Las Vegas Police Officer, Suicidal Man Identified In Tuesday OIS

LAS VEGAS, NV - A suicidal man involved in an officer involved shooting on Tuesday is in critical condition and not expected to survive after shooting himself in the head following a brief encounter with police, said Assistant Sheriff Charles Hank at a press conference on Thursday. The incident on Tuesday was Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's third OIS of 2018.

The officer involved has been identified as Marcus Martin, 58. He has been employed with LVMPD since 1995. Martin fired two rounds during the incident. The shooting was described as "non-fatal" and police have not been able to determine if the suspect was struck by either of the rounds Martin fired.

Police say that Alan Baker, 42, shot himself in the head after fleeing officers following the encounter. It was the only round Baker fired during the incident. Baker was transported to University Medical Center and is on life support. Hank said he is not expected to survive.

Officers responded to the call shortly after 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 6 of a suicidal subject on Lingo St. The person reporting the call to police said that Baker had a history of fighting with police officers and that he was armed with a handgun and knives, Hank said. Shots were fired at 2:17 p.m.

Police showed footage of the incident from a bodycam worn by Martin. It is difficult to distinguish Baker's actions on the video, as he's never clearly present and only briefly visible to police before fleeing. Martin can be heard addressing Baker as he exits the residence.

"Hey Alan," Martin says. Martin then says to Baker, "please take your hand out of your pocket for me."

The video shows Martin responding to Baker producing the gun, which was later determined to be a .38 Special revolver. Martin is then heard telling Baker to drop the weapon.

"Drop it please. Drop the gun, drop the gun," Martin said.

At that point Martin fired two rounds towards Baker, and Baker fled to the other side of the property. The video shows seven seconds elapsed from the time Martin initially made contact with Baker to when Martin first fired the shots. Martin is then heard on the video calling

"It appears from looking at the video he had a very limited amount of time," Hank said of Martin's reaction to Baker brandishing the gun. "He challenged Mr. Baker to see his hands, at that time he pulled a firearm out."

After Baker fled officers, a gunshot can be heard on the bodycam footage, approximately five seconds after Martin fired the second round. Hank said the investigation determined this gunshot to be Baker shooting himself in the head.

Hank said that police learned that Baker may have had psychological problems in the past.

"We've been advised that he has had some issues, but not here locally," Hank said. Baker's criminal history includes prior charges of assault on a person and battery with serious bodily harm. Both were reported in California in 2010. In Nevada, Baker had outstanding traffic tickets.

If he survives, Baker will face two counts of assault with a deadly weapon on a protected person.

Image provided by LVMPD