Police Fatality Public Fact-finding Review - Regular Meeting

You concerning the death of Bruce Ayer on June 26, 2025. I am Mandy McKellar and I will be presiding over today's proceedings. This review is being held because the Clark County District Attorney's Office has made a preliminary determination that no criminal prosecution of the officers involved in the death of Bruce Ayer 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 proceeding is to present the public with the essential facts surrounding the death of Mr. Ayer. Chief Deputy District Attorney Morgan Thomas will be presenting today's fact-finding review on behalf of the District Attorney's Office. She 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. Michael Triano has been appointed as the ombudsman. He represents both the public and the Ayer 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 to the public providing the public relevant information regarding the use of force. The rules of evidence shall not be strictly enforced. Members of the public observing this review may submit proposed written questions on the forms in the back of this room and present it to one of the officers. I will ask the question unless I determine that it is irrelevant, redundant, or abuse of the review process. At the conclusion of this review, no formal determination regarding the manner or cause of death shall be rendered. Also, viewer discretion advised with some of the materials being presented today. Does anybody have anything to add? Okay, Ms. Thomas, you can present your case.

Thank you. Detective Papix is going to be our first witness. Detective, how are you employed?

I am employed by the City of Henderson Police Department.

And how long have you been a detective with the City of Henderson?

I believe since about 2021.

And in your day-to-day, what is the scope of your job duties?

Currently, I'm assigned to the Investigation Services Division, specifically the Crimes Against People Unit, which is also colloquially known as Robbery Homicide Unit. So we handle death investigations, officer-involved shootings, any type of homicides. We handle missing persons as well as a ton of other crimes that are associated with person-on-person crimes.

And were you assigned to case DR number 25-12011?

I was.

And was that an investigation involving a decedent by the name of Bruce Ayer?

Yes.

And did this occur on June 26th of 2025?

Yes.

Can you talk to us about that?

Absolutely. So I know that we already made the warning, but again, viewer discretion is advised. There are some photos as well as some body cam videos that are going to be rather graphic, so we just want to let everyone know before we proceed. So this was gonna be our second OIS of 2025. And to reiterate, it was under DR25-12011. That's gonna be an internal HPD report number. It occurred at 3881 Casa Colorado Avenue, Las Vegas, Nevada, 89121. And like we already mentioned, it occurred on Thursday, June 26th, 2025 at approximately 0700 hours. I was the primary case agent and my co-case agent was Detective Rick Christopher, was also a part of my unit. So this is going to be an aerial view, just taken from Google Maps, basically of 3881 Casa Colorado. You can see down in the bottom left corner where the little pen drop is, that's going to be the location of the residence. And obviously, this isn't going to be reflective of the day of incident. But we do have a drone video of the day of an incident. And this is going to be the same obvious property, 3881 Casa Colorado Avenue. And you can kind of see a little bit of drone footage showing just the outlay of the house, as well as some of the hazards and things that were faced by our SWAT team. To understand how the shooting occurred, we have to first go back and look at the property investigation, which led back to this actual residence. So under DR25-11987, our property crimes unit ended up responding to a residential burglary at 1269 Imperial Drive, Henderson, Nevada, 89052. This occurred on the day before, which was June 25th, 2025, approximately 1741 hours. In this burglary investigation, the victim, Robert Metzler, advised that he was currently out of town but was informed by his community security that they had found his garage door open and that his house had been basically burglarized. During the early stages of this investigation, the detectives and officers learned that a silver-colored 2021 Volkswagen had been taken during the burglary. This vehicle was parked in the garage on the north side of the house, and video surveillance actually showed it leaving at approximately 1659 hours. The reason also our property unit responded to this call was because there had been a number of other incidents that were similar to this burglary over the past prior months in the exact same neighborhood, targeting these exact houses and everything else with similar MOs, things of that nature, where they were targeting high-end property. So based on a potential series, our property unit actually ended up investigating this specific burglary. Detective McGehee, who was part of the property unit at that time, was the primary case agent on this burglary investigation. During the initial stages, he determined that a large amount of high-end items had been stolen, which fit that MO, including but not limited to sterling silver jewelry, gold necklaces, high-end bags, et cetera, et cetera, as well as personal identifying information, such as credit cards, IDs, and the name of our victim, Metzler. Another property detective, Detective Karavik, actually contacted the registered owner of that Volkswagen, who was Lauren Ellison, to determine if her vehicle actually had tracking capabilities. And she did, and the tracking came back showing that it was in the area of Mountain Vista and Flamingo in Las Vegas, which is how we ended up in Las Vegas' jurisdiction. Basically, it was learned that the suspect was an unknown race male, later determined to be white or Hispanic, wearing an orange shirt, black pants, black shoes, black baseball cap, and a face covering. Male was also described as being approximately 5'9 to 6' tall with a thin build. Detectives Karabik and Ihar, both with HPD, responded to the area where that car was parked, the silver Volkswagen, and found it unoccupied on Casa de Flores and Casa Cencia Street, which is in that same general neighborhood. Shortly after locating the vehicle, a male and female entered the Volkswagen by using a key fob and drove off. Shortly thereafter, the vehicle returned and parked across the street from 3861 Casa Colorado Avenue. The property crime detectives then established surveillance on this vehicle as well as the house and numerous people were observed walking to and from the vehicle and specifically 3881 Casa Colorado Avenue, which is the subject of our officer-involved shooting. Little after midnight on June 26th, a male and female exited 3881 Costa Colorado and walked to the stolen Jetta, unlocked the doors, and entered the vehicle. The vehicle then drove away. Property detective Karovic was able to follow the vehicle to an apartment complex. The male and female were subsequently detained and were identified as Ashley Manley and Douglas Pombriant. During an interview with the pair, both advised that they reside at 3881 Costa Colorado Avenue. Douglas Pomerant was in possession of the key to the stolen Volkswagen Jetta, while Ashley Manley had a wallet in her bag that contained the credit cards of our victim and identification cards. The pair were obviously interviewed on scene. It was determined that an individual by the name of Boxer had arrived at 3881 Casa Colorado Avenue earlier with property consistent with the stolen property from our Henderson address, which was that 1269 Imperial Drive. Through these interviews, it was determined that Boxer was the individual responsible for the burglary and stolen vehicle investigation from that location. Douglas Pomerant was released while Ashley Manley was arrested. At approximately 0430 hours, a mail match in the description of Boxer was stopped and detained after he was observed leaving 3881 Casa Colorado Avenue. This suspect was identified as Anthony Martinez, and he was subsequently arrested for his involvement in the burglary within Henderson's jurisdiction. So though this subject was arrested for his involvement, it was believed that there was additional stolen property inside 3881 Casa Colorado Avenue. Property Crimes Detective Jay McGahee authored a search warrant for the location, which was signed by the Honorable Henderson Justice of the Peace, Barbara Skifalukwa, on the same day. Given the numerous fortifications, video surveillance cameras observed, combined with the criminal histories of those associated with, 3881 Casa Colorado Avenue. The SWAT team was requested to actually serve the search warrant to look for that additional stolen property.

And did HPD SWAT ultimately execute this warrant on 62625 at Casa Colorado?

They did.

And what is HPD SWAT?

So SWAT, for those that don't know, is referred to as Special Weapons and Tactics Team, and their purpose is to provide specially trained personnel that far exceeds that of a normal patrol officer and equipment that patrol officers also don't carry in order to bring high-risk incidents and operations to a successful solution. Basically, the SWAT team is a support organization within our department. And they support the department to resolve critical incidents involving the threat to public safety, which would otherwise exceed the capabilities of traditional law enforcement and first responders and or investigative units. So even though the property unit was there to investigate and to recover that stolen property, the conditions with 3881 Casa Colorado were just, they far exceeded their capabilities to actually effectively and safely execute that search warrant. And SWAT will be utilized to serve high-risk search warrants that meet the criteria set forth in our department policy, which is that search warrant. And so that's another criteria where, given the fortifications and surveillance cameras and everything else, that's why the SWAT team was actually requested per policy.

And what about specifically about the 3881 Casa Colorado Avenue fortifications or other... issues with that property made SWAT necessary.

So some of the hazards and things that the investigating detectives were faced with, basically the SWAT team was requested to serve a search warrant as part of this property investigation for the reasons stated here, which is the investigation of all felony crimes to include burglary, grand larceny of a motor vehicle, There were multiple subjects seen entering and exiting the residence, which was at 3881 Costa, Colorado, at all hours of the night, which is indicative of typically criminal activity. The main suspect, Boxer, was unknown but stated to have been to prison, so they were still conducting their investigation into that main suspect. And the residence also had heavily fortified entry points that could not be easily defeated. Also, an elderly or handicapped individual was identified as also living at the residence, which also posed an additional hazard to police personnel, which was why the SWAT team was requested. So I know we've talked a lot about the fortifications, but here are some pictures that are actually taken on the day of the officer-involved shooting showing those fortifications. And as you can see, Off to the left, there's actually another window which poses a hazard to the approaching police officers. You can see directly in front of you, there's like a heavy wrought iron gate that's affixed to the structure of the house with the actual swinging gate. So that's going to create another hazard. As you get a little bit closer to looking at the front door and everything, on the picture to the left, that's going to be the perspective looking at the front door. So you can see that it basically has a heavy duty security door that's metal. that's going to pose a major hindrance to officers as well as those iron bars and everything else. Not to mention the clutter and everything else. Those also produce hazards for those approaching personnel.

And fair to say multiple officers were involved in the execution of the 3881 Colorado search warrant?

Correct.

Can you walk us through the pertinent individuals?

Absolutely. So the involved officers, we're going to talk about them as well as their weapons. So this was going to be our officer that was actually the shooter that was involved in the officer-involved shooting. It's going to be SWAT officer Michael Stevens, P number 2197. His date of hire was July 20th, 2015. At the time of this incident, he was 39 years old and assigned to the operations support division, which is that SWAT team. His normal shift hours are a swing shift, which is basically 2 p.m. to midnight. His call sign at the time was Union 5. Our SWAT team, they have union call signs, and it's basically one through however many people that they have on that team. He did not provide a statement to investigators, but his body camera was activated and recording, and he was also CIT certified. Here's going to be a picture of SWAT officer Michael Stevens on the day of the shooting. We blurred out his face, obviously, for... security reasons and everything, some privacy issues, but you can see that he's in a clearly identifiable police uniform. Our SWAT team, much like Metro and the other agencies in the Valley, they wear like an olive drab colored uniform, so it is very consistent throughout the Valley that any SWAT team member typically wears a uniform such as this. You can see that he's got police markings both front and back on his heavy vest, as well as a variety of different tools, weapons, equipment, things of that nature. The weapon used in the shooting was going to be the weapon assigned to SWAT officer Michael Stevens, which was a Colt M4 rifle. It was equipped with an optic suppressor and a light. It had a 30-round magazine, but our department policy is that we load the magazines to 28, which is what we consider duty carry, and the investigation revealed that two rounds were missing and fired from this weapon. SWAT officer Michael Stevens also carried a Glock 34, which was his primary handgun, Gen 5 9mm. It was equipped with a tac light and an optic as well. His primary magazine, which was seated in the weapon, was a 17-round magazine. And we also carry, per policy, one round in the chamber for a total of 18 rounds. Countdown revealed that one round was in the chamber and 17 rounds was in the magazine showing that no rounds were missing And he also had two spare magazines both topped off at 17 rounds essentially the investigation found that no rounds were fired from this weapon and Another involved officer was going to be SWAT Officer Taylor Young. He did, P number 2394, he did not fire his weapon. His date of hire was June 26, 2017, and at the time of this officer-involved shooting, he was 29 years of age. SWAT officer Taylor Young was actually, he was what we call a SWAT alternate, which means that he was a patrol officer, but worked part-time with the SWAT team with the eventual goal of getting full-time SWAT position. So he was technically assigned to Graves 8 East on the east side of our town, OUR JURISDICTION AND HE WORKS SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY AND LIKE I SAID A PART-TIME SWAT OFFICER. HIS SHIFT HOURS ON GRAVEYARD ARE 10 P.M. TO 8 O'CLOCK THE NEXT MORNING. AT THE TIME HE WAS UNION 13 WAS HIS CALL SIGN. HE DID PROVIDE A STATEMENT AND HIS BODY CAMERA WAS ACTIVATED AND RECORDING WHICH WE WILL REVIEW LATER AND HE IS ALSO CIT CERTIFIED. AND AGAIN HERE'S ANOTHER PICTURE. THIS IS GOING TO BE A SWAT OFFICER TAYLOR YOUNG. You can see he's wearing the identical uniform as our previous officer in that olive drab type, you know, long sleeve uniform. You can see that there's police markings clearly front and back. And he is also basically on his vest and his person. He's got various weapons and equipment, things that are specific to his role on the SWAT team. His primary handgun was a Glock 34 Gen 5. It was also equipped with a tac and optic. His primary magazine was 22-round magazine, and patrol carry, like we discussed, is one round in the chamber. And with that seated magazine, including the round in the chamber, came to 23 total rounds. A countdown revealed one round in the chamber, 22 rounds in the magazine. So no rounds were fired from this weapon. He also had two spare magazines, one with 22 and one with 21. SWAT officer Taylor Young also carried a breacher shotgun His assignment on this specific operation was to be a breacher. So with that role, he carried this specific weapon, which was a Genesis Arms Gen 1. It's a 10 round capacity. One round was chambered, nine rounds are in the magazine and counted down. So with this type of situation, they load the magazine to the 10 rounds and then they chamber one from that direct magazine, which is different than like our handguns. And we determined that no rounds were fired from this weapon.

And during your investigation, I know we mentioned this previously, but did the actions of Officer Stevens result in the death of a Bruce Ayer?

It did.

Can you talk to us a little bit about Mr. Ayer?

Absolutely. So our suspect decedent, like we mentioned, is going to be Bruce Gregory Ayer, date of birth of 1, or January 18th, 1954. He's a white male, 6'4", approximately 130 pounds, at least what was listed on his ID, with gray hair, brown eyes, and he lived at the address 3881 Casa Colorado Avenue. If he were to survive, the charges that we found appropriate for this investigation would have been assault on a protected person with a deadly weapon, as well as resist public officer with a deadly weapon, not a firearm. The weapon that Bruce Ayer possessed at the time of the shooting was a realistic butane handgun lighter painted black to resemble a firearm. And this is a picture of the exact weapon that he possessed during the shooting. And as you can see, to a common person or even an officer, this is a replica firearm that was also painted black.

And during your investigation, were you able to speak to some witnesses that were actually inside of the house on June 26th?

We did. So during our investigation, there were three actual individuals inside the residence. The first one was going to be Douglas Palmbrant, and this is one of the individuals that was contacted previously by our property unit. His date of birth is 3-26-1976, and he was interviewed by CAPS Detective Lippisch, number 1710. According to the interview, Douglas had been living at the residence for approximately three months, and he claimed to be the caregiver to Bruce Ayer. We found out that Bruce Ayer actually was diagnosed and suffering from cancer. Bruce was sleeping on the floor in the living room along with Larissa and Maggie who are going to be two additional witnesses that we spoke to. Douglas stated that he was welcomed by the SWAT team announcements, saw the SWAT team enter the house and immediately recognized them as police officers. Douglas also stated that he heard two sounds but did not realize that they were gunshots. Following these sounds, Douglas saw Bruce Ayer's feet and realized that he was lying on the ground. Douglas thought that Bruce Ayer had fallen, which he claimed that he also does quite often. Douglas was then ordered to stand up by the SWAT team, and he was escorted from the residence. When discussing guns, Douglas did not believe that Bruce owned guns anymore, but he did state that at one point he used to have numerous guns inside the residence. Douglas basically stated that he heard that Bruce's guns had been stolen at some point prior to him moving into the residence, but he didn't have additional details surrounding that. Witness two, who was also inside the residence, was Maggie Jenchef. Her date of birth was September 1st, 1991. Maggie was interviewed by CAPS Detective Douglas Leinoff, 1554. Maggie stated that she did not live at Bruce Ayers' residence, but that she arrived on the afternoon before. Maggie fell asleep on the floor of the living room, along with Douglas Pombriant. Maggie said that she was sleeping, but woke up when she heard the announcements of the address 3881 Costa, Colorado, and that there was a search warrant for the residents being broadcast over a police loudspeaker. Maggie also stated that she heard the flashbangs being deployed, which are those loud booms that the SWAT team typically employs in any type of search warrant or barricade situation. Maggie was standing up and heard someone yell, gun, and then heard gunshots and saw Bruce fall. According to Maggie, Bruce was in the kitchen standing by the stove. Maggie stated that she saw SWAT officers and saw Bruce lying on the kitchen floor with gunshot wounds to his chest. Maggie stated that Bruce did not have a gun and that he has throat cancer and speaks softly. According to Maggie, Bruce used to own firearms, but she thought they had all been removed from the residence. Maggie said there should be methamphetamine in the residence and it's a known flop house, as many people come to the residence to use narcotics. The third witness that was inside was Larissa Schuppel. Her date of birth was March 20th, 1986, and she was also interviewed by Detective Lionoff 1554. Larissa arrived at 3881 Casa Colorado Avenue at approximately 03 to 0400 hours, just hours before literally, and slept on the floor in the living room. So Larissa stated that she is dating Douglas Palmbrandt, who was our first witness. And before the arrival of the SWAT team, Larissa was trying to wake up Douglas so she could get some gas money from him. She stated that Bruce walked into the living room from the kitchen and asked Larissa if she had a cigarette, which she stated that she did not. Larissa said she heard an announcement saying hand her police search warrant and heard the bangs, referring to those flash bangs that we discussed earlier. Larissa stated that Bruce was in the kitchen near the counter and behind her during the HPD SWAT announcements. Larissa said that she saw SWAT officers standing in the hallway, telling her to put her hands on the wall. Larissa complied and was then brought outside by those SWAT team members. Larissa advised that she did not hear or see anything regarding the shooting. When asked about the firearms, Larissa said she did not see Bruce with a firearm and didn't believe that there were any firearms located within the residence. So witness four was actually interviewed by one of our property detectives a little bit later, and specifically Detective Manning of the property unit, which was P number 2457. According to this interview, Maya walked up to detectives after the shooting and claimed to live at 3881 Casa Colorado Avenue. She was detained by property detectives and referenced a stolen property, and she was later arrested for various charges associated with that investigation. But during the interview, Detective Manning asked Samaya if Bruce Ayer was suicidal, to which she advised that he was not. However, she did add that Bruce was in a lot of pain and stated that he wished to die daily.

During your investigation and review of the CAD, as well as some body-worn camera, were you able to develop a timeline of events?

We did.

And what was that timeline? Okay.

So our timeline is based upon our CAD, which is computer-aided dispatch, as well as body-worn cameras. So we utilized both because the SWAT team didn't always call things out over the radio, but the body cams actually time-stamped a lot of the events. So at approximately 3 o'clock in the morning, SWAT was requested again for that search warrant in reference to the property investigation of 3881 Costa Colorado Avenue. Based on the CAD SWAT was notifies our dispatch with the address and request community ambulance to stage at 0 5 30 hours Which is common anytime that there is a search warrant or anytime that SWAT is going to be involved in an operation Medical is always requested whether it be Henderson fire or community ambulance something of that nature just for you know incidents that could occur At approximately 6 30 in the morning SWAT holds their briefing for the search warrant where they discuss the plan the details who's to do what etc and At 6.54, this is based on CAD, all SWAT vehicles are set and ready to go. And then according to the body cam, at 6.57, all vehicles leave the stage and head to 3881 Casa Colorado Avenue. According to the body cam, SWAT arrives at 3881 Casa Colorado Avenue just after 7 o'clock in the morning. It's like 7 o'clock, 39 seconds. At 7 o'clock 54 seconds, the breach command is given. At 7 o'clock 56 seconds, SWAT officers breach the front door. At 0058, the SWAT team enters the residence, and then at 7.01.10 seconds, two gunshots are fired. Shortly after that, shots fired is called out over the radio, and there's a mail down to the kitchen, according to the CAD notes, at 07.01.20 seconds. Shortly after that, Douglas Pombriant is contacted, and then a little bit later after that, the front living room is clear, and the SWAT team is pushing into the kitchen, according to the CAD notes. At 07.04.22, SWAT officers render medical aid to Bruce Ayer. A little bit later, EMS personnel, who are staged, are requested to come to the front of the residence with a stretcher. At 07.07.18 seconds, Bruce Ayers carried out of the residence into the waiting EMS personnel, which is the community ambulance. At 07.07.58, community ambulance paramedics began providing medical aid to Bruce Ayers. And then a few minutes after that, Bruce Ayers transported to Sunrise Trauma.

And what was Officer Stevens' role on June 26, 2025, during the Casa Colorado execution of the search warrant?

So SWAT Officer Michael Stevens was assigned to the entry team in the search warrant and was in the first cell entering the residence. So a cell is a small group, typically two officers that are gonna enter and he was in that first cell, the first officer through the front door. Once entering the residence, SWAT Officer M. Stevens moved to the right and towards the entrance to the kitchen where he contacted Bruce Ayer. And we do have his body cam footage which is right here and again, viewer discretion is advised.

You ain't talking no talking.

Time.

Police here. Police department, search warrant. Police department, search warrant. I'm with you. I'm with you. Move, move, move. Police department, search warrant. Hey, what is that? Stay still. Stop. Hey, hey. Stop moving. Get over here. Shots fired. Shots fired. Shots fired. You! Come here now!

Get up! Hey, you stand up in the back.

Get up against the wall. You, get up. Hands on your... You good, partner? Yeah. All right. T, T, let me get up. Yep. Hey, roll out. I got you. You got it.

We took this video and we also slowed it down for the slow motion aspect to show you the threat that SWAT Officer M. Stevens was actually faced with. Through this body-worn camera, we were also able to capture some still photos of the threat that Bruce Eyre posed to SWAT Officer M. Stevens. And you can see the circles are going to represent that weapon that he was holding at the time.

And that weapon that he's holding that's depicted in those two red circles, was that that realistic butane handgun lighter that was recovered from the scene? Correct, yes. And that was painted black?

Correct. Here's another perspective as well, a little bit clearer. after he's coming around that corner.

And part of your investigation, did you review other witness statements of other officers that were on scene and or take statements of other officers that were present during the search warrant?

We did. We conducted numerous interviews with the entry SWAT officers that were involved. These are going to be listed here. So we spoke with SWAT Officer Diaz, Erickson, Phil Singer, Kohut, Lilligard, Marshall, Russo, and Young. And those were going to be those officers that you typically saw on the body cam that were actually entering the residence. The one thing that we wanted to point out, all but two witnesses or involved officers were CIT trained. The asterisks are the officers that were not yet CIT trained at the time of the shooting.

And what is CIT training?

Crisis intervention techniques. So it's basically... A one-week course that teaches officers how to deal with noncompliant suspects, subjects that are in mental health distress, things of that nature, possibly under the influence of drugs, but it gives an alternative or a way of dealing with people who are otherwise altered or not acting normal for one reason or another, whether it's chemically induced or whether it's a mental illness, that type of thing. So the first witness we spoke to was going to be SWAT Officer Diaz. And actually, these are going to be more alphabetical than the order that we spoke to them on the day of the interviews. But SWAT Officer Diaz was assigned as a full-time member in 2023 to our SWAT team. He was part of the entry team and part of the second cell to enter the 3881 Casa Colorado Avenue. Officer Diaz moved through the door into the hallway to the right at the first initial choke. Once in the hallway, SWAT Officer Diaz said that he immediately encountered subjects in the dining room area who were semi-cooperative. And in the body cam video that you saw, that longer one, the very first one, you could see them down the hallway. Those were the subjects that Officer Diaz was encountering and dealing with. As SWAT Officer Diaz was issuing commands to not move to that group, he recalled hearing two gunshots, but he did not know where the gunshots came from or whether they were from the suspect, his fellow teammates, etc. Though shots had been fired, SWAT Officer Diaz said that he stayed focused on controlling the subjects in the dining room. After taking Douglas Pombrant, Larissa Schuple, and Maggie Gensheff into custody, SWAT Officer Diaz assisted with clearing the rest of the house. SWAT Officer Diaz then repositioned to hold the entrance to the dining room where medical aid was provided to Bruce Ayer. SWAT Officer Diaz said that he observed the weapon that Bruce Ayer possessed and further described it as being a blue and or black colored compact pistol. SWAT Officer Erickson, 2167, he's been assigned to SWAT since 2019 as a full-time member. On this operation, he was assigned as the assistant team leader. As far as being an assistant team leader, he's in charge of the tactical planning of the operation, such as the selection of the service option, placing officers into various positions that are going to be responding to this call, such as containment spots, breaching spots, entry, et cetera, and who is assigned to drive the various vehicles that are going to respond to the scene. SWAT Officer Erickson explained that as the ATL, he announces the movement calls once the SWAT team is inside the house, and he will typically enter a location towards the rear of the entry teams so that he can monitor what's going on in front of them and call out those calls. SWAT Officer Erickson said that as he entered the residence, he observed two pieces of brass fly off towards the right as SWAT Officer Stevens was taking a knee. Moments later, SWAT Officer Erickson saw SWAT Officer Young come over the top of Stevens, who were both giving commands to someone in the kitchen. SWAT Officer Russo announced that shots had been fired. Once ensuring that all of his officers were uninjured, SWAT Officer Erickson announced over the radio that shots had been fired. So in the video you saw, you heard a couple different times that shots being fired The shots fired were initially called just verbally and then later over the radio to let dispatch know what had happened. According to SWAT Officer Erickson, three individuals were located in the dining room area of the house, and he said that he made the decision to get those three individuals out of the house first so that medics could safely enter the residence and provide assistance to the shot individual, which was Bruce Erickson. SWAT Officer Erickson said that on the left side of the threshold to the kitchen, He observed a small grayish blue semi-automatic handgun that was on the ground and next to a meth pipe. Following the shooting, SWAT officer Erickson requested SWAT officers Melcher and Kohut because they have advanced medical training and they assisted with Bruce Ayer. Another officer interviewed was SWAT officer Filsinger, 2251. He's been a full-time member of the SWAT team since 2023. And in this operation, he was part of the breach team and he was the officer that you saw in that body cam video breaching that front door to 3881 Casa Colorado Avenue. SWAT Officer Filsinger said that he entered towards the tail end of the stack and he heard two shots coming from somewhere within the residence. Following the shots fired call over the radio, SWAT Officer Filsinger said that he saw SWAT Officers Diaz and Marshall contacting people in the dining room. So he went to that location to assist with contacting and removing those individuals. And here's going to be Officer Filsinger's body-worn camera footage.

Officer 3881 Casa Colorado Avenue, this is the Henderson Police Department SWAT team.

We have a search warrant for the residents. We demand entry. Officer 3881 Casa Colorado Avenue, this is the Henderson Police Department SWAT team.

We have a search warrant for the residents. We demand entry.

Time. Police. Police search warrant!

Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Hold back, hold back.

SWAT officer Kohut, P number 2287, was also interviewed, and he's been a full-time member of the SWAT team since 2024. SWAT officer Kohut was part of the entry team and was the second SWAT officer to enter the residence. After entering the residence, he said that he saw a tall, thin, white male wearing blue shorts walking towards the hallway where the other SWAT team members were, later determined to be Bruce Ayer. SWAT officer Kohut said that he heard someone say, hey, which was followed by two rapid successions or thuds, which he had first thought was a less lethal device. SWAT officer Kohut observed Bruce Sayre fall in the kitchen following the two shots. SWAT officers Kohut and Meltred entered the kitchen and began providing medical aid to Bruce Sayre. A quick assessment was provided, which was a patient assessment, and two chest seals were placed on Bruce Sayre's chest. SWAT officer Kohut said that Bruce Sayre had agonal breathing and there was blood pooling behind his back. SWAT Officer Kohut advised that he observed a handgun on the floor that was blue or black in color. This gun was further described as appearing to be a compact, semi-automatic firearm. And here is going to be SWAT Officer Kohut's body-worn camera footage.

1 Casa Colorado Avenue, Sanderson.

Watch out! Pull back! Pull back! Call it! I got you. Hey! Now, leave the dog. Leave the dog. Come here now. Hey, hold what you got. Get up. Hey. Hey, you stand up in the back. We're getting here. Yeah, it's clear here. Where's the agent? Right there. He's back there. Get a gun on her. They got her over there. We're going to come down.

Hey, make room. They have contact with her at the end of the hallway.

Do we have anything over here? No. Back in jail?

Yes, goes to the kitchen, up to her, I can see her.

Suspect down?

Yeah, he's laying in the kitchen. Agonal breathing. Hey, I'm going to push up to right here. Yeah, I'm with you. Hey, we're going to push up to right here. Where's the gun?

413 or something? Hey, you in the lights! SWAT officer Lilligard, P number 2244 was also...

interviewed, and he is assigned as a full-time SWAT team member. SWAT Officer Lillegaard was part of the entry team and was assigned to be the fifth SWAT officer to enter the residence. He also carried the L4 40 millimeter less lethal launcher. After entering the residence, SWAT Officer Lillegaard heard verbal announcements being made, but he could not decipher what was being said, followed by two shots being fired. SWAT officer Lillegaard said the gun possessed by Bruce Ayer appeared to be a small, semi-automatic handgun and possibly a mock blue gun that had been spray-painted black. But 100%, he said, it resembled a gun, especially if it was pointed at somebody. And here is going to be SWAT officer Lillegaard's body-worn camera footage.

Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Police search warrant! Hey, hey, you come here and you come here now. Now, leave the dog. You, the dog, come here now. Hey, hold what you guys have.

Hold what you guys have. We're good.

Hey, you stand up in the back. Our all officers go forward. You, get up. Hands on your legs.

Squad Officer K. Marshall, P number 2168, was also interviewed, and he's been a full-time SWAT member since 2022. SWAT Officer K. Marshall was part of the entry team and entered the residence towards the back of the stack. After entering the residence, SWAT Officer Marshall encountered three individuals inside and assisted with taking them into custody. SWAT Officer Marshall said that he heard two gunshots coming from behind him, but he did not personally witness the shooting. SWAT Officer Marshall described Bruce Ayer's weapon as being a multicolored small pistol that was possibly blue or red and had black paint on it that was peeling off. And here's going to be his body-worn camera footage.

SWAT team, we have a search warrant for the residents. We demand entry. Time. Police station, we're on scene.

We need search warrant. We need search warrant. We need search warrant. We need search warrant. Hey, you right there. Stay still. Stop. Stop. Stop moving. Get over here. Shots fired. Shots fired. Shots fired. Hey, hey, police.

Hey, we got contact.

Pull back. Pull back. Call it.

SWAT Officer Russo, P number 2134, was also interviewed, and he's been a full-time member of the SWAT team since 2023. SWAT Officer Russo was part of the breaching element and entered the residence towards the back of the stack. After entering the residence, SWAT Officer Russo heard SWAT Officer Stevens yell, hey, as he took a knee. Russo went on to explain that when a SWAT team member goes down to a knee, it means that they need help so that another SWAT team member can come in over the top of them, and you saw that on that body-worn camera footage. SWAT Officer Russo recognized this and began moving towards SWAT Officer Stevens when he heard the two shots go off. SWAT Officer Russo said that he called out the shots had been fired so that everyone else in the residence was aware of the situation. SWAT Officer Russo witnessed SWAT Officer M. Stevens fire his weapon. SWAT Officer Young, we've already discussed him a little bit. He was one of the involved officers but did not shoot. P number 2394, he's assigned as an alternate like we mentioned to the SWAT team and normally he is assigned to Graves 8 East. Officer Young was part of the breaching element and was the fifth person to enter the residence. Once entering the residence, Officer Young moved to the right and down the long hallway. In a small threshold leading to the kitchen, Officer Young saw Officer Mim Stevens holding this position. Inside the kitchen, Officer Young observed a white male in underwear and socks, later identified as Bruce Ayer, turn around. Bruce Ayer had a gun in his hand. SWAT Officer Stevens was to the left of Officer Young as Bruce Ayer began aggressing towards them, all while pointing that gun at them with an outstretched arm. Officer Young said that for a second he felt like this Bruce Ayer had him, for Officer Young was slightly canted in the threshold and exposing his side to Bruce Ayer. And he went on to explain that the heavy vests that the SWAT team wears are designed to absorb and protect against bullets from the front and back. That's where those ballistic plates are. That's where the armor is. They're designed to absorb the impact from bullets. on the front and back. The sides of the flanks are vulnerable spots because they offer little to no protection compared to those front and back panels. And if shot in this location, the results can be fatal. Officer Young went on to state that realizing that his vulnerable side was exposed to Bruce Sayre, who was pointing a gun at them, he said that he stepped back and began to turn towards the threat. As he was turning, Officer Young said that he heard two shots being fired. SWAT Officer Stevens then took a knee so that Officer Young could come up over the top of him. Officer Young said that he saw the firearm that Bruce Ayer was holding on the ground, which he described as a dark black handgun. And if asked if he was at fear with having Bruce Ayer point a gun at him, Officer Young said yes, 100%. And here's going to be Officer Young's body-worn camera footage.

Colorado Avenue, Mr. Henderson. We have a search warrant for the residents.

We demand entry. Time. Police. Police search warrant. Police search warrant. Police search warrant. Search warrant. Hey, hey, what is that? Stop. Hey. Stop moving. Shots fired. Shots fired. Shots fired. Hey, please! Pull back! Pull back! Cut! I got you. Hey! Hey, hey, you come here and you come here now. Now, leave the dog. You, the dog, come here now. Get up! Hey, you stand up in the back. Face this wall. Get up against the wall. You, get up. Hands on your... You good, partner? Yeah. All right. T, T, let me get up. Yep.

And during the investigation, were some photos taken of the crime scene?

Yes.

And were you able to review those?

We were. As part of any type of major incident like this, our crime scene analysts do show up and they take a multitude of pictures, including drone footage, which we showed in the beginning. There were probably hundreds of photos taken, but I wanted to highlight just a few of these so that we're not here all day. But here are some of the major crime scene photos that I want to include in here. So On the left, this is going to be the perspective of once you enter that door and move to the right like you saw in the body-worn camera footage, this is going to be that long hallway. At the end of the hallway were the three individuals that were contacted, but the placards are going to be where the brass or the expended shell casings from that rifle were located. And off to the left, that's going to be that initial choke point that we kept referring to or the SWAT team members kept referring to that led to the kitchen. The middle photo is going to be a little bit closer to that choke point or that entry to the kitchen, which you can kind of see a little bit right there. And then on the third picture to the far right, that's going to be squared to that entry looking into the kitchen. As you can see on the bottom left, that's going to be the handgun that was encountered by SWAT team members as well as the meth pipe that's right there next to that bleach bottle. And here's going to be another photo. This is going to be basically from that long hallway corridor looking towards the front door. And off to the right is going to be the entryway to the kitchen. And as you can see, the placards are going to represent where the shell casings were located. If you look closely, you can actually see number three, number two, two expended casings are located at those positions. This is going to be a perspective from inside the kitchen looking to the threshold or that choke point. So more of the perspective of let's say Bruce Ayer looking towards our SWAT team members. And as you can see there's going to be some evidence and everything else that's marked out on the floor. This is going to be inside the kitchen looking back to like let's say where Bruce Ayer was but I want to highlight where the rounds went after. Up here above the sink there's going to be that kind of like a bay window. Next photo is going to show a little bit closer, a little bit where the rounds went after being fired.

And in that last photo, specifically those, it looks like green stickers, what do those mark?

So our crime scene analysts typically use those stickers to mark where like there's going to be any type of bullet impacts, defects, something of that nature.

And ultimately was an autopsy done of Bruce Ayer?

Correct. There was, and I attended that autopsy. So on the next morning, on June 27th, 26th, or it should be 2025, forensic pathologist Nathan Schaller, MD, conducted an autopsy on Bruce Ayer. During the autopsy, it was determined that Bruce Ayer had two gunshot wounds that were identified. Forensic pathologist Nathan Schaller labeled these GSW1, GSW2. GSW-1 was an intermediate range gunshot wound to the chest with an exit. And the exit like we were discussing in the previous photo, they went through the window. Entrance was to the right lower chest and the exit was the right lower back with the front to back trajectory. GSW-2 was an intermediate range gunshot wound to the chest with an exit. Entrance was right mid chest and the exit was the mid back with the front to back trajectory. Cause of death was listed as multiple gunshot wounds and manner of death was ruled a homicide. As part of a typical autopsy and examination, toxicology is typically run, and there was no different in this case. So in the toxicology report, Bruce Ayer tested positive for the following, and this is not an all-inclusive list. This is just going to be some of the more pertinent items, but methadone, lorazepam, amphetamine, as well as methamphetamine. And as you can see, the methamphetamine was 180 nanograms per milliliter, and according to the NMS labs who conducted the actual toxicology, Methamphetamine abusers who exhibit violent and irrational behavior have typical blood concentrations of 200 to 600 nanograms per milliliter. High doses of methamphetamine can also elicit restlessness, confusion, hallucinations, circulatory collapse, and convulsions. And here's going to be just a drawing to represent where those GSWs were located. As you can see, GSW 2 was a little bit higher. GSW 1 was a little bit lower. Both wounds actually have rather flat trajectories, which was notated in the autopsy report.

Thank you, Detective. Mr. Triano, you can present.

Thank you. Detective, let's start from just like a thousand-mile point of view here. Can you educate the public specifically on your role and procedures in officer-involved shootings?

As far as my overall role?

Yes.

So when our unit shows up to an officer-involved shooting, we typically try to show up with as many detectives as possible, typically, like, let's say, six to eight, if it's our whole unit. And once we get on scene, we'll have a briefing. And then from that point, we will actually divide roles. So in my role, I was the primary case agent on this. So I essentially managed the scene. Another detective wrote a search warrant. Other detectives were conducting countdowns. Other detectives were conducting interviews. Other detectives were working with our crime scene analysts. So my specific role in this shooting was to basically be the case agent or the manager, in essence, to manage that, to make sure that all of those aspects were being completed.

So you're basically, in this particular shooting, the top of the food chain when it comes to the overall investigation of the officer-involved shooting?

At my level, as far as the detective level, yes, but there's also going to be supervision above me that obviously manage the overall scene, as far as a sergeant as well as a lieutenant that are going to be on scene that manage what I do.

And you're plainclothes. You're not obviously breaching. You're not in any of those videos. You come after the fact. Correct. Now, let's educate the public a little bit about the attempts to contact the occupants of the home prior to the breach. Can you tell us about that? As far as the announcements? Any attempts to contact the individuals or the occupants prior to the breach.

Absolutely. So... The SWAT team utilizes what's called an LRAD. It's called a long-range acoustic device. Announcements are given to the occupants basically listing the address, that they're the Henderson Police Department SWAT team, that they have a search warrant for the residents to come out peacefully, et cetera, et cetera. Those are going to be announced in both English and Spanish. Those are typically played on a loop every 15 to 20 seconds in duration, and those are according to case law. There's also typically a mark, I believe the 15-second mark, which if you heard them, it states time, and that allows the SWAT team to basically conduct their breach of the location. So as far as announcements go, they're clear, concise. The LRAD was actually, I believe, designed to be utilized in crowd control situations. So they're extremely loud, and as we spoke with those occupants that were inside, they heard the announcements.

Where is this mechanism stationed in comparison to the home?

Typically, it's going to be mounted on the Bearcat, which is that giant armored vehicle that the SWAT team drives. It's going to be mounted on the top somewhere, usually with a tie-down strap, something of that nature. So when the Bearcat or the vehicle pulls into the residence, it's facing the front of the residence so that those announcements are projected towards the actual occupants.

Absent this specific announcement, which I want to circle back to in a moment, are there any other attempts such as, finding a landline that's tied to that specific home, a cellular phone tied to maybe individuals that they're aware of that may or may not be in the home?

That's going to be case specific. I've been on probably hundreds of search warrants, and it just ultimately depends upon the factors that the detectives are encountered with at the time, or let's say like in a barricade situation, the patrol officers. Sometimes the element of surprise is going to be the safest option because it provides less of an opportunity for the occupants inside to arm themselves. If we're looking at like, let's say a narcotic search warrant where evidence could be destroyed, typically we're not gonna make a landline phone call to notify the occupants that we're trying to reach them because that element of surprise is critical to the investigation to preserve the evidence to make sure that it's not destroyed. So it really is dependent upon the circumstances faced if it's a situation let's say where there's no evidence involved and we're going after a known criminal and we know that they're barricaded inside then obviously you know phone calls and everything will be made prior to a SWAT team coming you know after a surrounding call you know what's typically referred to as a surrounding call location will be surrounded announcements will be made phone calls will be made so it's more of a nuanced answer I think and all of as far as it's dependent upon the circumstances and the case that are presented at that time.

So based upon the circumstances of this particular case, were there any attempts in addition to the siren?

I do not know. I was not privy to that information as far as whether any attempts were made.

Okay. Let's just assume for a moment, like you said, you're the manager, you're the boss, you run the team. Would you be surprised if there were attempts since you seem to be absent of that knowledge today? Again, I'm not the supervisor on scene to make that call. Okay. So who is ultimately responsible for the investigation into the officer involved shooting? Because that's what we're here for today is to understand and really just for public transparency. So the impression that I was getting earlier is you're extremely well versed in this. That's very obvious. And I understand that you have people above you, but you're saying now based on your position in this investigation, you can't tell the public one way or the other if there were any attempts made to contact the occupants. other than the siren?

Well, per case law, as far as with the announcements and everything else, they were provided. Also, when... No, I'm sorry.

I hate to interrupt, but I don't think you answered my question.

Yeah.

You would be the person to know if there were any attempts other than the siren.

To my knowledge, I don't believe any attempts were made to contact individuals inside, but then again, given this specific circumstance, the location has surveillance cameras, which poses a major officer safety risk. There were violent known criminals that were associated with the address that the property detectives were mentioning, also the fortifications. So given those circumstances, I believe as far as trying to notify occupants in a situation like that would probably be counterproductive as well as unsafe for everyone involved. The service option, like let's say for this search warrant, was considered a limited penetration, which means that the SWAT team, during the course of their announcements per case law, they provide those announcements, they breach the front door to gain a foothold within that location. All, again, like you've probably heard on the body cam over and over again, announcing themselves as SWAT team members, Henderson Police Department SWAT team, search warrant, search warrant, things to let those people know. The limited penetration option is typically a safer alternative as far as service options go because it also allows the SWAT team to gain a small foothold inside a location and provide less time for the occupants to potentially arm themselves, destroy evidence, or anything of that nature.

Okay, and I think you explained that very thoroughly, which I appreciate, but just really the core of my question is, To your knowledge, there was no other attempts? No. Correct. And during your investigation, I know you opined on why that might not have been the case, but during your investigation, did you ask those specific questions to who would have been in charge, specifically SWAT officers, of the breach?

I did not ask that question.

Okay. Let's talk about the timeline of the speaker, because that seems to be, as far as everybody's aware, and you probably are in the best position to answer that question, the only attempts to notify the occupants. What was the timeline between the initial announcement and the actual breach? Are we talking seconds, minutes, hours?

It would have been seconds, and I believe the announcements were played in a loop every 15 to 20 seconds, so if we want, we could go back to the timeline to get the actual timestamps.

Can you give me a ballpark? At least 20 seconds, I'd say. Okay, so less than 30 seconds of speaker announcing the breach between the announcement and the actual breach itself. Is that a fair statement?

I think so.

Okay. Let's go over to Officer Stevens. You said that he refused to make a statement. Is that accurate? Correct. Was he afforded the opportunity to do a walkthrough in addition to a statement? I believe he was. He was, and did he agree or refuse to do a walkthrough?

I believe, I don't recall if he did a walkthrough or not.

Okay. So in regards to the statement that he refused, who was the one inquiring or requesting that statement?

As far as like a walkthrough or an actual like, Like record a statement? Statement.

We'll just focus on that for now. The statement that he refused. Who inquired or asked him specifically to provide a statement?

Well, after an officer-involved shooting, we typically sequester or we remove the shooters, those involved from the shooting scene, and we separate them. Supervisors will go on scene. Typically, like if it's a patrol-type officer-involved shooting, a patrol supervisor will go over, ask if they want to provide a statement, and they'll either say yes or no.

So it wasn't you specifically? No. And in this hierarchy of an officer-involved shooting investigation, is this somebody that's underneath you or quote-unquote on your team that you've instructed to go request that?

That's typically going to be at a supervisor level to ask that, as well as, and then also our unions show up, and so they're typically going to be a spokesperson or representative for that, the involved officers.

When you're saying supervisor, I just want to make sure, is this somebody above you? Correct, that'd be above me. Okay, so you're... The job is to investigate, but part and parcel of the investigation would be obviously interviewing people that were on scene, but you have no part of that?

Well, I personally conducted the interviews in this one.

You conduct the interviews, but you're not the one that actually requests or seeks the interviews. Is that accurate? Correct. And this was a supervisor in regards to Officer Stevens that made that request? Correct. What's the timeline between the shooting and the request being made? Typically when they're on scene still. Okay. I'd imagine that could be hours.

Could be hours. Typically these scenes last quite a while because it just also depends upon resources available and just how dynamic the scene is. Once the involved officers are separated, we will try to get them back to us secure location or a location separate from our actual scene to conduct let's say like countdowns take the photographs that we all saw in the actual powerpoint and those questions can also be asked at that point too so it could be i would say a fair estimate would be ours you stated earlier something in regards to a representative so when you say they're separated they're not sequestered correct they actually have the ability to speak to a lawyer and a union representative correct

And did Officer Stevens, to the best of your knowledge and facts, speak to a lawyer and or union representative? And this is prior to the request of the interview. Is that accurate? I would say yes. Is he provided body cam footage that he can review in regards to what happened to the shooting prior to making that decision?

We don't provide that. So when I conduct the interviews, like with, let's say, the witness officers or let's say an involved officer that wants to actually speak to us, I show the body cam after they make a statement. So we'll go through an interview. I will basically go through the interview, which is very structured. It's standardized questions that we ask of all officers. If there's something specific we might ask, like a specific situation, we might ask something a little bit different. to that specific officer, but then at the end, we'll provide them an opportunity to review their body cam footage if they would like. From that point, then we ask, is there anything that you'd like to change, modify, clarify after reviewing the body cam footage?

Okay, and just to be clear, in regards to Officer Stevens, was he and or his attorney or union representatives afforded the opportunity to review the body cam footage before making the decision not to speak with you?

To that, I don't know, because that would have been without me being present. If he was reviewing his body cam footage with a union representative, I was not privy to that.

Do you know if that is something that they have the ability to do?

To my knowledge, no, I don't actually know that because typically when the involved officers or the shooters are involved, they're obviously separated from us, the investigators. So what occurs behind those closed doors, I'm not exactly privy to.

I guess the better question would be based on that, how does an officer get in their body cam? Do they have the ability to review their own body cam on their own?

Sometimes I think with the older models that you might be able to, but like Any type of situation like this, one of the first things that a supervisor on scene does is collect the body cams and put those in a secure location. So if an officer is involved in a shooting, they will actually go up to that officer, make sure that everyone's okay. Obviously, first and foremost, then they will take their body cams and put those in a supervisor vehicle that's locked. So they're separated from their body cameras.

Okay, so procedurally, they're supposed to be separated, but you can't tell the public today whether or not they were, or Officer Stevens or his representatives were provided at some point.

Per our policy and what I know from prior investigations, they don't typically have the ability to review it because the supervisors take those body cams and place them in the car.

And I assume there's no punishment whatsoever if an officer chooses not to provide a statement or a walkthrough. Is that accurate? That is a right. Let's move on to Officer Young. He, in fact, did agree to provide a statement. He did. And similar to Officer Stevens, I'm assuming this is a supervisor that requested that, not yourself?

Like to speak with us?

Yes.

Yeah, he spoke with the supervisors on scene, and he actually provided the statement. Witness officers have to provide the statements.

And in Officer Young's particular situation, do you know whether or not he had access to body cam footage and or his representatives prior to speaking with you?

Again, like I said, when an officer-involved shooting occurs, those supervisors remove those cameras and place them and a vehicle secured, that type of thing.

Is that something you asked him during your interview?

As far as whether they've had the ability to review body cam footage before?

Yes, sir.

I don't because, like I said, with our normal course and policy, they do get separated from the body camera.

Approximately how long was your interview with Officer Stevens?

I'd have to look, but probably about, or Officer Stevens, I never spoke with Officer Stevens.

Excuse me, thank you, Officer Young.

Officer Young, I'd say probably about a half hour or so.

Ballpark half an hour. And who was present during your interview?

It would have been myself. It would have been Detective Rick Christopher, who was my secondary. I believe our union attorney was there, as well as a union rep was there.

And I'm sorry, you said, maybe I misheard.

Did you say our union attorney? As far as, I'm part of the union as well. So the HPOA union attorney was there.

So you're part of the same union, that makes sense. But in this particular interview and capacity, the union representative is there for Officer Young. He's not representing you. Absolutely. Okay. So he has a lawyer, he has a union representative, and he's being interviewed by you and another individual. Yes. And it takes approximately a half an hour to conduct that interview. Where was that conducted?

That's conducted in our conference room at our main station in like the detective bureau area.

Off-scene?

Off-scene and usually 48 hours or so after the incident.

Okay, so this was at least 48 hours subsequent to the shooting? Correct.

If this occurred on a Thursday, I believe that we've conducted interviews probably on Monday.

Are you able to pull up the slide of his breacher shotgun that you had earlier in your presentation? Yes. And what you have on the screen, that is the shotgun in reference that Officer Young had. Is that accurate? Correct. And how would you describe that? Is it fair to describe that clip as an extended clip, or do you have a better way to accurately detail that for us? It's a standard capacity magazine. And what type of rounds are being held in that?

I believe that's a 12-gauge.

12-gauge.

I'm not entirely sure, but if I have to guess just from my knowledge of prior breacher shotguns, they were typically 12-gauge.

And maybe it's just the perspective of the picture, it just seems rather large to me, but you're saying you know for a fact that that only, that extended clip or that clip, however you want to describe it, only has a capacity to hold 12, or excuse me, 10 rounds total?

I don't know the exact, well, it says 10-round capacity, so that's what I would say, a standard capacity magazine for that would be 10 rounds.

Thank you. In reference to the decedent, the firearm in which he possessed was a fake, right? It was not actually capable of shooting. Is that accurate?

It's a replica.

Okay. Were there any firearms that were capable of shooting on his person or near him during the shooting?

No.

Were there any firearms capable of shooting that were recovered from the property itself?

No.

I believe there's a civilian witness, Douglas P., that you discussed earlier during your presentation. Who interviewed him?

I have to go back, but I believe that was going to be Detective Wynon.

Okay. And is that because you passed it off to him? Can you kind of describe that to the public on how that comes into play?

Yes. So as far as with me being assigned to be the case agent or the primary detective on this, I don't have the ability or the time to confirm. to perform all aspects of the investigation, so we typically delegate and assign different duties, and Detective Lionel was assigned with conducting interviews.

And were you specifically the detective who delegated that interview?

No, typically it's going to be the supervisor. Supervisor, okay.

Are you aware if the civilian witness had the ability to review any body cam footage prior to the interview?

Civilians reviewing?

Yes, sir.

I don't believe that they do review. Okay.

Who was present during the interview with the civilian Douglas P.?

I would not. You'd have to ask Detective Lionel.

Okay. So you couldn't opine whether or not he was afforded the opportunity similar to the officers to have a lawyer or any sort of representative present? I cannot opine on that. You cannot? Okay. Who interviewed civilian witness Maggie G.?

I'd have to look, but it might have been Detective Lionel or it had been Detective Litvish.

And can you tell us who was present for that interview?

I cannot.

Civilian witness Larissa S, do you know who conducted that interview?

B, same detectives. I would assume I'd have to, like I said, I'd have to go back and refer, but it's the same thing. I do not know who was present for that interview.

Okay, and the supervisor delegated that one as well? Correct. Okay, and you cannot opine or state as fact who was present for that interview? That's correct. All right. Same for Amaya J?

Detective Manning, I believe, from the property unit conducted that interview, and I do not know who was present for that.

All right.

Do you typically, I know, like you said, you can only do so many things at once. You know, multitasking is a skill, but you can't be in eight places at once. In your experience in these officer-involved shootings or any shootings, have you specifically interviewed civilians?

I have.

You have. Okay. And none of the civilian witnesses that were interviewed in this particular incident were suspects in the crime, or suspects in the shooting, excuse me. It's very clear who did it. Is that accurate? Correct. Okay. You stated earlier that there was an autopsy and you attended it. I did. Who else was present for the autopsy?

It had been one of our crime scene analysts as well as obviously the coroner staff.

What is your role in attending an autopsy?

I am there to observe and to basically document the findings and just consult with the forensic pathologist who's conducting an autopsy about ballistics and trajectories, things of that nature, what they would identify as entrance wounds, exit wounds, that type of thing.

Could you give the public maybe just broad strokes, low level example of you engaging with the forensic pathologist in an autopsy?

Absolutely. So typically in autopsy it starts with a forensics portion which is outside like let's say where the actual autopsies are performed. They're going to be usually overseen and conducted by a forensic technician that's, you know, employed by the coroner's office. That's where obviously like a seal that's placed on the body bag. For this purpose, more like a chain of custody thing, the seal's broken in our presence. We document the time for that. It's unzipped. We take photographs both as the person is presented right inside that body bag. We take them out. We keep obviously taking photographs, documenting everything, injuries, medical intervention things of that nature and then they are typically washed to where we can get a little bit better representation of the wounds that are on that person after the DNA will be typically taken at this point fingerprints will be taken at this point lots of photographs will be taken during this aspect of the investigation and then they will be prepped to go into the actual autopsy room where the doctor will then perform the actual autopsy what was the length or approximate length of this autopsy if you recall As far as from beginning to end?

Like the forensic portion, the autopsy portion? The entirety, or at least the entirety that you were present for.

I'd say probably four hours or so.

So you were there for approximately four hours?

Typically, because they typically start about 7 a.m. is what we try to do, especially if it's an officer-involved shooting or if it's a homicide incident. The forensic portion takes sometimes a couple hours, you know, depending on the complexity of the case. So obviously we're going to be there present for that entire aspect. Personally, as a detective, I tend to prefer to actually go into the autopsy room. It's not necessarily required. Some detectives elect not to go in. I do, just because I like to interact with the actual staff in there to discuss, you know, our current case. So typically with all of that, it can take, you know,

Four hours or more sometimes are you feeding them information? in addition to what they see in regards to the body that being the Forensic sometimes and it depends on who you're there with I mean if you ask questions will provide information Is it common for you to attend home or sees me at autopsies? Absence officer-involved shootings just like typical civilian homicides.

Mm-hmm.

Okay

We'll even go to for suspicious deaths, you know, where it's not a clear-cut homicide. It could be a suicide. We'll attend those as well as the need dictates.

You mentioned a toxology report and results of the deceased earlier. Can you explain to the public the relevancy of that in this particular context?

The reason that we wanted to put the toxicology in, because obviously through, I've been employed with the City of Henderson as a police officer for over 21 years now. And so my experience is quite vast, especially dealing with people who are in mental health crisis, those who are in substance abuse crisis. I'm CIT certified. I'm also a crisis negotiator trained individual. So my training is quite extensive. I was also a drug recognition expert in early days of my career. So the relevancy as far as to include the toxicology is to show that individuals who are under the influence of substances such as methamphetamine can have atypical behavior, which means that they will have possible hallucinations. They'll react erratically. They can react violently. And for someone who has a loved one who says, this person never acts like this, that may be so. However, when they're under the influence of a controlled substance, let's say like methamphetamine, which is a stimulant, it can cause erratic behavior that's not typically associated with that specific individual. And so in this case, with 180 nanograms per milliliter with the methamphetamine, I felt that that was somewhat relevant given this case, why someone would approach a SWAT team.

What was the toxicology results of Officer Stevens?

We did not conduct a, well, as far as we did not do a thorough toxicology, to my knowledge with our policy that we do some type of quick analysis to make sure that they're not under the influence of alcohol, other type of controlled substances, and that's more, I believe, from what I've been told. I'm not personally in charge of that. It's going to be more of an internal affairs thing. That is just a presumptive test is what I'm under the assumption of, that it was yes or no and he was clear.

Okay, so you can state for a fact to the public that Officer Stevens took a presumptive alcohol or drug test subsequent to the shooting?

To my knowledge, and I don't know the exact specifics of it, but there is a test that is conducted at post-shooting.

Okay, and those tests came out for Officer Stevens negative?

I would assume so because I was never informed of anything other.

Okay, and same for Officer Young?

I don't know if he was tested or not. That would be more of an internal affairs question.

No further questions, thank you, Detective.

Nothing further here. Okay, is there any questions within the room from any of the officers in the back? Not seeing or hearing any other questions, this public fact-finding review was held because the Clark County District Attorney's Office made a preliminary determination that criminal prosecution of the officers involved in the death of Bruce Ayer is appropriate. Clark County Ordinance Chapter 2.12 requires a public review following such a determination. The purposes of today's hearing was to present the public with the essential facts surrounding the death of Bruce Ayer. Michael Triano was appointed by the Clark County Manager as the Ombudsman to represent the public in the Ayer family. Mr. Triano was given an opportunity to ask questions and provide the public with relevant information regarding the use of force in this case. I was appointed by the Clark County Manager as the Presiding Officer to preside over this public review. I too was given the opportunity to ask questions to provide the public with relevant information regarding the use of force in this case. Prior to today's public record, the Clark County District Attorney's Office provided Mr. Triano and myself copies of the law enforcement investigation regarding the death of Mr. Ayer. The documents provided by the prosecution are considered public record. If you missed any portion of this review or 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 Bruce Ayer. Thank you. Have a good day.