DA: 2015 fatal Reno police shooting ruled justified
Mathew Grows, 45, was killed in an officer-involved shooting in 2015.
DA: 2015 fatal Reno police shooting ruled justified Mathew Grows, 45, was killed in an officer-involved shooting in 2015. Check out this story on rgj.com: https://www.rgj.com/story/news/crime/2017/07/07/da-2015-fatal-reno-police-shooting-ruled-justified/458615001/
Sarah Litz, slitz@rgj.com Published 8:17 a.m. PT July 7, 2017 | Updated 8:24 a.m. PT July 7, 2017
Reno Police and Washoe County Sheriff's officers block East Grove Street near Kietzke Lane on Sunday.(Photo: Marcella Corona/RGJ)Buy Photo
The Washoe County District Attorney's Office ruled that a 2015 fatal shooting of a suspect was justified.
According to a report released by the district attorney's office, two Reno Police Department officers - identified as Officer Ty Trail and Officer Andrew Hickman - shot and killed Mathew Grows, 45, after the suspect had shot and wounded two unarmed neighbors.
On Nov. 22, 2015, two patrol officers were hailed at the 7-Eleven on East Grove Street to assist a male with a gunshot wound.
PREVIOUSLY REPORTED: Details emerge in Reno officer-involved shooting
"At the same time, the officers heard multiple gunshots and a woman screaming," the report said. "Based on the information at hand, both officers believed they were responding to an active shooter who had already shot at least one person."
The officers ran in the direction of the gunshots and screaming to a triplex at 220 East Grove St. and found Grows heading down the driveway towards three people with a pistol in his hand. According to the report, Grows matched the description officers received from the shooting victim.
Officers demanded Grows drop the weapon, but Grows ignored their commands.
Mathew Grows, 45, was killed in an officer-involved shooting on Sunday. He had allegedly shot two unarmed men before police arrived, both of whom are currently hospitalized. (Photo: Courtesy of the Washoe County Sheriff's Office)
"Instead, he continued walking toward the civilians and raised his gun in their direction," the report said.
Both officers fired their guns and hit Grows with several rounds. Grows was transported to Renown Regional Medical Center where he later died.
The investigation led by the Washoe County Sheriff's Office found that there was a disagreement between Grows, the property owner and a female co-tenant before he left and returned with a loaded pistol and four magazines, the report said.
He started firing "numerous rounds" and seriously injured two people, the report said. Both victims survived.
According to the investigation, Grows "fired several rounds into one of the triplex units in an attempt to break into the residence where a female neighbor's then 25-year-old daughter and 2-year-old granddaughter were hiding." The report said Grows also set fire to a garage on the property that spread to the triplex and adjacent buildings.
District Attorney Chris Hicks noted in the report that both officers believed they were responding to a situation where there was an "active, dangerous shooter nearby" and Grows ignored commands and raised "his gun in the direction of three obviously terrified and unarmed civilians."
"It was absolutely necessary for them to use deadly force," Hicks said in the report. "Both officers had the right under Nevada law to use deadly force against Grows both in defense of others and in the discharge of legal duty."
Report on the November 22, 2015 Officer-Involved Shooting of Matthew Grows by Sarah Litz on Scribd
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