Clark County DA says no criminal prosecution likely after officer-involved shooting that killed Maurice Smith

Chief Deputy District Attorney John Giordani opened a public fact-finding review and said the Clark County District Attorney etermined that no criminal prosecution of the officers involved in the Feb. officer-involved shooting that killed Maurice Smith is appropriate.

The review, conducted under Clark County ordinance chapter 2.12, presented investigative findings from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department—orce Investigation Team and included third-party surveillance video, body-worn camera footage and an autopsy report. Detective Mark Colon, lead investigator with the Force Investigation Team, told the panel that Smith, 43, lived at the 5000 block of East Craig and would have faced attempted murder, battery with a deadly weapon and kidnapping charges had he survived.

Colon summarized a 911 call in which the caller later identified as the decedent said, "I'm ready to die," and said the caller nd a woman later identified by investigators only by initials, S.N., were in the apartment. Colon said investigators recovered two objects consistent with weapons: a wrench and a two-pronged serving fork that by radio or witnesses was mistaken for a knife.

Investigators identified two subject officers who fired at the scene: Officer Alfredo Ramirez Chavez, hired in February 2022, who fired five rounds from a Staccato P Duo 9 mm, and Officer Cruz Littlefield, hired in February 2022, who fired one round from an FN 509 9 mm, the detective said. Several other officers at the scene were interviewed as witness officers, including Sergeant Ashbach and Officer Moda.

Detective Colon outlined a timeline provided to the public: a 911 call at 23:10:06 in which the decedent said he was "ready to die," subsequent 911 audio of S.N. saying she had been struck and could not call out, officers' arrival at about 23:17:32, deployment of less-lethal "beanbag" rounds at about 23:19:36 and a "shots fired" broadcast at 23:24:41, according to Colon.

An autopsy performed by Dr. Stacy Simons on June 9, 2024, listed cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds and manner of death as homicide, Colon said. He added that toxicology was positive for methamphetamine and THC.

Colon and other witnesses described the scene for the panel: video and witness accounts show the decedent holding S.N. around the neck and holding a sharp object to her neck while refusing officers' commands. Third-party video and body-worn camera footage shown at the review included officers giving repeated verbal commands; Colon summarized audio from body-worn cameras and said officers can be heard saying "We don't wanna hurt you, sir." The video also showed officers deploying less-lethal shotgun rounds (beanbag rounds) before the gunfire.

When asked how officers decided to use deadly force, Colon said the decision was based on the totality of observations and the time available: officers saw the decedent holding S.N. with a weapon near her face and believed she was in imminent danger, he said. Colon described the beanbag rounds as "fired from a department-issued shotgun" intended as a pain-compliance tool that "won't penetrate your skin" but which "did not have the intended effect in this particular situation."

Ombudsman Michael Triano, appointed by the Clark County manager to represent the public and the Smith family for the review, was allowed to ask questions of investigators and witnesses under the county procedure described at the start of the hearing. The presiding officer and Triano noted the ordinance does not provide subpoena power and that no formal determination of manner or cause of death would be rendered at the conclusion of the public review.

The Clark County District Attorney's Office made its preliminary prosecutorial determination before the public review; the review—unctioned to present evidence and allow public questions under county procedures. A video and transcript of the entire proceeding are available on the Clark County website, per the presiding officer.

Ending: The review presented investigative evidence, witness statements and forensic findings to the public but did not itself change the DA's preliminary decision not to prosecute; the county's public record and the posted video provide the full materials shown at the hearing.