Three LVMPD officers fire 17 handgun rounds, killing knife-wielding suspect on a welfare check
By: Assistant Sheriff Sasha Larkin said the call started as a missing person's case in the middle of the night. Police arrived to a home in the east/southeast command area just before 3 a.m. on November 25 and confirmed with the family that a kitchen knife was missing.
Family members informed police that the 51-year-old Robert Pitcher was grieving the loss of his son who died of an overdose in October, stating Pitcher expressed wanting to go be with his recently deceased son.
Pitcher was found armed with the fixed blade knife outside the home. LVMPD says officers then worked to create distance and engage low-lethal options to deescalate, acknowledging that their taser attempts were unsuccessful.
According to LVMPD, due to the circumstance of Pitcher being suicidal, in a residential neighborhood, and armed with a knife, officers began deploying low-lethal rounds at Pitcher to get him to drop the knife.
After commands from officers to drop his weapon, Pitcher is seen on body cam footage moving toward the group of officers with a knife still in his hand.
Three officers ultimately fired 18 low-lethal rounds and 17 handgun rounds, killing Pitcher. LVMPD reports officers rendered immediate medical care awaiting additional medical assistance.
Had he survived, LVMPD representatives say he would have been charged with the following crimes resulting from the incident:
3 counts of attempted murder with a deadly weapon on a protected person
3 counts of assault with a deadly weapon on a protected person
1 count of resisting with a weapon