Henderson Police Address Fatal Officer Involved Shooting
Posted on Thursday, February 21st, 2008 at 7:24 pm | Leave a Comment
By: Las Vegas Now Staff
By: Las Vegas Now Staff
It's been more than a week since Henderson Police shot and killed a woman they say was threatening them with a knife.
Officers had called her to the scene after pulling over her husband, Zyber Selimaj, for running a stop sign.
Henderson Police are holding a news conference to talk about the shooting.
Eyewitness News Reporter Aaron Drawhorn will have the latest tonight at 5 & 6.
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This is murder by out of control police and demands action to remove the Chief and Officers involved as well as the Mayor for a Failure in leadership.
Comment by Dr Tom — February 22, 2008 @ 6:36 am
Believe me this cop who shot the ice cream lady will regret this for his entire life. He was to young, green and scared to not do anything else besides kill the poor lady. Any veteran cop would tell you that he would much rather tackle her down then shot the lady and have to live with that guilt for the rest of his or her life. Lets face it, your a trained cop, a knife weilding ice cream woman isnt going to do much to you or her kids. This is what heppens when you have 23 year old testosterone driven cops.
Comment by willis — February 22, 2008 @ 7:08 am
It seems police are taking the easy way out these days. They could have tased her instead, or shoot her in the leg. They didn’t have to kill her, especially in front of her kids. There were two officers there, they could have done something other than kill her. There has been TOO many shootings of this kind, LV is getting a reputation. I think cops don’t want to deal with anybody lately they just want to kill and get it over with. The hell with the lifes they ruin forever.
Comment by Gloria G. — February 22, 2008 @ 9:53 am
I find it personally interesting that alot of these “Foriegn Nationalist” imports of ours moving to Las Vegas which is a Cultural Melting pot town within a melting pot Country,…Say and try to get away with things that they know damn well would`nt even get an iota of thought or response in their Country of origin,…….
(give an inch,..they`d rather have a foot,..give em a foot and its a mile they REALLY want,..need I go on?)
* sung to the back drop song “We are the Children”…
Comment by David — February 22, 2008 @ 10:09 am
Willis,What the heck?
“Lets face it,your a trained cop,a knife weilding ice cream woman isnt going to do much to you or her Kids?
Are you for real,or just trying to stir up crap.
Willis,you were not there.
Willis,a knife is just as dangerous aa a firearm.
A sharp knife will inflict as much damage or even more into a person’s body. A knife injury will cut tendons,nerves,and veins. A knife wound will bleed more than a firearm wound.
I have not seen any accounts on the news or in the paper where there was a taser available to the officers.
A person,(man or woman) with a edge weapon (knife,scapel,or machete)makes a threat,and you will tell them to come at you? Good Luck..
I want our police officers to protect themselves. Why would “anyone” in there right mind,pull out a knife on two uniform police officers?
If the police have a reputation as Gloria G. says of just killing someone to get it over with. Why would this woman pull out a knife.
The old saying dont bring a knife to a gun fight.
Comment by Mike — February 22, 2008 @ 11:06 am
The police are doing what they have to do. The woman had a knife. She was a danger to herself, the children, and the police. We do not need another Officer Prendez.
Comment by Diane K — February 22, 2008 @ 12:05 pm
I am sorry that this happened but I can tell you (based on my experience working EMS and along side the Police Depts.) if you are going to threaten a police officer either verbally or physically then you run the risk of getting injured or even being shot. For the most part, if you treat them w/respect and dignity then they will do the same. The police in this valley are dealing with the scum of the earth day in and day out. There are alot of unanswered questions regarding this incident like: Why did this lady go nuts over her husband being stopped for a traffic violations? Why did she threaten the police officers? Why were her kids with her while she was working? Why would you act this way in front of your kids? I am glad to see that this incident is under investigation. Hopefully, we will get some answers to these questions and why this happened the way it did.
Comment by tony — February 22, 2008 @ 4:58 pm
This cop and the Chief needs to have a, two by four, shoved up their butts for allowing this to occurr.
This is plain out rite MURDER by cops and reflects all police behivior in this country. Henderson is a bad place to live. The Mayor has done NOTHING to investigate. Since the cops make up the report and have access to the scene, we expect that they planted the knife and made up the report to place blame on the mother. They even restricted the air space over the area to cover it all up. Itrs the cops versus a dead body. Who will the Inquest believe? Planted evidance and doctored up police reports.
The citizens should not trust any Henderson cop. They are liers killers and abusers.
This EXECUTION should be making Henderson residents sick and take up arms to stop this TERRORISM.
Comment by JJ — February 28, 2008 @ 1:04 pm
Honestly, they should have tried to use a taser or some other force first, but if the broad is coming at him with a blade, pop one in her. If she is posing a threat to you, then you need to look out for yourself first, it all comes down to being her fault, if she would have acted as a normal person and just talked to the cops, there would be a much better ending, Punishment wise, maybe they should put him on probation with classes on Taking Down Suspects WITHOUT The Use Of A Handgun, but like i said, if some crazy woman had a blade, do what you gotta do!
Comment by Kyle — March 8, 2008 @ 8:29 am
1. We need to take away the guns from the cops. They can’t be trusted to use them appropriately.
2. We need to prosecute Morrison to the full extent of the law.
3. People are not going to sit back and let cops gun people down. Especially women, especially mothers in front of their children!!
4. I don’t think its a matter of liberal or conservative thinking. Its a matter of whether or not a cop has the mental makeup to be a cop.
5. I understand being a cop is a scary job. There are bad guys out there somewhere. I don’t think that is the issue here.
6. If the cops only way of dealing with a wacko woman with a knife is to shoot her I think they need to find another line of work.
7. The citizens need to beware and take this seriously. the citizens need to make sure this cop is brought to justice.
8.I can’t remember who said this but it is so true “When the police become the militia, the community becomes the enemy”
Comment by Robert — March 11, 2008 @ 3:14 pm
Why didn’t the taser work? Why have a Coroners Inquest in the 20 plus years I have been here the outcome has always been the same. Even when 2 Police Officers shoot someone in the back, and tell Two different versions at the Inquest on live TV, and still the are found justified.
Comment by drr — March 11, 2008 @ 3:44 pm
Kyle ever had to carry a gun for a living? It not easy to “pop one in her”
Comment by drr — March 11, 2008 @ 3:46 pm
Seriously, as tempting as it is to find someone else to blame, one must consider that this person did approach a group of people with guns, holding a knife. Now, common sense would tell most of us that this is a rather bad idea. She chose under her own free will to make this bad decision. It is not the responsibility of society to go to extreme measures to protect people from their own poor decisions. You must take some responsibility for your own choices. If you go through life like a fool always thinking everyone else is going to always do the right thing, or take care of the problem then it’s probably only a matter of time until you get into trouble.
Comment by MIke — March 11, 2008 @ 4:07 pm
How about someone ask about the kids? Screw the mistakes the foolish cop made and the foolish mother. How are the children in this matter. Do you ever stop to think about the children? You all would rather bicker about who’s right and who’s wrong. The children did nothing… why don’t you fight FOR them?
Comment by Min — March 11, 2008 @ 5:01 pm
I have lived in henderson for 15 years now. I see cops all the time drive by my subdivision. They are all young and might be out of Iraq. Crewcuts and all. I support our troops over seas but when they come back home and become a police officer, i think they take the law above and beyond because in Iraq, your are trained to shoot and kill to survive. I have had a brush of the law and the cop lied right on the stand. Good thing i had witnesses. Mom always taught me never to lie. I am not sure about being in the police academy. Seems like they all seem to lie to save there neck and make that good arrest or kill some one and then cover it up becasue they are the police. im sure they are some good cops out there but i would be afraid to be pulled over anywhere in Las Vegas area by a young cop. I hope this cop goes down because if she was on the ground, that is Murder. Wonder what ever happened to Offiver Friendly when i was in school. People might be smart to by body armor to drive around town now. People might have a chance to live in a traffic stop. I hate the police. They tried to ruin my life but when you lie you usually get caught.
Comment by Robert — March 11, 2008 @ 7:03 pm
I never realized until I read some of these coments that I live among such idiots. None of you were present at the scene, but suudenly everyone seems to be an expert. Here is what I do know: an armed and trained Police Officer should never have to shoot and kill anyone unless his/her life is definately in danger. In DANGER!I think we can all agree that some middle aged woman with a pen knife ( if she even had one at all ) is no REAL threat. If an officer can’t back away ( apparently not in their f***ing training manual!! ) and get out of the path of a middle aged woman with a knife, then maybe they need to find another line of work, say Domino’s Pizza Delivery?
How hard can it be to crack someone like this woman upside her head or take away the knife if necessary. Why shoot to kill her? Why?
The shooting was obviously done by some pumped up, young and inexperienced Police officer. No excuse, we are not buying it. I say the Officer needs to lose his job and be prosecuted for unjustified Homocide. The People
of Henderson want Justice, not lies and cover up.
Comment by Barry — March 11, 2008 @ 9:26 pm
Honestly, being a young woman and having a small child… I would hope I wouldn’t have to grab body armor-not only for myself but maybe even my child. This is no longer a “safe city” maybe back in the day. Probably before my time, when the police were actually respected and NOT FEARED. I agree w/ both Robert and drr, to be “professionally trained” there were so many other alternatives to this situation, instead of killing this woman. Then the children wouldn’t be with out a mother in its entirety, maybe it could have been only for a couple of months or so.
Comment by Liss — March 12, 2008 @ 6:02 am
I really love how people try to rationalize and justify abhorrent behavior because somebody has a tough job.
A 22-year old is the perfect killing machine in a war zone, but they lack the maturity to make quick decisions that will affect a civilian forever, because they lack experience. Sure, there’s scum of the earth out there, but guess what? There’s A LOT MORE normal FREE CITIZENS out there that have the probability of having overwhelming power excercised over them at a whim because some mook can’t handle their emotions on the job.
Ever watch a raid on one of those TV shows that glorify the police state? Imagine it’s YOU in YOUR HOME getting mistakenly raided because of bad police terror tactics. A dozen different armed thugs barking a dozen DIFFERENT instructions at you and your terrified loved ones.
Don’t you wonder what it is about a person that actually WANTS to weild so much power over another human being?
Comment by dwc — March 12, 2008 @ 10:26 am
my homeboy wus tha one who wus shot in tha bacc by police here dis is not justified jus lik dat wuznt my homeboy wus shot whil he had handcuffs on he woodnt of got far now tha police killa a motha in 2006 thur wuz 36 OIS by metro alone makez ya think huh
Comment by notown69 — March 13, 2008 @ 7:41 am
Has anyone on here ever heard of spell check??? It is homicide, not homocide, and wield not weild. I could go on and on. People that complain about the cops on here show the extent of their education by their horrible grammar, spelling and punctuation. Educate yourselves and you might actually learn and understand that the police are not the enemy. If you are breaking the law then you must be willing to suffer the consequences including being shot by the police for your stupidity. I feel horrible for the children to have witnessed that but cops are not trained to shoot in the leg, they are trained to stop the threat and to always hit the target center mass…I guess you all think its a shame she didn’t get shot by an officer who is a bad aim…she might have lived, however, the officer did what he had to do not only to protect himself but the children, her husband and the other officers too. I heard she was holding one of the kids against her at one point with the knife to the kids throat…what a great role model for those kids. She was whacked out on something to freak out on the officers and pull a knife on the police. It is her fault plain and simple and the cop was just doing his JOB.
Comment by SS — March 13, 2008 @ 11:00 am
Look up “Face to Face Conflicting Evidence?” and watch the half hour show, it’s on the web, from channel 8 affiliate Las Vegas 1, and then see if you should have questions about this unfortunate incident. They talk about the police departments changing stories that they can’t even keep the same amongst themselves. They also talk about how their independent autopsy will prove that Mrs. Selimaj was on the ground when she was shot and how civilian eyewitness accounts differ from the police version. SAD.
Comment by Concerned — March 16, 2008 @ 8:50 am
I have always given full and caring respect for all persons in law enforcement. I have donated when and a amount which I could afford but after this horrific event, I will no longer donate to the Union or pension funds. I still respect the police officers with the exception of the radical and uncompassionate way the Henderson officers acted. My father came from Norway in 1930 and spoke broken english everyday of his life. These people appear to have been targeted to the point of desperation. I intend to avoid the city of Henderson as much as possible. Im afraid I would see a police car and become sad and sick again.
Comment by audrey shiflett — April 12, 2008 @ 4:33 pm
let’s say that a person that had little too much to drink approched me in a parking lot and had a knive in hand and i have a gun with a permit and i tell him or her to stop and did not and saying thing’s i could not understand because he had few drink’s so i shoot the person and kill him would i recive the same treatment this officer got or would my ass be in jail and charge with murder this would mean that everybody could just go about and shoot anydoby are our police not well trained for this incident so why is area police getting away with all this shooting’s one law for them and one for us wher else but in (AMERICA)
Comment by JOHN — April 14, 2008 @ 5:33 pm