Bodycam: Scissors‑Wielding Man Charges Nev. Police Officer

By Bryan Horwath

Source Las Vegas Review-Journal

Body camera footage released Wednesday shows a man shouting atop a crashed vehicle in North Las Vegas and then jumping down to the street and running toward an officer before police fatally shoot him.

The man, identified as Khalil Normi Jamal Smith, 31, by the North Las Vegas Police Department in a video briefing released Wednesday about the April 29 shooting, had been holding an object as he stood on the roof of the vehicle. A police spokesperson said that officers found a pair of blood-stained scissors near Smith after he was shot and that police believed Smith had been holding the scissors.

“Smith suddenly jumped off the vehicle and ran directly toward an officer in a threatening manner while still armed,” Police Department spokesperson Roberto Vaquera said in the video. “Two officers discharged their firearms, striking Smith and knocking him to the ground. Despite multiple commands to stop, stay down and drop his weapon, Smith repeatedly got up, advanced toward the officers while holding the object.”

The situation began to unfold at about 4:30 p.m. on April 29, Vaquera said, when police officers were dispatched to a two-vehicle crash at East Gowan Road and North Fifth Street.

Initial reports indicated a man who had been involved in the crash was acting in a threatening manner and was reportedly armed with a sharp object, Vaquera said.

Two officers, identified as Manuel Moreno and Donnie Miranda, responded, Vaquera said.

In one video, the man identified as Smith can be seen standing on top of a vehicle that appeared to have crashed into a light pole at the intersection. One of the officers can be heard repeatedly saying “Drop the knife!” while also telling the man that help is coming. “Hey brother! Drop the scissors, it’s OK,” the other officer can be heard saying in one of the two body camera videos released by police.

At one point, Smith begins shouting about Jesus Christ and later recites part of the Lord’s Prayer, but it’s difficult to understand him.

Smith then jumps off the vehicle to the ground and appears to begin to charge at an officer, who fires at Smith, the video shows. Despite appearing to be hit by multiple shots, Smith can be seen rising to his feet at least three different times in an apparent effort to get to the officer.

After the third instance, the final time he was fired upon, Smith can be seen lying motionless in the street.

According to Vaquera, Smith later bit an officer after officers approached to take him into custody. Smith was taken to University Medical Center, where he died, Vaquera said. The Clark County coroner’s office, which also identified Smith, said Smith died of multiple gunshot wounds.

Vaquera identified Moreno and Miranda as the officers who fired at Smith. Moreno has been with the department since 2023, and Miranda was hired in 2024, Vaquera said. Both officers were placed on paid administrative leave, Vaquera said.

Had Smith survived, Vaquera said, he would have faced multiple felony charges, including two counts of attempted murder of a protected person.

It was the department’s first officer-involved shooting of 2026.

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