Las Vegas NowWitness: Las Vegas Officer Shot Man in the Back

Witness: Las Vegas Officer Shot Man in the Back

A witness said she saw a Las Vegas police motorcycle officer shoot a man in the back as he ran away during a traffic stop, a newspaper reported.

Police Officer Jacinto Rivera, a department spokesman, said a gun was found after the fleeing man was wounded Thursday afternoon in the northwest part of the city.

Rivera declined to respond Friday to the Las Vegas Review-Journal report quoting 19-year-old Brandi Burks' account, but said investigators want to speak with any witnesses of the shooting.

The wounded man was hospitalized with arm and torso wounds that Rivera described as not life-threatening. He has not been identified, and his condition was not made public Friday.

The officer was put on paid leave pending a review of the shooting. His identity was being withheld for 48 hours under department policy.

Police Capt. Randy Montandon said the shooting happened after the officer stopped a silver Pontiac rental car for making an illegal turn and several unsafe lane changes.

The driver was sought on a warrant for misdemeanor violations and scuffled with the officer who tried unsuccessfully to use a Taser stun gun before the man ran away, Montandon said.

Burks told the Review-Journal the man kept grabbing his pants, as if to hold them up, while running. She said she did not see a gun, and did not see the officer fire a Taser before the man was shot.

"They shot him in the back," she said.

Montandon said the man ignored orders to stop and pulled a handgun from his right front pants pocket before he was wounded several times.

Montandon said the officer also saw the suspect attempt to pull a large folding knife from his pocket. Rivera said he did not know if a knife was recovered at the scene.

Las Vegas police said Thursday's shooting was the 16th officer-involved shooting this year. There were 14 in 2008.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)