Fatal shooting was veteran officer’s second

The fatal officer-involved shooting in Henderson last week was the second for a 10-year veteran of the city's police department.

Officer James Tetzlaff also shot and killed a man in 2001 in an incident that was similar to Wednesday's shooting in a Henderson Walgreens parking lot.

Fatal officer-involved shootings in Henderson are rare. In between Tetzlaff's shootings in 2001 and last week, Henderson police officers shot somebody eight times. Some of those ended in a suspect's death.

In late June 2001, Tetzlaff pulled over 55-year-old Bernardo Ancheta Caberto for running a red light on Green Valley Parkway, just south of the Las Vegas Beltway.

Tetzlaff later testified during a coroner's inquest that Caberto was agitated throughout the traffic stop. After demanding his identification back, Caberto raced back to his pickup.

Tetzlaff grabbed his arm, but Caberto spun around and threw an errant punch before reaching into his truck and pulling a knife, police said. As Caberto came at the officer, Tetzlaff backed away and ordered him to drop the weapon.

When Caberto started charging at him, Tetzlaff shot him twice, police said. Caberto was pronounced dead at the scene.

The seven-member coroner's inquest jury found the shooting justified.

The man shot and killed by Tetzlaff on Wednesday was 53-year-old Glenn Jeffrey Spyers, of Las Vegas. Also involved in the incident was officer Travis Roundy, a 13-year veteran of the department.

Police initially spotted Spyers getting into a blue Ford Mustang convertible in the desert near Foothills and Equestrian drives about 10:35 a.m. The officers followed him and ran a check on the license plate. They discovered that the car had been reported stolen in Las Vegas in September.

The officers pulled Spyers over, and the two vehicles turned into a Walgreens parking lot on Racetrack Road at Boulder Highway.

Police said that's when Spyers got out of the car and walked toward the officers holding a handgun. He didn't put the gun down after officers ordered him to, and Tetzlaff opened fire, police said.

Spyers was taken to St. Rose Dominican Hospital, de Lima campus, where he died of multiple gunshot wounds.

Both officers have been placed on routine paid administrative leave.

The officer-involved shooting was the first this year for the department.

Contact reporter Lawrence Mower at lmower@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0440.