IIMSR News
Col. Goren about Las Vegas Police pursuit shootout with suspects
Updated: Feb 11, 2021
A Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officer's body camera that captured him during a shootout with two armed suspects made national headlines this week. At one point during the high-speed pursuit, the video shows the officer firing several rounds through his windshield to get a better shot at his target.
Col. Amir Goren gave an interview fo 8 News NOW spoke about the kind of training police officers go through to face scenarios like this one. The portion of the pursuit released to the media was just over four minutes long, but the video is dramatic as a lot happens during that time. The officer's pursuit plays out like a video game or a Hollywood blockbuster. Taking numerous rounds of fire from the suspects, Officer William Umana drew his pistol, pulled within a few car lengths, and pulled his trigger. Umana catches back up to the SUV, gathers his composure before firing off six more rounds.
8 News NOW drove the pursuit route to try to see things through the Officer Umana's eyes. Imagin being the officer in the driver's seat of his patrol car. You have your sirens and lights blaring. You have vehicles coming from the sides. You have people shooting at you out of their back window just a couple of cars ahead of you. You have innocent bystanders standing by, and you're looking for pedestrians crossing the road. "It's quite, quite difficult," said Col. Amir Goren. He shared that he also has had to return fire from a vehicle but was a passenger at the time. He says focus is key to prevent bystanders from getting hurt.
"You need to take the adrenaline high, and you need to concentrate about the public,"
Col. Goren said.
In all, Officer Umana fired 31 shots. Police says the suspects fired 34 times. One of the suspects died. The other suspect who was the driver of the vehicle during the pursuit was captured at a nearby school. According to Col. Amir Goren, due to the circumstances, Officer Umana performed well. "To hit a moving target, especially since you know, it's a car, during driving, not holding the wheel, and under pressure," said Goren. "I really respect this police officer."
See the whole interview here: