A bank robber who died in a hail of bullets fired by a Las Vegas police officer had earlier told his girlfriend he wanted to commit ‘suicide by cop’.
In the half-an-hour before his death, Steven Thomas went on a mini crime spree by committing a car jacking, robbing a convenience store and targeting a credit union before finally challenging two Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officers.
Police bodycam footage shows how Thomas, 36, was standing in the road with his gun drawn when Sergeant Donald Graham drove into the suspect with his patrol car, knocking him to the ground.
Steven Thomas, 36, circled, pulled his gun out and pointed it towards two Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers in an effort to have police shooting him dead
At 11.25am, Thomas hijacked a car and drove a short distance to Las Vegas Drive where he held up a convenience store. Seven minutes later Thomas tried to rob a credit union. Nine minutes later he was shot dead on Cheyenne Avenue
Steven Thomas, pictured in a credit union, told customers to get on the ground as he robbed the store. Less than nine minutes after this image was taken, Thomas was dead
Steven Thomas, 36, told his girlfriend he was planning to get police to shoot him
Thomas got back onto his feet and pointed a gun towards Sgt Graham.
His colleague Officer Amelia Lucak arrived at the scene moments later and joined Sgt Graham in calling for Thomas to drop his weapon.
Steven Thomas drew his weapon on Sergeant Donald Graham who drove up and struck him with his patrol car before the arrival of Officer Amelia Lucak on Wednesday, November 17.
Police bodycam footage shows how both officers shouted at the 36-year-old criminal to drop his weapon before they opened fire.
The bodycam footage shows how Thomas refused to comply and started to approach Officer’s Lucak’s car, prompting both officers to open fire.
Assistant Clark County Sheriff Lazaro Chavez said prior to the fatal shooting, Thomas had informed his girlfriend of his plan to die at the hands of police.
The criminal also carjacked a man’s vehicle, tried to rob a convenience store and then robbed a credit union.
Sgt Graham and Officer Lucak, travelling in different patrol cars, surrounded Thomas, who reached towards his waistband.
The dramatic footage shows Thomas being hit in the hail of bullets and trying to get up a couple of times before being mortally wounded.
An early investigation found that Sgt Graham fired once d at Thomas while Officer Lucak sent 20 rounds down range.
Before robbing the Credit Union, Thomas targeted a convenience store, pictured
Thomas, pictured, got out of his stolen car, pictured, when Sgt Graham pulled in behind him
Officer Lucak pulled up behind Sgt Graham moments before the shooting started
The shocking footage shows Thomas with his gun in his hand as the police responded with deadly force.
Sheriff Chavez said Thomas did not fire his weapon during the incident.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department released bodycam footage worn by both officers during the incident.
Sgt Graham was the first at the scene and took up a defensive position behind his patrol vehicle.
His body cam was angled down towards the ground, although the audio shows how he called on Thomas to drop his weapon.
Thomas ignored the call and began walking towards to the officers.
Police recovered this gun from Thomas’s body after he was shot dead on November 17
The footage shows Thomas being struck and knocked down by a bullet fired by Officer Lucak. He then tried to get back onto his feet.
Officer Lucak continued shooting until Thomas remained on the floor.
Sheriff Chavez said both responding officers tried to provide medical assistance to Thomas but he was declared dead on arrival to hospital.
He produced a map which showed how in the 25 minutes before his death, Thomas performed a car jacking and two attempted robberies before being shot dead by police.
He said: ‘During the course of the investigation, detectives learned that on the day of the officer-involved shooting, Thomas grabbed the gun and told his girlfriend he was going to do something to get the police to shoot him.’
