Clark County holds public review after DA declines prosecution in Henderson officer-involved shooting

William Janssen, the presiding officer appointed by the Clark County manager, opened a public fact‑finding review on June 24, 2023, saying the Clark County District Attorney’s Office had made a preliminary determination not to pursue criminal charges in the June officer‑involved shooting of Steven M. Brucker.

The review assembled evidence from the Henderson Police Department investigation — including body‑worn camera and dashcam video, surveillance from nearby businesses and witness interviews — and gave Josh Tomczak, the ombudsman appointed to represent the public and Brucker’s family, the opportunity to question witnesses.

Detective Rick Christopher of the Henderson Police Department summarized the department’s investigation. He said the incident began after an employee at Terrible Herbst, 220 W. Sunset Road in Henderson, reported an attempted petty larceny shortly before 12:10 a.m. on June 24, 2023. Officers contacted the subject at a nearby northbound bus stop; the subject initially provided a false name but was later identified as Steven M. Brucker, Detective Christopher said.

Detective Christopher said Brucker pulled what officers believed to be a handgun and placed it to his head while at the bus stop, then walked into a dirt lot behind the stop and toward the Desert Sands RV Park at 1940 N. Boulder Highway. "The subject ultimately pointed his handgun in the direction of the officers resulting in the shooting of the decedent identified as Steven Brucker by a HPD officer," Christopher testified. He said the item later was identified as a UMC airsoft gun, model 50‑9056 (.177 caliber). "It does not meet the definition of firearm per NRS. However, it's considered a deadly weapon per NRS," Christopher said.

According to the department timeline presented at the review, officers first contacted the subject at about 12:07 a.m.; the subject drew the replica firearm and held it to his head at about 12:07:27 a.m.; and at about 12:07:36 a.m. an officer discharged three rounds from a duty rifle. Detective Christopher identified the involved officer as Tyler Travers and said Travers’s duty rifle was a department‑issued Colt M4, .223 caliber. Investigators’ count showed three rounds fired; Christopher said two of those rounds struck Brucker.

Witness interviews and multiple body‑worn cameras were played for the panel. Video excerpts shown and described by Detective Christopher captured initial contact at the bus stop, officers’ repeated commands for Brucker to put down the weapon, officers offering to get him a cigarette as part of a de‑escalation attempt, and movement into the RV‑park entrance area as officers tried to contain the scene. Investigators also showed surveillance from Terrible Herbst and from Desert Sands RV Park, and a crime‑scene diagram marking positions and three spent shell casings investigators attributed to the duty rifle.

Detective Christopher said a less‑lethal 40‑millimeter launcher was requested and staged on scene but not fired. He said Henderson Fire Department personnel staged nearby, rendered aid within minutes after the shooting, and transported Brucker to Sunrise Hospital; Sunrise Hospital later pronounced him deceased. Christopher reported that medical examiner Stacy A. Simmons, M.D., conducted an autopsy and listed the cause of death as gunshot wounds and the manner as homicide; toxicology detected amphetamine and methamphetamine.

Tomczak, the ombudsman, questioned Detective Christopher about the sequence of events, identification of Brucker, whether officers believed the item was a firearm, and the availability and use of less‑lethal options. Christopher told the panel dispatch sent a photo used to confirm Brucker’s identity and that officers at the scene believed the replica pistol appeared substantially similar to a real firearm. He also detailed the department’s evidence collection and timelines, citing report number DR23‑12066 and incident number 230624000147.

William Janssen told attendees that the review’s purpose was to provide the public with relevant information about the use of force and that the review itself would not issue a formal determination regarding cause or manner of death. He also noted that the district attorney’s preliminary decision and the materials provided to the ombudsman were part of the record. Janssen said the documents and a recorded video of the proceedings are available on the Clark County website.

No criminal charges were announced at the hearing; the Clark County District Attorney’s Office’s preliminary determination not to prosecute had prompted the public review required under Clark County Ordinance Chapter 2.12. The review presented investigative findings, witness statements and the autopsy report but did not change the DA’s preliminary decision.

The panel closed after Tomczak and the presiding officer questioned the detective; Janssen reiterated how to obtain the recorded transcript and video on Clark County’s website and concluded the review.