RN&R begins a six-part series looking at the use of deadly force by police in Northern Nevada and beyond
T
he pain 18-year-old Brittnie Andrews suffered on October 13 is beyond understanding. In the space of a few seconds, she saw her mother shoot her sister, then—a heartbeat later— watched Sparks Police Department officers mortally wound her mother, Monica Ritchey. “I heard a gunshot, and I saw my sister [Darcie Latham] fall, and I thought, ‘Oh my god, she just killed her,’” the young but decidedly forthright woman said. “And then the cops started to walk forward, and I heard shots. They were shooting my mom. Then I heard, ‘Keep your guns on her,’ and I realized there was a second set of cops on the other side of my mom. … After they had shot my mom, I heard them saying, ‘Keep the guns on her, her hand’s moving.’” Sparks Police officer Kim Hodge and other officers loaded Latham and Andrews into Hodge’s cruiser. “And that was it,” said Andrews. “We went around the corner and waited for an ambulance.”
BY D. BRIAN BURGHART brianb@newsreview.com ILLUSTRATIONS BY JONATHAN BUCK
12 | RN&R |
FEBRUARY 27, 2014
