Nelson Oliveira
New York Daily News
LAS VEGAS — Police in Nevada have released a body-cam video showing the fatal shooting of a deranged man who threatened to kill an officer with a samurai sword.
The suspect, 40-year-old Justin Charland, died at a hospital shortly after.
Police said they were called to the scene around 10:30 a.m. that day for a report of a man yelling at neighbors and talking to himself. When Officer Vincen Segura and his partner arrived, they found a visibly upset Charland standing at the top of an outdoor staircase, holding a 34-inch sword and screaming profanities at his neighbors, the footage shows.
Segura began talking with Charland from a distance and repeatedly tried to calm him down, but the man kept yelling and then advanced toward the officers, according to the video.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LX5Wd6DER_A
The 27-year-old cop warned him multiple times to stay away and drop his weapon.
“Don’t come at me with that, Justin,” Segura said. “Come on, man. You don’t want to do that.”
But Charland ignored the officer’s pleas and continued walking aggressively toward the two cops, telling them at one point that he was a ninja and was going to kill them, Assistant Sheriff Brett Zimmerman told reporters at a news conference Friday.
When the man lunged toward Segura with the sword, the officer fired three shots from his firearm, Zimmerman said.
The two officers provided first aid to Charland until an ambulance arrived, but the man was pronounced dead later that day, according to police.
Zimmerman said Charland was known to police for previous incidents that involved mental health issues. The suspect had also been charged in the past with assault and resisting arrest with a deadly weapon, the assistant chief said.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said it was conducting an internal investigation into the shooting and the findings would be forwarded to the Clark County District Attorney’s Office.