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Trent Xavier Leach

Age : 30

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 09/21/2021

Location : S 11th St & Lewis Ave

City : Las Vegas

County : Clark

State : Nevada

Agency : Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department

Officer(s) :Zachary Adam

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police during SWAT barricade

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 09/21/2021, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department SWAT Officer Zachary Adam shot and killed 30-year-old Trent Xavier Leach after an approximately five-hour barricade inside a vacant church at 318 South 11th Street in downtown Las Vegas. A later Clark County District Attorney use-of-force review and LVMPD internal review provide substantially more evidence than the original news reports, including video from police tactical vehicles, a drone and two robots.
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The encounter began at approximately 9:23 a.m. after a civilian called 911 about an altercation near 11th Street and Lewis Avenue. According to the later investigation, Leach had been going through a dumpster when a nearby resident confronted him and told him to leave. A second witness reported seeing the resident strike Leach with a metal pole during the ensuing fight and Leach draw a handgun and point it at the resident.
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Downtown Area Command officers arrived and encountered both men. The resident told officers that Leach had a gun. According to the DA's review, Leach kept his hands concealed and told officers to shoot him before running away. That statement indicated potentially suicidal behavior at the beginning of the police encounter.
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Officers pursued Leach on foot and located him in an alley along South 11th Street. Leach entered the property at 318 South 11th Street and disappeared inside the vacant church. Officers established containment around the building and summoned K9 officers, SWAT and the Crisis Negotiation Team.
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Police spent several hours attempting to persuade Leach to surrender. Officers used verbal commands and a public-address system while Leach remained inside. During the barricade, another man emerged from the building and told SWAT officers that he had seen Leach armed and that Leach was saying what the witness characterized as “weird things.”
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At approximately 1:13 p.m., SWAT personnel heard gunfire from inside the building. Additional shots followed. Officers believed at least one round struck a Bear tactical vehicle positioned outside. Later physical evidence and police video documented a bullet strike associated with gunfire from the building.
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Rather than immediately entering, LVMPD deployed surveillance technology into the church. Police sent a drone and robots inside and located Leach hiding in an attic crawl space. Police video showed Leach armed with a handgun, and the drone recorded a muzzle flash while he was inside the crawl space. Police reported that Leach fired multiple rounds at the drone.
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SWAT then deployed tear gas in an effort to force Leach from the crawl space. At approximately 2:16 p.m., he emerged carrying the handgun, approached the drone and disabled it. A police robot subsequently recorded him still carrying the gun and pointing it at the robot before he entered a room beneath a staircase.
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Police deployed additional tear gas to prevent Leach from returning upstairs. At approximately 2:28 p.m., he emerged from the room still armed. Crisis negotiators continued directing him over the PA system to leave the building without the weapon.
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At approximately 2:32 p.m., Leach appeared in an open doorway. Police video from both a robot and a BearCat showed him extending his arm and pointing the handgun toward the armored vehicle, where several SWAT officers were positioned.
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<u>SWAT sniper Zachary Adam fired one rifle round at Leach, striking and killing him. Adam was the only officer who fired during the fatal shooting.</u> Leach fell immediately outside the doorway with the handgun beside him. SWAT officers approached and confirmed that he was dead.
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The later investigation found extensive physical and video evidence corroborating major portions of the police account. Video from the Bear tactical vehicle documented a dust plume and bullet strike from gunfire originating inside the building. Drone footage recorded Leach armed in the attic and captured a muzzle flash. Robot footage showed him armed downstairs and subsequently pointing the handgun toward the BearCat immediately before Adam fired.
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The Clark County District Attorney conducted a legal review of the killing and a Police Fatality Public Fact-Finding Review was held on 08/04/2022. The DA concluded that Adam's shooting was legally justified and that criminal charges would not be filed. The DA expressly noted that its determination concerned criminal liability and did not resolve potential administrative or civil issues.
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LVMPD's Office of Internal Oversight and Constitutional Policing also conducted a Critical Incident Review examining policy, tactics, training and decision-making surrounding Leach's death.
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<u>Adam later killed another person while serving as an LVMPD SWAT officer. On 12/08/2024, Adam shot and killed 26-year-old Cesar Reyes II during a SWAT response at the South Point Hotel and Casino after Reyes's family requested a welfare check because they had found a suicide note. Following hours of attempted negotiations and an explosive breach of the hotel room, police alleged that Reyes emerged carrying a shotgun and moved toward officers. Adam fired the single fatal rifle shot. Investigators subsequently determined that Reyes's shotgun was unloaded.</u>
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No encounter-related wrongful-death or civil-rights lawsuit by Leach's family was identified in the later records located for this update, nor was an affirmative public family challenge to the documented account of the final shooting located.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.ktnv.com/news/crime/las-vegas-police-say-man-fired-at-officers-before-officer-fired-back-in-deadly-shooting
https://lasvegassun.com/news/2021/sep/23/metro-identifies-officer-involved-in-fatal-shootin/
https://apnews.com/article/police-shootings-las-vegas-7c151cf3760e860585c46535d3b8fcc2
https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/barricade-situation-in-downtown-las-vegas/
https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/robots-drones-protect-metro-officers-in-dangerous-encounters-2513949/
https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/shootings/man-killed-by-las-vegas-police-had-hit-person-shot-swat-vehicle-2446309/
https://www.facebook.com/KTNVLasVegas/videos/update-on-officer-involved-shooting-in-las-vegas/364375625433506/
https://www.clarkcountynv.gov/adobe/assets/urn%3Aaaid%3Aaem%3A354d35b2-6985-4405-a6ff-90affc74b8ad/original/as/legal-analysis-surrounding-the-death-of-trent-leach-on-september-21-2021.pdf
https://www.lvmpd.com/home/showpublisheddocument/1796/638326187116400000
https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/department-justice-completes-review-las-vegas-metropolitan-police-department-s-use-force
https://www.lvmpd.com/Home/Components/News/News/1550/263
https://www.ktnv.com/news/officer-identified-in-shooting-that-killed-one-person-at-south-point-hotel-and-casino