Police officer involved in Sunday incident identified

Las Vegas police identified the officer involved in Sunday’s shooting of a knife-wielding man as a 37-year-old officer with 12 years of experience in the department.

Officer Shalley D. Dowdy fired one round at 37-year-old Julio Cesar Velazquez early Sunday morning at a home on the 4500 block of Swandale Avenue, near Boulder Highway and Lamb Boulevard, police said.

Police were called to the home to respond to a report of a man with a knife threatening to harm his roommate and kill himself.

Police found Velazquez in front of the residence, where he refused orders to drop the weapons and surrender. He placed the knife to his throat, police said.

Velazquez then tried to enter the residence where his elderly roommate was, Dowdy fired his weapon, police said. Velazquez was taken into custody and transported to Sunrise Trauma Center, where he is expected to survive.