NHP IDs trooper who fatally shot man during traffic stop
The Nevada Highway Patrol trooper who fatally shot a man during a traffic stop last week has been identified as Shawn Peckham.
Peckham is a three-year veteran of the department, NHP said Wednesday.
The trooper pulled over a white Cadillac sedan for an improper license plate display early Friday morning, just after midnight, on Boulder Highway near U.S. Highway 95.
About five minutes into the stop, after Peckham got into his patrol car to do a records check on the people in the car, a man in the back seat exited the Cadillac and ran from the area into the parking lot of 4080 S. Boulder Highway.
Peckham positioned himself behind his patrol vehicle and ordered the man to stop, but the man turned and fired at the trooper, striking him on the badge, NHP said. Peckham, who was not injured, returned fire.
The man, identified as Matthew Gibbon, 41, died at the scene.
The woman driving and a man in the front seat stayed in the vehicle and were released after being interviewed. The shooting was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department.
NHP is holding a briefing on the incident Thursday morning.
Contact Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0391. Find @WesJuhl on Twitter.
