Man shot, hospitalized after ‘suicide by cop’ attempt

A depressed Henderson man, who was shot three times by an officer, "generated a call" to police late Wednesday with the intention of committing suicide by cop, Las Vegas police said Thursday.

According to police, the man, 40-year-old Francisco Aguila Canez, was despondent because of problems at his job and a rapidly deteriorating financial situation.

Police said they suspect Canez had called 911 and left the line open in order to lure officers to him at the 3400 block of E. Flamingo Road, near Pecos Road.

Officers responded to the office building on a "unknown trouble call" about 9:12 p.m.

When an officer confronted Canez, he was concealing an object behind his leg, police said. He then pointed the object at an officer in a threatening manner and verbally refused orders to drop the object.

That's when the unidentified officer fired several times at Canez. Police said Canez was holding binoculars that had been broken apart and reassembled with duct tape to look like a handgun.

Barbara Morgan, a spokeswoman with the Metropolitan Police Department, said the shooting occurred near a pickup in a parking lot.

The name of the officer who shot Canez will be released 48 hours after the shooting, per department policy. The officer has been placed on routine paid administrative leave.

Canez was listed in fair condition at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center on Thursday night. Police said charges against Canez are pending.

A phone call went unanswered late Thursday at what might have been Canez's home.

Morgan said when an officer is involved in a shooting in which a person survives his or her injuries, the officer's actions during the shooting are investigated internally in a process called the use of force board.

The board is made up of four civilians with no ties to Las Vegas police and three members of the department. They include an at-large captain who does not supervise the officer, the training captain and a peer of the same rank who does not work with the officer.

The four citizens are randomly selected from a pool of people trained to be on the board.

The board can recommend discipline against an officer if it finds the officer violated department policy. The discipline recommendations can range from written reprimand to termination. The process is not open to the public.

Wednesday's incident marked the 19th officer-involved shooting of the year for Las Vegas police.

Contact Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.