District Attorney: Officers acted lawfully in fatal shooting of Justin Hoey
Henderson police officers involved in the November shooting death of Justin Hoey acted lawfully, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said Tuesday.
“Mr. Hoey repeatedly ignored officers’ commands to drop his weapon, and instead pointed it at the police,” Wolfson said in a statement. “Mr. Hoey showed a blatant disregard for his own life and the lives of those around him.”
Hoey, 36, was shot and killed after a lengthy standoff with Henderson police in the early morning on Nov. 7.
His ex-girlfriend told police Hoey talked about killing himself through suicide by cop.
The night before his death, he broke into her home and stole her car. When she met him in a parking lot to confront him, he rammed her truck with a Jeep and punched her.
A short time later, Hoey pointed a 9mm handgun at her and said he would die that night. He ran away and was confronted by officers shortly afterward near St. Rose Parkway and Eastern Avenue. He continued to run, but fell into a 15-foot embankment adjoining a wash.
A Police Fatality Public Fact-Finding Review, the process that replaced the Clark County coroner’s inquest, was held in June. Wolfson said the report released Tuesday was in conjunction with that review.
Unlike the inquest process, normally only the lead investigator testifies and no firsthand witnesses are called.
Wolfson said the case could be reexamined if new information comes to light.
Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@reviewjournal.com. Follow @blasky on Twitter.
