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LVMPD: Armed man shot and killed by officers had prior arrests for domestic violence


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Dramatic new video of a deadly police shooting shows a man lunging at officers with a knife.

The police body cam video shows the moment a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officer says he was forced to open fire.

The shooting, reported just after midnight Tuesday near Charleston Boulevard and Cimarron Road, was LVMPD's ninth officer-involved shooting of the year. Four of them have been fatal.

In this case, it was a domestic violence call that escalated quickly.

It was over in a matter of seconds.

"Hey, come out! Hey, come out!" an officer is heard saying in body cam footage. "Drop the knife! Drop the knife!"

A man armed with a butcher knife was shot and killed after lunging at police early Tuesday morning, the entire incident captured by officer-worn body cameras.

RELATED | LVMPD names officer involved in fatal shooting Tuesday near Cimarron & Charleston

"He was just quiet. As you can see from the video, there was nothing that was said," said LVMPD Assistant Sheriff Tim Kelly.

Kelly described what led up to the deadly encounter, which happened at the Bella Vida apartment complex.

A witness called 911 about a possible domestic violence incident.

Three officers arrive at the location, knocking on the door for nine and a half minutes before a woman with a 4-year-old child opens the door.

Although she denies anyone else is inside, she does give officers permission to search.

"When you come to the house, we had a witness, as you know, who was listening," said Kelly. "We had to get in there and clear the residence.

Kelly says that's when officers encountered 28-year-old Pedro Ramirez, hiding behind clothes in a closet, armed with a butcher knife.

Although Ramirez was hit with a Taser, officers say it had no effect. That is when Ramirez was shot three times by 28-year-old officer Kyle Prior.

Ramirez later died at UMC.

"As you can see, the knife is in his right hand," said Kelly.

Kelly says Ramirez has two prior arrests for domestic violence.

Responding to family fight calls, Kelly added, are never easy to predict.

Police say in both of Ramirez's prior arrests, his wife was the victim -- the same woman who police met at the door, in this case.

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