There we go.

So you can see he ran approximately 143 feet.

Okay. And during that time, they're directing him to drop the gun and he does not?

Correct.

Thank you. I have no other questions.

Anything? Nothing further. Thank you.

Okay. At this time, I'm going to ask if there's any written questions submitted from the public. This public fact finding review was held because the Clark County District Attorney's Office made a preliminary determination that no criminal prosecution of the officers involved in the death of Cesar Reyes is appropriate. Clark County ordinance chapter 2.12 requires public review following such a determination. The purpose of today's hearing was to present the public with the essential facts surrounding the death of Cesar Reyes.

Willard Ewing was was appointed by the Clark County manager as the ombudsman to represent the public in the Reyes family. Mister Ewing was given opportunity to ask questions to provide the public with relevant information regarding the use of force in this case. I was appointed by the Clark County manager as presiding officer to preside over this public review. I too was given the opportunity to ask questions and provide the public with relevant information regarding use of force in this case. Prior to today's public review, the Clark County District Attorney's Office provided mister Ewing and myself copies of the law enforcement investigation regarding the death of mister Reyes.

The documents provided by the prosecution are considered public record. If you missed any portion of this review and would like to obtain a recorded transcript, a video of the entire proceeding is available on the Clark County website at www.clarkcountynv.gov. That concludes the police fatality public fact finding review and the death of Cesar Reyes. Thank you, everybody. Have a good day.