Officers get praise for poise

Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Doug Gillespie on Monday praised the poise of three officers who were shot Sunday night while serving a narcotics search warrant in Henderson.

Gillespie said the SWAT unit involved in the operation showed restraint by not shooting a suspect who had fired through a door at officers who were trying to enter the house at 2972 Panorama Ridge Drive, near Seven Hills Drive and Sunridge Heights Parkway.

Suspect Emmanuel Dozier, 32, eventually surrendered without police firing a single shot at him while children were in the house.

"Some may say we got lucky last night," Gillespie said. "I'm a firm believer that sound tactics create good luck. In this situation, sound tactics used by our SWAT officers created good luck for three officers."

The incident occurred about 9:30 p.m. Sunday. Police spokesman Jacinto Rivera said all three officers had been released from University Medical Center by Monday afternoon. All three were struck in the thighs by gunfire. One officer also injured his thumb, Rivera said.

A woman who did not want to be identified Monday afternoon ran out of the middle-class Seven Hills home targeted by police to show a neighbor a pink document while repeating: "This shows we don't have drugs in our house."

The tearful woman also told the neighbor that police didn't announce themselves Sunday night.

The woman was hysterical and refused to be interviewed as she loaded a black suitcase into a red sport utility vehicle. She kept repeating "I have to get my kids" as she left with another woman.

A woman who identified herself only as Dozier's girlfriend to KVBC-TV, Channel 3, said Dozier had mistakenly shot at police, whom he believed to be home intruders.

Gillespie questioned the accusation and said SWAT had identified the right residence.

"Based on the information I received, there's nothing to indicate this was not the house in question in regards to the search warrant," Gillespie said. "In a situation like that, we would be identifying ourselves verbally. SWAT police officers are not undercover. They are readily identifiable and partaking in a very dangerous mission."

Dozier is being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center on three counts of attempted murder and three counts of selling cocaine.

He is scheduled to make an initial appearance in court today.

Three children from the residence were taken into protective custody Sunday night, said Christine Skorupski, a spokeswoman with Clark County Family Services.

A neighbor who asked not to be identified said about 40 SWAT officers ran up and down the street Sunday night. She said the family that lives in the house targeted by SWAT officers rents from a California man.

Rivera would not say specifically how many SWAT officers were involved in serving the warrant. He said Las Vegas police have jurisdiction through the entire county and it's not uncommon for the department to conduct operations in other jurisdictions if an investigation begins in Las Vegas.

Shards of glass remained on the porch Monday, and plywood boards covered two sets of windows. A grapefruit-sized hole was visible in the ranch-style home's front door.

Rivera said he didn't know the extent of Dozier's involvement in drugs. The name of the three officers who were injured will be released 48 hours after the incident, per Las Vegas police policy.

Review-Journal reporters Maggie Lillis and Lynnette Curtis contributed to this story. Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.