A Henderson Police Department SWAT serviceman fatally changeable a 71-year-old antheral 14 seconds aft officers breached his Las Vegas location to execute a hunt warrant successful 2025, a detective said Thursday.
Bruce Ayer died connected June 26, 2025, aft Henderson SWAT serviceman Michael Stevens changeable him doubly astatine his location successful the 3800 artifact of Casa Colorado Avenue successful Las Vegas, Detective Nickolas Papacs said during a fact-finding reappraisal of the shooting astatine the Clark County Government Center connected Thursday. Papacs was the lone Henderson constabulary typical to speak.
Fact-finding reviews are held aft police-involved deaths erstwhile the territory attorney’s bureau “preliminarily determines that nary transgression prosecution of the serviceman oregon officers progressive is appropriate,” according to the Clark County website.
Police antecedently said that Stevens changeable Ayer aft officers entered Ayer’s home, adjacent the intersection of Flamingo Road and Mountain Vista Street, to execute a hunt warrant successful transportation with a burglary that happened the time earlier astatine a location successful the 1200 artifact of Imperia Drive successful Henderson. Stevens’ body-camera footage was released weeks aft the shooting and showed Ayer pointing an entity that constabulary said looked similar a handgun, but was aboriginal determined to beryllium a handgun-shaped lighter.
The SWAT squad arrived astatine Ayer’s location astatine 7 a.m. and was fixed an bid to breach the beforehand doorway seconds aft arriving, according to Papacs and a timeline constructed utilizing dispatch logs and body-camera footage shown during the fact-finding review.
Fourteen seconds aft SWAT officers breached the beforehand door, Stevens changeable Ayer twice. Papacs said SWAT officers began rendering assistance to Ayer astatine 7:04 a.m. and that paramedics began the process of transporting Ayer to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center astatine 7:07 a.m.
SWAT was requested to execute the warrant astatine the Casa Colorado location due to the fact that the beingness of information cameras, known criminals and “fortifications” including a gated approach, barred windows and a heavy-duty information doorway each posed information risks to officers, Papacs said.
“Sometimes the constituent of astonishment is going to beryllium the safest enactment due to the fact that it provides little of an accidental for the occupants wrong to limb themselves,” Papacs said successful effect to questioning by lawyer Michael Troiano, the ombudsman appointed to correspond the nationalist and Ayer’s household astatine the review. “That constituent of astonishment is captious to the probe to sphere the grounds to marque definite that it’s not destroyed.”
Burglary probe
Papacs said Ayer was 1 of respective radical surviving successful the home, which helium described arsenic a “flop house,” oregon a spot radical spell to instrumentality drugs. Witnesses told constabulary that Ayer was suffering from pharynx crab and dealt with predominant pain.
Papacs said aggregate people, including Anthony Martinez, a fishy successful the Imperia Drive burglary, were arrested aft leaving Ayer’s location successful the hours earlier the SWAT raid.
The warrant was inactive executed due to the fact that constabulary believed further stolen spot from the Imperia Drive burglary was wrong Ayer’s home, Papacs said.
Papacs defended the determination to participate the location quickly. He said helium was unsure whether SWAT provided further announcement to the occupants that officers were outside, different than an automated audio connection played from a SWAT conveyance upon arrival.
“As acold arsenic trying to notify occupants successful a concern similar that would astir apt beryllium counterproductive, arsenic good arsenic unsafe for everyone involved,” Papacs said.
Papacs said burglars stole a 2021 Volkswagen Jetta from the Imperia Drive home, on with jewelry, a decorator handbag, recognition cards and recognition cards.
Detective: Ayer would person faced charges
Ayer died from aggregate gunshot wounds and his decease was ruled a homicide, according to the Clark County coroner’s office. Papacs said a toxicology study revealed Ayer had methadone, lorazepam and methamphetamine successful his strategy astatine the clip of his death.
Stevens, who was 39 astatine the time, fired 2 rounds from a Colt M4 rifle, Papacs said.
Online records amusement Martinez has been charged with residential burglary, expansive larceny and expansive larceny of an automobile and remains successful custody astatine the Clark County Detention Center. Martinez has a assemblage proceedings scheduled to statesman Oct. 19, according to District Court records.
Ayer was holding was a handgun-shaped butane lighter that was painted achromatic to look realistic, Papacs said. Had Ayer survived, Papacs added, helium would person faced charges of battle connected a protected idiosyncratic with a deadly limb and resisting a nationalist serviceman with a deadly weapon, not a firearm.
Contact Casey Harrison astatine charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Casey_Harrison1 connected X.
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