Raw Bodycam Footage of Sparks PD Shoot Out that Left 4 Officers Shot and the Suspect Dead.

On March 29, 2024, at approximately 1300 hours, Sparks Police Officer conducted a traffic stop on a Ford expedition with no license plate. The officer attempted to make contact with driver however the driver immediately produced a firearm and fired at the officer through driver side window, striking the officer. The officer sustained multiple injuries as a result of suspect actions. The officer fired his firearm at the suspect. The suspect fled the scene eastbound in a Ford Expedition. The suspect ran a stop sign at an intersection and collided with another vehicle which was traveling southbound, disabling the Expedition. The suspect exited his vehicle and fled on foot.

At approximately 1340 hours, Sparks PD Emergency Dispatch received a 911 call stating a black male adult forcibly entered an occupied residence. The caller advised, she had been cooking in the kitchen when the suspect entered her residence with a firearm. The victim reported she used a knife she was holding to protect her and her children by cutting the suspect who then fled out of the back of the residence.

As officers and deputies from multiple agencies began setting up a perimeter, a shelter in place order was given to the residence in the immediate area due to the threat the suspect posed to the community.

Officers from the Sparks PD, Reno PD, and Washoe County Sheriff’s Office began conducting a door to door search for the suspect. The investigation later revealed during this time, the suspect had entered another residence and taken that female occupant hostage. At approximately 1400 hours, officers contacted that female who was attempting to leave the area in a vehicle. The female driver was advised by the officers that there was a shelter in place order and was told to go back inside. The female then drove into her garage and closed the door. The officer later learned the female driver had been taken hostage by the suspect and he had forced her to drive out of the search area while he hid in the rear passenger compartment of the vehicle.

As officers continued their search, they contacted the same residence to ensure the suspect was not inside the house. A Washoe County deputy made contact with the female occupant who was later determined to be the kidnapped victim who had previously attempted to driver out of the search area. As the deputy made contact with this victim, she was first observed laying on the floor near the doorway. As the deputy identified himself as the police, the suspect began firing from inside the residence, sticking the Washoe County deputy and another sparks police officer. Officers returned fire and dragged the victim from the house to safety. While the suspect continued to fire from inside the residence, officers from both the Sparks Police Department and Reno Police Department discharged their firearms toward the suspect.

A female called 911 at approximately 1415 hours, stating she was hiding in her bathroom, after the suspect had broken into her home.

Crisis negotiators and SWAT teams from the Sparks Police Department, Reno Police Department and Washoe County Sheriff’s Office responded and began to attempt to resolve the situation without furtherer incident. For approximately 5 hours, the crisis negotiators and SWAT teams used tactics to encourage the suspect to surrender peacefully. However the suspect did not respond. At approximately 1930 hours, Sparks Police SWAT Operators entered the garage of the residence. The suspect who had been hiding began firing at the officers, striking one of the officers service weapons. At that time, SWAT operators discharged their firearms toward the suspect as they retreated from the garage.

This was the suspect’s third ambush attack on the officers, each ambush resulting in the officers being struck by his gunfire. Due to these ambush attacks on the officers and the suspect’s unwillingness to communicate or surrender. He continued to pose an imminent threat to the officer for approximately the next two and half hours. During this time, officers continued to utilizes communication from crisis negotiators and used SWAT tactics to attempt to resolve the incident. The suspect did not respond to this further attempts. Believing the suspect may have been injured during the incident, the Sparks SWAT team escorted the TEMS medics to the garage where the suspect was last seen. The suspect was located and ultimately pronounced deceased on scene. The officers who sustained injuries during this incident were transported to a local hospital, and treated for their injuries and released.