Henderson police: Man held knife toward officers, asked to be shot

A man killed by Henderson police last month allegedly trespassed into an apartment where his ex-girlfriend lived, cut himself in front of two children and walked toward officers holding a kitchen knife, asking to be shot, according to a police video released Tuesday.

The man, later identified as Lazaro Enriquez, 26, died in the police shooting in the parking lot of a large apartment complex on the 2300 block of Green Valley Parkway near Warm Springs Road after a call about a family disturbance at 9:20 p.m. on Oct. 27, police said.

The 14-minute video, including body-camera footage and narration by Henderson Police Department officials, started with an audio recording of a dispatcher talking to a caller, a resident of the apartment who reported that children were inside.

He said a friend of his living there was Enriquez’s former girlfriend, based on the video.

The 911 caller, who was driving to the scene, contacted police from his mobile phone to say he received a text message stating that Enriquez had entered the apartment, thrown things around inside and cut himself with a knife in front of the kids, according to the video.

“My friend who stays at my house, her ex keeps coming, and I’ve already asked her, had him trespassed before,” said the caller, who was not identified by police.

“He broke in, slashed my car, had cops come, they detain him, saying he was going to kill himself,” the man said.

The man said he and his friend had left the children in the apartment with his friend’s niece, designated to take care of them, but that Enriquez had somehow entered the residence.

The dispatcher told him not to endanger himself and asked if he was armed, to which the caller replied, “No.”

“My friend is running to the house now,” the man then said. “He came, he came and I told him he’s not allowed in the house, and now he’s back in the house.”

The video then shifts to audio of police traffic, with the dispatcher saying that the caller had reported that Enriquez was vandalizing the apartment and that the two children inside were 5 and 6.

A dispatcher informed police that “he’s done something like this before. We do have a prior 405A (police code for threatening suicide)” and “the male’s known to use 408 (alcohol) and 446 (narcotics) but unknown what type.”

Enriquez, holding a blue-and-white-bladed kitchen knife in his right hand, is seen on video walking toward a police officer, who is telling him to drop the weapon and, “You don’t want to do this,” to which Enriquez is heard responding, “Yes, I do,” and “Shoot me.”

Deputy Police Chief Itzhak Henn, who narrated part of the video, said that at that point, five officers arrived at the scene and continued to demand that Enriquez drop the knife. One officer deployed a stun gun, but it had no effect. At the same time, another officer activated a stun gun, two officers fired their handguns, and Enriquez fell forward onto the ground.

The video then shows officers trying to provide medical aid to Enriquez, who later died at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center.

Those who fired shots that struck Enriquez in Henderson’s third fatal police shooting this year were identified as officers James Schulke and Nicole Ciotti.

If you’re thinking about suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, help is available 24/7 by calling or texting the Lifeline network at 988. Live chat is available at 988lifeline.org.

Contact Jeff Burbank at jburbank@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0382. Follow him @JeffBurbank2 on X.