Five Las Vegas officers earn national honor

Five police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a gunman at a Las Vegas Walmart will be honored next week in Washington, D.C.

The Metropolitan Police Department officers - John Abel, Michael Ramirez, Corey Staheli, Beaumont Hopson and David Williams - will be presented with the prestigious national TOP COPS award Monday by the National Association of Police Organizations.

The officers shot and killed felon Marc Hull, 25, after he shot Ramirez several times in the left arm and once in the chest in the early morning shooting Sept. 9 at a Walmart SuperCenter on Rainbow Boulevard, near Spring Mountain Road.

Ramirez was saved only by a bulletproof vest, police said. He has recovered from his injuries.

"This should be a reminder to us all that policing is a dangerous job," Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie said the morning of the shooting.

Abel, Hopson and Staheli returned fire, killing Hull.

The officers had been investigating a routine fraud call about a couple trying to make a large purchase with a dead man's credit card, police said. As the officers approached the couple, Hull pulled a handgun from his waistband and began firing.

Police later discovered that Hull had a lengthy criminal history and had a tattoo on his back depicting a "thug" placing a police officer in a choke hold and putting a gun to his head.

"The incident shows just how quickly a routine call can turn into a life-or-death situation," police wrote in a statement announcing the award.

The TOP COPS election process vets hundreds of nominations from all 50 states. Officers from the top 10 cases were selected.

Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283.