The Reno Police Department released dramatic bodycam footage Sunday of a Jan. 8 shootout at an apartment complex off Fourth Street that left a suspect and officer wounded and another suspect dead.
After a five-minute introduction explaining there had been a report earlier that day of possible gunfire in the area over a parking dispute, the video switches to bodycam footage showing “Officer 1” pull up to 1570 Sky Valley Drive.
Although not identified in the age-restricted YouTube video, Officer 1 is Sgt. Steve Mayfield; he has been named publicly in a GoFundMe campaign.
Mayfield begins walking quickly across the apartment complex’s snowy courtyard near its playground and says, “Two males – they’re running away with several firearms.”
He then pulls a handgun and shouts, “Reno police, stop! Stop!”
Multiple shots immediately ring out, and he groans in pain and falls to the ground, where he shoots back. He tries to get up and, leaning sideways, fires off more rounds.
While breathing heavily, he says, “Two suspects – both down.” Groaning can be heard in the distance. He asks for an expedited ambulance.
A second officer who has not been named comes to his side, and Mayfield tells him he’s going to need a tourniquet. The second officer says he doesn’t have one.
The YouTube video then cuts to bodycam footage from “Officer 2,” who is armed with a rifle. There is no audio on much of this video as the male officer runs to the scene and takes cover in a doorway – and the viewer sees what he sees, Mayfield lying in the snow.
The audio comes on, and Officer 2 asks, “Sarge, you OK?”
Officer 2 hurries to Mayfield. This is when civilians from the apartment complex come out to support the officers.
He asks a civilian to “Watch behind me” while he assesses Mayfield. Water drips off his rifle’s magazine.
He shouts for “Anyone with a belt or tourniquet, bring it to me now.”
One man brings a tourniquet and ties it above Mayfield’s knee. A civilian woman points a gun and tells people to get back.
Eventually three armed civilians arrive to support the officers.
A “Code 4” is given that everything is under control.
Outcomes for the 3 who were shot
Mayfield was shot three times – once in the abdomen and once in each leg, according to the GoFundMe campaign set up to help support his “family throughout Sergeant Mayfield’s lengthy recovery.” As of Monday morning, it’d raised $32,373.
A Sunday update on the GoFundMe page says, “Steve is progressing well and is out of the hospital and is currently at an inpatient rehabilitation center. Though Steve still has a long road ahead his spirits are still high. Steve and his family also wanted to thank everyone for their generosity and well wishes.”
Scott Kennedy, described by Reno PD as the shooting suspect, died on scene and he is shown with a rifle beside his body.
“Investigators confirmed that Scott Kennedy fired rounds at the officers from an AR-15 rifle,” Reno police said. “He also had a Glock pistol in his possession, which is believed to have been used in the earlier shooting that the officers were investigating.”
A photo of car with a bullet hole through its windshield is shown in the video.
Jeremiah Graham, the second suspect, sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Bodycam footage shows officers ordering him to roll over so he can be handcuffed. He groans in pain during the encounter.
“Jeremiah Graham was carrying an AR-15 style pistol,” Reno police said. “Investigators with the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office charged Jeremiah Graham with three counts of a prohibited person in possession of firearm and four counts of possession of a firearm without a serial number.”
Reno police have been creating “summary” videos of officer-involved shootings and other incidents for about two years on the department’s YouTube channel.
“Every shooting we’ve had since we’ve had bodycams, we’ve had a video to keep the community apprised,” Reno public information officer Stephan Greenlee told the RGJ.
He said Graham is in the custody of the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office but has not been fully processed – such as for a mugshot – because of his injuries.
Reno police said in the video that any additional camera footage will be made available at the conclusion of the formal investigation, which is being conducted by the sheriff’s office as part of a regional officer-involved shooting protocol.
Recent Northern Nevada police shootings
Here’s a look at seven other officer-involved shootings in Northern Nevada in the past 12 months.
- Marcus Lee Lewis: Reno police officers tasered and shot Lewis after a brief foot chase in downtown Reno after receiving a call for a welfare check on a barefoot man possibly armed with a knife. Lewis was later identified as a person of interest in the disappearance of a man in Virginia.
- Jason Thorpe: Sparks police officers fatally shot Thorpe after an October standoff when Thorpe rushed and fired a gun at them, according to a police report.
- Brandon Alan: He was shot by two Reno police officers in southwest Reno in August. Sparks police say he was carrying a knife and an airsoft or pellet gun.
- Jacobi Shaw: He was shot and killed by a Sparks Police detective in February after a brief foot chase involving a K9. According to a Reno PD report, Shaw pointed a handgun at detectives.
- Luis Santana: He was shot by Carson City sheriff’s deputies while waving a machete in February after he was seen attempting to steal catalytic converters, according to a sheriff’s report.
- Unnamed: A man was shot and killed by a Lyon County deputy at Rosie’s Place restaurant and minimart in Wellington near Smith Valley in February. A Lyon County Sheriff’s Office statement didn’t give details of the shooting, just that it had received “several reports of a subject armed with a firearm” and that “once on scene, an officer involved shooting occurred.”
