Former police officer acquitted in fatal crash

A Clark County jury took less than an hour to find former Las Vegas police officer Aron Carpenter not guilty of felony charges related to a May 2010 police pursuit that left one person dead and another injured.

Tears welled up in Carpenter's eyes after the verdict was read Tuesday. He gave his attorney, Bret Whipple, a bear hug and then embraced his wife, Ingrid.

"The nightmare that I've had to live for the last year and two months has finally come to an end," Carpenter said outside Judge Elissa Cadish's courtroom. "I stood up (for) the truth. I never wavered. I know what happened out there. They (the Metropolitan Police Department) misconstrued what they misconstrued."

Prosecutors alleged Carpenter disobeyed orders to end the pursuit of Ivan Carrillo, followed Carrillo at 60 mph and bumped his car, triggering a three-vehicle crash.

Carpenter was acquitted of two counts of felony reckless driving.

Prosecutors quickly left after the verdict was read and declined to comment.

When Carpenter was asked whether he would like to go back to work for the Police Department after so many officers testified against him at the trial, he said, "Yes, I want to go back to work."

Carpenter, 30, was fired in March but is taking his case to arbitration, where he will be represented by a police union lawyer. The arbitration hearing is set for Aug. 29, Carpenter said.

He added that he wants to return to police work, whether it's "here or anywhere else."

Carpenter said department administrators told him after the incident that if he changed his story and said he was performing a PIT -- Precision Intervention Technique -- maneuver at the time of the crash, he would be fired and then face a coroner's inquest. If he stood by his story, they would press charges in criminal court.

Carpenter said he told the administration, "I guess we're going criminal, because I'm not changing my story. I would never change my story."

Carpenter reiterated, "It was never a PIT. I had no intention of being that close to him."

The department's officers are trained to use PIT to disable cars. At speeds above 40 mph, applying the technique can be considered deadly force.

The chase last year began about 10:20 p.m. May 19 after police received a report of a possible drunken driver on the east side of the valley. Carrillo was high on methamphetamine and was weaving in and out of traffic.

After Carrillo refused to pull over, Carpenter and officer Andrew Charles Ubbens, who were in separate cars, followed the suspect's vehicle north on Nellis and Las Vegas boulevards. The two officers were ordered three times to end the chase. At one point, Ubbens attempted a PIT, which failed to stop Carrillo.

Carpenter, who testified Monday in his own defense, told the jury that he was not, according to his training, in "pursuit" because he was driving within the 45 mph speed limit with his lights and sirens off.

Carpenter said he continued to "travel behind" Carrillo because he believed Carrillo was a danger to others. Carpenter pointed to two specific incidents in which Carrillo appeared to be out of control and about to crash.

After Ubbens' PIT attempt failed, Carpenter said, Carrillo slowed down and entered the lane occupied by his police cruiser.

Whether the two vehicles touched was disputed during trial, but a moment after, Carrillo's vehicle changed direction and headed into oncoming traffic, causing the collision.

During closing arguments, Whipple said his client was not guilty because it was Carrillo who caused the crash. "The sole cause was the suspect veering into my client's lane," Whipple said.

Carpenter wasn't trying to hurt anyone, Whipple said. " He was an officer who was doing his job to the best of his ability."

Prosecutor Lawrence O'Neale reminded the jury that analysis of the crash suggested Carpenter was driving over the speed limit at 62 mph at the time. O'Neale said that if Carrillo was at fault for entering Carpenter's lane, the officer was at fault for driving above the speed limit and not backing away from the pursuit.

O'Neale suggested that Carpenter got "caught up in the moment" and was a "young tough cop" who couldn't let Carrillo get away.

O'Neale said it was Carpenter chasing Carrillo that made him drive erratically, though the chase began after 911 was called about a possible drunken driver.

Meanwhile, Ubbens in January pleaded no contest to failure to use due care, a misdemeanor.

He was ordered to pay a $500 fine and perform 50 hours of community service.

Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@ reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.