Officer-involved shooting investigation continues

It’s been seven months since an officer-involved shooting took place in Boulder City that resulted in the death of a man.

The investigation continues into the Jan. 24 shooting on the 700 block of Sixth Street, which involved a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officer and his wife, who shot a man who they felt posed a direct threat to them and another woman.

“Our office has not received the report from the investigating law enforcement agency,” the Clark County District Attorney’s Office stated in an email to the Review last week.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (Metro) is the investigating agency.

An email sent this week to Metro’s public information office asking for an update was replied to, simply stating, “This is still an ongoing investigation.”

A look back

“The off-duty officer and his wife were inside their residence when they heard a commotion coming from the backyard of a neighbor’s residence,” LVMPD Capt. Kurt McKenzie said during a press briefing four hours following the January incident. “The off-duty officer went outside and observed a male mounted on top of a female, punching and strangling her at the same time.”

He went on to state, “The off-duty officer gave numerous commands to the male to stop and not come any closer ‘or we will shoot,’” McKenzie said in regard to what the officer said. “At which time, the male continued to advance on them, causing the off-duty officer and his wife to shoot the subject, striking him. He was later pronounced deceased in the front yard.”

The officer involved was identified as 48-year-old Cesar Ibarra, who has been with Metro since 2005 and at the time was assigned to the Homeland Security Division, Airport Bureau. He is a resident of Boulder City.

The man shot and killed was later identified as 45-year-old Jeremiah Boshard.

Where things stand

Once the investigation is completed by Metro, it will hold what’s called a fact-finding review, which is open to the public. In summary, according to a 2021 Las Vegas Review-Journal article, a police detective will investigate the use of force (which is where the investigation is now) and complete a report that is submitted to the district attorney’s office for review. The district attorney will assign the case file to a senior prosecutor in the office’s major violators unit. Upon the prosecutor’s review, the district attorney will gather about a dozen of their most senior prosecutors for a meeting, during which the prosecutor initially assigned to the report will brief the team on the case.

Ahead of a review, the Clark County manager will select a presiding officer and an ombudsman, who will represent the interests of the public and the family of the person who was killed. Both are chosen from a list preapproved by the Clark County Commission. Following the presentation, the ombudsman has a chance to ask questions before members of the public are given the opportunity to submit proposed questions in writing. The presiding officer reviews all proposed questions from the public and can decline to ask a question if it is deemed irrelevant or redundant.

Finally, according to the article, the district attorney’s office does not make any further determinations or decisions on the day of the review. But within about two weeks, the district attorney will make a final decision about whether charges will be filed against an officer or officers in connection with a death. A report outlining the final decision is then posted on the Clark County website.