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The Series

1. Part I: Always Justified

   • Analysis: Many Las Vegas police shootings could have been avoided

     Shortly before midnight on a warm night in May 1996, officer George "Gregg" Pease pulled his Las Vegas police cruiser into the desert behind a...

   • Case of ex-police officer shows authorities reluctant to take action

     In June 1996, Andre Rowe sat in a packed hearing room listening to testimony about the night his father was killed by Las Vegas police officer George...

   • To shoot or not shoot is quandary for veteran, rookie officers

     Detective Sgt. Randy Oaks' plan to buy seven pounds of pot from two Cuban drug dealers in 1984 seemed to be going well. As he waited in the parking lot...

   • Troubles follow some officers who fire their guns on the job

     Just weeks after he and two other officers shot and killed Erik Scott outside a Summerlin Costco store last year, Las Vegas police officer Thomas Mendiola...

   • Wrongful death lawsuits rarely filed; families seldom win

     The homicide investigation and coroner's inquest that followed her son's 1999 shooting death left Connie Perrin angry and dissatisfied, so she sought...

   • FAQ on Deadly Force

     Q: When can police officers use deadly force? A: Local and state law enforcement agencies create their own deadly force policies. Most follow a Justice...

2. Part II: 142 Dead, and Rising

   • Las Vegas police rank high in shootings

     The Metropolitan Police Department uses deadly force at a higher rate than many other urban police agencies, according to a Review-Journal analysis that...

   • Critics demand action on disproportionate shootings of blacks

     Las Vegas police were involved in 17 shootings in 2003. Ten subjects were black, an unusually high number even for a department that historically shoots a...

   • National data on shootings by police not collected

     Looking for the number of burglaries last year in Devils Lake, N.D.? How about the increase in property crimes in Caribou, Maine? The answers (34 and 23...

3. Part III: Quick to Shoot, Slow to Change

   • Law enforcement culture, training calls for coming on strong to end situations

     In 2002, former Las Vegas police homicide Detective Dave Hatch published his first book, a how-to guide for investigating officer-involved...

   • Former members of Use of Force Review Board call it rubber stamp

     Former University of Nevada, Reno basketball star Charles Bush had his share of problems — drugs, a prostitute girlfriend and more than $5,500 in...

   • North Las Vegas police have better system for reviewing officer actions

     When North Las Vegas police shot and killed Fernando Giovanni Sauceda just nine minutes into 2011, it was the first police shooting for the department in...

   • Fatal shooting by Henderson police raises questions about volatile situations

     Zyber Selimaj knows his emotions tend to get the better of him. So if he had it to do over, this time he would react differently. He wouldn't break down...

4. Part IV: Broken System, Shattered Lives

   • Inquests undercut by prosecutorial inaction, deference to police

     When a citizen in Clark County kills someone, prosecutors are there from the start of the investigation, often looking over the shoulder of detectives...

   • History of Clark County coroner's inquest system

     Clark County's inquest system dates to 1969, when a white North Las Vegas police officer shot and killed a black teenager. Calls for a formal review of...

   • A cop who helped others in the aftermath of shootings

     Ed Jensen confronted death face to face early in his career as a Las Vegas police officer. It was 1974, and he had just shot and killed a man who tried to...

   • Lives of officer, family forever changed by fatal shooting

     The wail of sirens and crack of gunshots were familiar sounds to the apartment dwellers at 2304 Tam Drive. In this area off the north end of the Strip...

5. Part V: Better Ways

   • Other cities find ways to reduce deadly confrontations with police, preserve safety

     Denver had seen its share of controversial police shootings, but Paul Childs' was different. He was 15 and mentally disabled. He loved cops, his family...

   • Array of nonlethal weapons help police carry out duties

     The ideal nonlethal weapon has been around for decades. Invented in 1966, it can instantly stun a person into unconsciousness with no ill effects. And...

   • Surviving families lack support to handle grief after fatal shootings

     To better understand what loved ones experience in the wake of a police shooting, the Review-Journal interviewed several families of those killed in the...

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Special Report Team

• Staff writers: Lawrence Mower, Brian Haynes
• Special correspondent: Alan Maimon
• Principal photography John Locher
• Videographer: Justin Yurkanin
• Photo Editor: Mark Damon
• Presentation: Ched Whitney
• Graphics: Mark Antonuccio, Carly Brockinton, Pam Killinsworth, Melissa DeFrank, David Stroud
• Principal Copy Editor: Michael Symes
• Research: Brian Gaw, Jerry Henkel
• Web and database design: Tonya Carpenter, Shane Gammon, Mark Antonuccio
• Database programming: Kerry Woodall, William Greene Raley
• Review-Journal Editor: Michael Hengel
• Managing Editor: Charles Zobell
• Assistant Managing Editor for Special Projects: Charlie Waters
• Project Editor: James G. Wright