Las Vegas Metro Police are under scrutiny following the fatal officer-involved shooting of 42-year-old Kyle Norris on Friday, September 20, at an apartment complex located on Rawhide Street near Nellis Boulevard and Russell Road.
The incident unfolded after officers responded to reports of a man pulling on vehicle door handles and threatening residents. Family members of Norris, who was going through a mental health crisis, are now questioning the police’s use of force.
Metro police said Norris, identified as Kyle Norris by some sources and Kyle Williams by others, was visiting someone at the apartment complex when witnesses saw him attempting to open multiple car doors in the parking lot.
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Officers were called to the scene and attempted to de-escalate the situation after Norris reportedly retrieved a baseball bat from a vehicle.
Despite officers deploying tasers to subdue him, Norris continued to approach the officers, leading 21-year-old Officer Samuel Garcia to open fire.
Norris was pronounced dead at the scene.
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In a statement to the press, Capt. Kurt Mackenzie of the Las Vegas Metro Police Department provided further details about the incident. “He walked to the passenger side of the vehicle and retrieved a metal aluminum baseball bat, which he then turned towards officers. Almost simultaneously, officers deployed an electric control device, which we know as an ECD, a less-lethal option which was ineffective.”
According to Mackenzie, Norris ignored repeated commands to stop, prompting the officers to use all the tools at their disposal before the fatal shooting occurred.
No officers or residents were injured during the confrontation.
Family members of Norris, including his husband Jefferey Williams, spoke to 8 News Now about Kyle’s ongoing mental health struggles.
According to Jefferey, Kyle had been suffering from extreme paranoia, and he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
Jefferey revealed that Kyle had stopped taking his medication two months prior and had left their home several days before the fatal encounter with the police.
“He thought everybody was out to get him. He thought that I was an orchestrator of everything that was happening to him,” Jefferey said tearfully.
He expressed frustration with the outcome, stating, “He needed help. Plain and simple. Why shoot my Goddamn husband?”
Jefferey also voiced concerns that the police could have used another non-lethal measure to handle the situation.
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He said he holds the officers responsible for his husband’s death and questioned why more appropriate steps were not taken to address Kyle’s mental health crisis.
Norris, a member of the Navajo and Cherokee nations, had moved to Las Vegas with Jefferey two years ago from Maricopa County, Arizona, in search of a better life.
Jefferey described his husband as “the best man I’ve ever known, the kindest man.”
This incident marks the ninth time in 2024 that a Las Vegas Metro Police officer has discharged their weapon in the line of duty.
Officer Garcia, who fired the fatal shot, has been placed on routine paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation.
The Las Vegas Metro Police Department is expected to release body camera footage of the shooting, which could provide additional clarity on the sequence of events.
As the investigation continues, the incident has reignited discussions about law enforcement’s response to individuals in the midst of mental health crises and the use of force in such situations.
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At some point, family will have to accept that it was a matter of time before he ran into a lead curtain of his own choosing, regardless of this ubiquitous “mental health crisis” thing we used to call bad behavior. And the presence of a mental health consultant would not have changed a thing. They tasered him, and he kept coming.
Follow the commands and life goes on!!!! Your choice.
Sorry, not sorry, if you approach police with a bat, expect to get put down. Plain and simple. Comply and you won’t die!
“His husband” says all I need to know.
Another mentally confused gay person, this time, attacking police officers with a bat, and it’s the polices fault?
The moron definitely asked for what he got
The “people” interviewed sounded and looked like libtard Californians.
NOTE TO MSM… There isn’t any victim when no innocents get hurt nor any property damage, EVEN THOUGH AND JUSTLY SO the only one that gets shot is a thug.
If anyone is a victim in the USA… it is the law abiding, legal, working taxpaying citizen that have to live in this mentally retarded leftist socialist society.
How would the officers know is was mentally ill?
Hmnn…Was the guy wearing a badge or name tag that said “I am in a mental & emotional crisis, I haven’t taken my meds, and need help”? Otherwise, how would the officers know? Mental health crisis or not, you go after a police officer with a bat, you’re going to get shot. This family should have been helping him, not the police. And RIP, I think the police did take care of him.