Las Vegas police said an officer killed his wife and child before calling 911 to say he was going to burn down his home. He warned the 911 dispatcher he would kill anyone who attempted to stop him.
The man then proceeded to wait. A SWAT team then arrived at the home of the lieutenant and found him waiting outside with what appeared to be a handgun.
He was asked to drop the weapon by officers, the same commands the lieutenant screamed numerous times during his career of 20 years on the police force. He ignored the commands by the officers and went back inside the home that at time was ablaze. At that time, police believe he killed himself.
The lieutenant had been working for the Las Vegas Police Department as a supervisor of patrol officers. His wife had worked as a police officer for the same force.
In 2012, 126 police officers took their own lives in the U.S. Nevertheless, that was a big drop from the two previous years those records were kept. In 2009, 143 officers took their own lives and in 2008, 141 killed themselves.
People who knew the lieutenant were trying to figure out what caused the incident. Fellow officers and former officers said they could not figure out why he would kill his family and then take his own life. One officer said it was the most dishonorable and unconscionable thing he could ever image happening.
