Police had prior encounters with man who killed himself in standoff
A 23-year-old man who fatally shot himself after an hourslong standoff with Las Vegas police last year had a history of interaction with officers due to mental health issues, officials said Tuesday.
Metropolitan Police Department Detective Marc Colon, who was in charge of the department’s investigation, answered questions about the death of Jose Hernandez during a fact-finding review Tuesday morning at the Clark County Government Center. The hearings, which the county adopted in 2013, are held when the Clark County district attorney’s office makes a preliminary decision not to pursue criminal charges after a deadly police shooting or in-custody death.
Hernandez died April 18, 2020, after shooting himself during a barricade situation with police in the backyard of a home on the 3600 block of Colton Avenue, near Cheyenne Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard North, police have said. Hernandez’s mother had called police at 10:50 a.m. after Hernandez, who had a gun, damaged her home and threatened her because she did not bring him food, Colon said Tuesday.
Before police arrived at the scene, dispatchers determined Hernandez had two prior contacts with officers that involved mental health issues, Colon said.
In June 2018, Hernandez was booked into the Clark County Detention Center after he threatened to kill his mother, and police took two firearms he had.
In February 2019, Hernandez “stated he wanted the police to shoot him because he wanted to die,” Colon said. It was not discussed at the hearing how that incident ended.
After Hernandez’s mother called police, he left his apartment on the 3200 block of Sandy Lane. Footage from a police helicopter and body-worn camera footage released Tuesday showed officers following Hernandez as he walked down the street and hopped a fence into the backyard of the home on Colton Avenue.
Once he was in the home’s backyard, Hernandez fired two shots into the air from a handgun, Colon said.
Crisis negotiators tried negotiating with Hernandez for nearly five hours. Officer brought him a cell phone, food and water, Colon said.
“Throughout the whole time, he kept a gun to his head,” he said.
At 4:30 p.m., SWAT officers fired low-lethal rounds at Hernandez to try to get him to drop the gun. Police fired foam bullets and pepper balls, which are filled with a powder irritant similar to pepper spray, Colon said.
Hernandez shot himself as police fired the low-lethal rounds, he said. Colon told Terry Jackson, the ombudsman representing the public and Hernandez’s family at the hearing, that the department’s internal investigation was looking into who decided to fire the low-lethal rounds.
No officers fired a gun during the standoff, Colon said.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.
Suicide warning signs
Signs of suicide can include changes in conversation, behavior and mood, according to the American Association of Suicidology.
If a person talks about being a burden to others and feeling trapped; if a person starts acting recklessly or withdrawing from friends, family and activities; if a person starts experiencing rage, anxiety or a loss of interest — reach out to the person or seek help.
For more information, visit suicidology.org/resources/warning-signs.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-8255, provides access to trained telephone counselors, 24/7. The Crisis Text Line is a free, national service available 24/7. Text HOME to 741741.
