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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Fact-finding Review for Death of Daniel Ortega – June 1, 2026

Meeting Portal — Monday, June 1, 2026

BodyClark County, Nevada

SessionMeeting Portal

DateMonday, June 1, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 55:48

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

I'm William Jansen.

0:01

I will be presiding over today's proceedings.

0:06

This review is being held because the Clark County District Attorney's Office has made a preliminary determination that no criminal prosecution of the officers involved and the death of Daniel Ortiga is appropriate.

0:19

Clark County Ordinance 2, Chapter 2.12 requires public review following such a determination.

0:27

This is not a trial.

0:29

The purpose of today's proceedings is to present the public with essential facts surrounding the death of Mr.

0:37

Otiga.

0:38

Chief Deputy District Attorney William Finn, William Flynn will present today's fact-finding review on behalf of the district attorney's office.

0:48

He will determine what the witness are witnesses to be called.

0:53

The ordinance does not provide subpoena power on myself and does not allow for any other party to call witnesses.

1:04

Gwen Gurling has been appointed to be the ombudsman.

1:08

She represents both the public and Ortiga family.

1:12

She will have the opportunity to ask questions of the witness or witnesses.

1:17

The procedure for questioning witnesses shall be informal with a view to providing the public with the relevant information regarding the use of force.

1:28

The rules of evidence shall not be strictly enforced.

1:32

Members of the public observing this review may submit proposed written questions and forms located in the back of this of this room and present those forms to one of the officers present.

1:47

I will ask the questions unless I determine that it is irrelevant, redundant, or abuse of the review process.

1:56

At the conclusion of this review, no formal determination regarding the matter or cause of death shall be rendered.

2:06

Now to either uh Ms.

2:08

Gurney and Mr.

2:10

Flynn, do you have any additional things to add?

2:13

No.

2:14

Okay.

2:14

No.

2:15

All right, Mr.

2:16

Flynn, then you may call your first witness.

2:19

Thank you.

2:20

We're going to uh call Detective Mark Cologne from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

2:27

Sir, how long have you worked for Metro?

2:30

Uh 24 years.

2:31

And when you started with Metro, did you start as a patrol officer?

2:35

Yes, sir.

2:36

All right.

2:36

So fair to say you went through the normal police academy process, field training, and became a police officer.

2:42

Yes.

2:42

Eventually you became a detective with Metro.

2:45

Is that correct?

2:45

Correct.

2:46

Approximately how long ago was that?

2:48

2006.

2:49

2006.

2:51

And what is your current assignment with Metro?

2:54

I'm a detective with the force investigation team.

2:56

How long have you been in that position?

2:58

Twelve years.

3:00

What is the force investigation team with Metro?

3:03

The Force Investigation Teams responsible for investigating officer-involved shootings, deadly force incidents, and calls where officers are the victims of a violent felony and uh sustained injury, and we also investigate in custody deaths.

3:19

What types of personnel are or what is the structure of the force investigation team within Metro?

3:25

We have six detectives, a sergeant and a lieutenant, and we also have a cadre of detectives that help us out on the larger calls.

3:33

All right.

3:33

Now the forced investigation team, it's sort of separate from the other investigative detective squads, etc.

3:41

through Metro and goes right uh through to the sheriff, correct?

3:44

Correct.

3:45

All right.

3:45

And so uh just given the nature of that you're often or almost entirely investigating the conduct of police officers, fair.

3:53

Criminal investigations, yes.

3:54

Yes.

3:55

Um the force investigation uh team as part of its duties, the detectives and all the various personnel that uh assist respond to uh crime scenes or scenes where there is a potential officer involved shooting, correct?

4:16

Correct.

4:17

All right, and we commonly refer to that as an OIS, right?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Public Safety█████████████████████████████████████████████87%

Procedural███6%

Pending Litigation███5%

Transportation Safety█2%

Summary of Proceedings

Fact-finding Review for Death of Daniel Ortega – June 1, 2026

On June 1, 2026, Clark County held a public fact-finding review regarding the death of Daniel Ortega, who was fatally shot by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officers on May 16, 2025. The review was convened because the Clark County District Attorney's Office made a preliminary determination that no criminal prosecution of the officers involved was appropriate, as required by Clark County Ordinance 2.12. Presiding Officer William Jansen led the proceeding, and Gwen Gurling served as ombudsman representing the public and the Ortega family. Detective Mark Cologne of the LVMPD Force Investigation Team presented evidence and testimony.

Discussion Items

Incident Overview: On May 16, 2025, at approximately 1:33 PM, Daniel Ortega (34) entered a Las Vegas Athletic Club at 1700 block of North Rainbow Boulevard carrying an Olympic Arms .223 rifle. Over the next approximately eight minutes, he fired at least 24 rounds inside the gym, killing club manager EQ (31) and injuring four others: AP (graze wound to chin), JR (fragments to leg), JT (gunshot wound to back), and JC and AM (assault with deadly weapon).
Ortega's Actions: Surveillance video showed Ortega entering calmly, pointing his rifle at employees, and eventually shooting EQ. He then fired multiple rounds toward the lobby and gym area. His rifle suffered a double-feed malfunction, causing him to manipulate it in the juice bar and lobby areas. He exited the front door at 1:41 PM holding the rifle.
Officer Response: Three officers from Bolden Area Command Patrol responded: Officer Kate Urban (29, hired 2020), Officer Aaron Javier (37, hired 2016), and Officer Skeeter Black (44, hired 2015). All deployed rifles due to the active shooter call. Body-worn cameras were activated. Officers provided walkthrough statements through attorney Charles Goodwin but declined formal statements to FIT.
Shooting by Officers: Officer Javier fired one round through the glass window while Ortega was in the interior lobby; it missed. Officer Urban fired four rounds and Officer Black fired one round as Ortega ran out the front door with his rifle. Total officer rounds: six. Distances: Urban ~13.9 feet, Black ~32.9 feet, Javier ~28.2 feet.
Evidence: Crime scene analysts recovered Ortega's rifle with a double feed malfunction. Magazines were found in the lobby (60 rounds), juice bar (40 rounds), and Ortega's pocket (20 rounds); the rifle magazine held 30 rounds. No drugs or alcohol were detected in Ortega's toxicology. Family reported recent behavioral changes but no threats of violence.
Ombudsman Questions: Gwen Gurling asked whether officers gave any verbal commands (Detective Cologne confirmed none were given), whether officers heard radio transmissions (normal earpieces allow communication, but it was unclear if the specific officers heard Officer Javier's

Meeting Transcript

I'm William Jansen. I will be presiding over today's proceedings. This review is being held because the Clark County District Attorney's Office has made a preliminary determination that no criminal prosecution of the officers involved and the death of Daniel Ortiga is appropriate. Clark County Ordinance 2, Chapter 2.12 requires public review following such a determination. This is not a trial. The purpose of today's proceedings is to present the public with essential facts surrounding the death of Mr. Otiga. Chief Deputy District Attorney William Finn, William Flynn will present today's fact-finding review on behalf of the district attorney's office. He will determine what the witness are witnesses to be called. The ordinance does not provide subpoena power on myself and does not allow for any other party to call witnesses. Gwen Gurling has been appointed to be the ombudsman. She represents both the public and Ortiga family. She will have the opportunity to ask questions of the witness or witnesses. The procedure for questioning witnesses shall be informal with a view to providing the public with the relevant information regarding the use of force. The rules of evidence shall not be strictly enforced. Members of the public observing this review may submit proposed written questions and forms located in the back of this of this room and present those forms to one of the officers present. I will ask the questions unless I determine that it is irrelevant, redundant, or abuse of the review process. At the conclusion of this review, no formal determination regarding the matter or cause of death shall be rendered. Now to either uh Ms. Gurney and Mr. Flynn, do you have any additional things to add? No. Okay. No. All right, Mr. Flynn, then you may call your first witness. Thank you. We're going to uh call Detective Mark Cologne from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Sir, how long have you worked for Metro? Uh 24 years. And when you started with Metro, did you start as a patrol officer? Yes, sir. All right. So fair to say you went through the normal police academy process, field training, and became a police officer. Yes. Eventually you became a detective with Metro. Is that correct? Correct. Approximately how long ago was that? 2006. 2006. And what is your current assignment with Metro? I'm a detective with the force investigation team. How long have you been in that position? Twelve years. What is the force investigation team with Metro? The Force Investigation Teams responsible for investigating officer-involved shootings, deadly force incidents, and calls where officers are the victims of a violent felony and uh sustained injury, and we also investigate in custody deaths. What types of personnel are or what is the structure of the force investigation team within Metro? We have six detectives, a sergeant and a lieutenant, and we also have a cadre of detectives that help us out on the larger calls. All right.

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