OIS Report Released

WCDA Report Released Detailing May 5, 2020, Officer Involved Shooting Incident and Related Criminal Prosecutions of Joseph Patrick Williams

Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks has determined that the May 5, 2020, Officer Involved Shooting (OIS) of Joseph Patrick Williams, age 40 from Sparks by Sparks Police Department (SPD) Officers Charles Colborn, Austin Gibson, Nathan Janning, Vern Taylor, and Mateo Terrasas was justified under Nevada law. Williams survived the shooting and was ultimately charged and convicted on one count of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of felony eluding a police officer. Additionally, Williams had been involved in a similar Officer Involved Shooting case in Lyon County in 2015 in which he was similarly charged with Battery with a Deadly Weapon and sentenced to 6 years in prison.  

Consistent with this office’s ongoing public reporting on all OIS cases, District Attorney Hicks has released a detailed 76-page report containing the facts of the case, photographs, identification of those involved, witness accounts, and his legal analysis supporting the case’s conclusion. This determination is based on an extensive review of the investigation conducted by the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, which was submitted to this office in January 2021. The release of this report was held pending the completion of the criminal prosecution of Williams who was sentenced in August 2021 to an aggregate term of 4-10 years in the Nevada Department of Corrections for his criminal conduct the night of the shooting.

Unless new circumstances come to light that contradict the factual foundation upon which this decision was made, this case is officially closed.  Copies of all completed OIS reports are available on the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office’s website at https://www.washoecounty.us/da/newsroom/reports.php

Inquiries regarding the release of any public records involving the investigation and its evidence can be directed to the involved law enforcement agencies.       

Summary of Report:

Just after midnight on May 5, 2020, Joseph Patrick Williams (“Williams”) drove his lifted 1976 Chevrolet truck to the ampm ARCO gas station located at 1701 Victorian Avenue, Sparks, Washoe County, Nevada. After parking his truck, Williams entered the gas station, walked to the beer cooler in the back of the store, and took a can of beer and another beverage from the cooler. Williams approached the counter, talked to the cashier, and exited the store without paying for the items.

Williams got into his truck and re-parked it next to another vehicle in the parking lot. Williams then poured an unknown liquid into the gas tank of the other vehicle. The owner of the vehicle, who was inside the gas station, called the police to report that Williams was “vandalizing” his vehicle. The clerk at the store also reported the stolen alcohol at the same time.   Williams was described as a male in his late twenties, approximately 6 feet tall, and wearing a black sweatshirt, red shorts, and driving a gray and black truck.

On May 5, 2020, at approximately 12:10AM, Officer Charles Colborn of the Sparks Police Department (“SPD”) responded to the ampm ARCO gas station in his marked SPD patrol vehicle and located Williams’ truck, which was parked at a gas pump and activated his overhead lights. Williams immediately drove away from Officer Colborn and headed southbound on Rock Boulevard. Officer Colborn then activated his siren in addition to his lights and followed Williams. Williams was seen turning west onto Hymer Avenue, where he briefly stopped his truck before driving off again. SPD Officer Vern Taylor, who had joined Officer Colborn, heard Williams’ truck backfire or a shot fired, and communicated that information over the radio to dispatch. Williams turned onto 21st Street and headed southbound until he turned east onto Glendale Avenue, where he ran a red light at the intersection of Glendale Avenue and Rock Boulevard. Williams then continued fleeing until he turned onto Dermody Way, which is a dead-end road surrounded by fencing in an industrial warehouse area. Numerous additional SPD officers responded to Dermody Way to assist Officers Colborn and Taylor as they attempted contact with Williams.

Williams had stopped at the dead end and began talking to officers who were commanding him to exit his truck. Williams refused, and instead invited officers to meet with him at the driver’s side door. Officers attempted to negotiate with Williams for approximately eleven minutes. However, Williams responded by revving his truck engine and becoming more agitated.

After the eleven-minute standoff, Williams placed his truck in gear and drove through the fence separating the dead-end road from the industrial warehouses. He then drove a short distance, made a U-turn, and drove head-on towards pursuing officers, narrowly missing several before making it back onto Glendale Avenue and driving eastbound.

At this time, SPD Officer Arik Sitton attempted a pursuit intervention technique (“PIT maneuver”), which is a police pursuit tactic where a police vehicle attempts to strike a target vehicle to stop it from fleeing. Officer Sitton’s PIT maneuver caused Williams’ vehicle to spin out, but did not prevent him from continuing to flee. Williams then ran another red light at the intersection of Glendale Avenue and McCarran Boulevard before continuing to evade officers.

Officers made multiple attempts to stop Williams, who was driving erratically through parking lots and landscaping embankments before entering onto Interstate-80 (“I-80”) eastbound near Greg Street and Vista Boulevard. While on I-80, Williams’ headlights were not illuminated and he maintained fluctuating speeds around 65 miles per hour while swerving from lane to lane.

At this time, SPD Officers contacted the Nevada Highway Patrol (“NHP”) and arranged for a Trooper to place spike strips on I-80 at exit 32 to end the pursuit. Williams drove over the spike strips and his vehicle began to slow before officers attempted another unsuccessful PIT maneuver.

Williams continued in I-80 and exited the freeway at exit 36, crossed over the freeway and re-entered I-80 westbound. He then turned around and drove eastbound in the westbound lanes and drove over the median to again head eastbound in the eastbound lanes.

At this time, Officer Colborn attempted another PIT maneuver. However, while he was attempting this maneuver, Williams tried to ram him. Following this, SPD Lieutenant Chris Rowe, who was driving a large, unmarked SPD truck, attempted a final successful PIT maneuver that caused Williams to spin out into the I-80 center median in the area of Derby Dam Road. This created a large dust cloud consisting of dirt and debris that limited visibility.  

As Williams’ vehicle spun out, Officer Colborn thought he was going to be struck by William’s truck, as he heard the truck’s engine racing and saw it coming straight for him. Williams appeared to regain some control of his vehicle and attempted to drive into SPD Officer Mateo Terrasas’ marked police car. SPD Officer Nathan Janning’s patrol vehicle pinned Williams’ driver’s side door and Officer Terrasas pinned Williams’ passenger side door.

Williams continued trying to drive while in the center median and spun his back tires to gain traction. Seeing this, Officer Colborn thought that Williams was trying to run over officers and feared for the safety of the public if Williams got away. This fear was shared by multiple officers on scene. Based on this, SPD Officers Colborn, Gibson, Janning, Taylor, and Terrasas fired multiple rounds at Williams. The entire pursuit lasted approximately 42 minutes.

Williams was struck twice and survived. He was treated at Renown Regional Medical Center, where medical staff removed a bullet projectile from his left bicep area near his armpit and another bullet projectile from the back of his neck at the base of his skull.

Williams pled no contest to charges of assault with a deadly weapon and felony eluding a peace officer and was sentenced to a maximum term of 10 years in prison for his conduct.

Consistent with the regionally adopted Officer Involved Shooting (“OIS”) Protocol, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office (“WCSO”) led the investigation into the shooting of Williams. The Reno Police Department (“RPD”) provided secondary investigative support, and the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office Forensic Science Division (“FIS”) provided forensic services. The Washoe County District Attorney’s Office provided assistance in obtaining search warrants and seizure orders in this case.

The investigation included interviewing witnesses; collecting physical evidence from the shooting scene, the pursuit, and Williams’ truck; photographing the scene of the Dermody Way standoff, the location of the shooting and seized evidence; forensically testing collected evidence; examining and analyzing the firearms used; canvassing the area for video footage; reviewing the involved officers’ body worn cameras (“BWCs”) and dash cameras; reviewing medical records of Williams; interviewing witnesses, which included all of the officers that fired their weapons and others on scene; and reviewing the police reports associated with the case.

Upon completion of the investigation, all police reports along with available FIS forensic reports, collected documentation, photographs, witness statements, recorded audio and video of the incident by way of BWCs, dash cameras, dispatch recordings, and recorded interviews were submitted to the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office on January 26, 2021, along with an additional FIS report on May 5, 2021, for a final determination of whether the shooting of Williams was legally justified.[1] WCSO did not recommend any criminal charges against SPD Officers Colborn, Gibson, Janning, Taylor, or Terrasas.

The District Attorney’s evaluation included reviewing over eleven-hundred pages of reports and documents, which included interviews of police and civilian witnesses; review of the provided photographs, and numerous video and audio recordings from the BWCs and dash cameras. This report follows.

Based on the evidence and the applicable legal authorities, it is the opinion of the District Attorney that the shooting of Williams by SPD Officers Colborn, Gibson, Janning, Taylor, and Terrasas was justified and not a criminal act.

[1] While the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office received the initial submission of investigation on January 26, 2021, WCSO submitted an additional FIS report relating to a trajectory analysis on May 5, 2021. Review of the investigation for purposes of this Report did not commence until August 9, 2021, which is the day Williams was sentenced and his criminal case concluded.