test... in capturing his ride down the slopes. /// < welcome to a brighter morning, this is 8 newsnow with kirsten joyce, sherry swensk, demetria obilor and brian loftus > ((kirsten joyce)) > thanks for joining us, i'm kirsten joyce. ((brian loftus)) and i'm brian loftus. the woman at the center of a federal case against a former metro police officer... is now suing the officer, the police department... and other officers... after she claims she was victimized. ((kirsten joyce)) metro police officer richard scavone is accused of using excessive force while arresting her... as well as filing a false police report. 8 news now's vanessa murphy exclusively sat down with the woman... ((amanda ortiz/alleged victim: you're an officer that's supposed to be there for my safety, or you know what i mean and at that point, i just felt unsafe.)) ((vanessa murphy)) amanda ortiz says former metro police officer richard scavone threw her to the ground, slammed her into a patrol car, and knocked out a couple of her teeth in january of 2015.

glass and my face was bleeding all over the place )) ((vanessa murphy)) the 24 year old woman was suspected of working as a prostitute - something she's been arrested for before...and after scavone's stop in this hotel parking lot... which she says turned violent....she was taken into custody. she immediately complained. ((amanda: i felt like it was wrong. i know my rights as citizen.)) ((vanessa murphy)) scavone was fired months later... in january...he was indicted federally for excessive use of force and obstruction of justice for lying on a report.... and ortiz is suing scavone, the department, and other officers at that scene. ((cal potter/attorney: it's unfathomable that an officer wearing a body camera thinks that he can change the facts.)) ((vanessa murphy)) attorney cal potter is representing ortiz. ((cal: it's like the rodney king case. if there hadn't been video tape, it would have just been another beating and so you have a situation here where this young lady was beaten for not committing any type of offense

was unlawful.)) ((vanessa: have you seen the video? cal: no, i have not.)) ((vanessa murphy)) ortiz says she was able to view the video once after her complaint at police headquarters.... 8 news now requested the video through freedom of information and we received this letter....from sheriff joseph lombardo: denied. the reason - an open criminal case. but a spokeswoman for the u-s attorney said the office would not prevent metro from releasing the video. ((amanda: i think it's wrong. it's wrong because it was what, what is the point of having a body camera if it's only gonna be internal?)) ((potter: i think what's important is it shows there is a deterrent. i mean the reason you have body cameras is to prevent these types of situations or hopefully discourage these types of situations.)) ((vanessa murphy)) 8 news now also asked for a mugshot for ortiz after the arrest since it may have shown injuries she's referring to... it's common practice for the

at the request of the media. but in email we were told this one... will not be released at this time. ((amanda: i just feel like if i wouldn't have been as assertive as i have been, it would have just got swept under the rug and and that's what's not okay with me.)) ((kirsten joyce)) ortiz claims she's also having trouble getting reports and other information from metro. and as a result, there's a sergeant john doe in the lawsuit. ortiz claims he arrived later at the initial scene... and failed to look into her claims against scavone. we do want to note... metro has not had an opportunity yet to respond to this new element of this case. /// ((brian loftus)) > police are looking for two suspects... in connection with a deadly shooting... that happened near mcleod and desert inn. police found a white man shot outside a home... who later died at the hospital. police say the victim and another man were arguing... before a second suspect shot the victim inside a parked silver pick-up truck. a woman was also inside that truck... police say the argument stemmed from a dispute over money...

knew each other. if you have any information, call crimestoppers. /// ((sherry swensk)) > the snowfall > the snowfall in the rockey mountains is slightly above average for this season... and it's being recognized as the best snowpack we've had in years! el nino is still playing a major factor this winter season. experts say that it's still too early to tell... what kind of weather we'll see until summer hits. forecasters hope el nino could bring us some rain by the end of this month... but with water levels falling steadily at lake mead... they're watching every drop: (( daniel berc: "you've seen the bathtub ring around the lake, we are lowest point or very close to the lowest point since it was filled in the 1930s. however, we are not at the point that we are looking at water restrictions. but if we continue down our dry pave that we had for the last decade, we certainly need to be thinking about water.")) ((sherry swensk))

understanding by the spring time... if the warm temperatures could further impact the snow. they hope it'll be a cool spring for us. /// let's get to sherry with a look at today's weather.

and right now with this warm weather across the west... it's not helping bring cold rockies.... but we expect the pattern will break at some point. ...................... clear skies and mild temps again in the desert this morning... after hitting those extra warm 70s on tuesday. another beautiful spring day in .......... this morning we are cooling off ....... the air is dry and the winds will stay mainly light and variable today. highs will once again reach to above normal temps and could

degrees! ((sherry swensk))

((brian loftus)) > some of the foundation... are demanding quicker action. ((kirsten joyce)) the plan the shelter has in place... becoming no kill.

the animal foundation attempted to become "no kill"... it became so overcrowded there was a disease outbreak.. and a thousand animals had to be put down.

decade later, it's trying it again. but this time -- it promises the outcome will be much different. denise valdez explains what it will take to save thousands of healthy, treatable animals... in a town where pets are often considered disposable. < (( "last year we had over 100 (( "last year we had over 100 cats" or putting up flyers )) ((denise valdez)) to become a no kill community -- it's all about the numbers. ((harold vosko: we have spay and neutered 113 thousand cats and dogs ((denise valdez)) harold vosko and heaven can wait animal society target neighborhoods for unaltered animals. (( beagle barking )) ((denise valdez)) stray cats will be trapped -- spayed -- neutered -- then released. (( nats surgery)) ((denise valdez)) the low cost -- often free clinic is busy seven days a week -- and it focuses on kill rate. ((harold vosko: so what is being euthanized in the shelter. cats, pit bulls, chihuahuas. guess what we do here we're doing cats, pit bulls and chihuahuas." )) ((denise valdez)) walk through the shelter and that's exactly what you see. row after row.

(( meow )) ((denise valdez)) this little guy has no idea the odds are against him. chances are fifty fifty -- he'll leave here alive. (( dogs in cages? )) ((denise valdez)) that is the daily dilemma for the animal foundation. last year it accepted 28- thousand 271 cats and dogs. its euthanasia rate -- nearly 20 percent of dogs die. its worse for cats -- 54 percent. (( christine robinson: there's somewhere between 800 to 1k animals on site on any given day. )) ((denise valdez)) under pressure from groups like bryce henderson's no kill las vegas ((bryce henderson: they're still killing 26 animals every day. )) ((denise valdez)) the foundation's executive director christine robinson rolled out an ambitious plan to become a no kill shelter by the end of 2020. ((christine robinson: we need to fully implement the 8 programs that we have identified that

((denise valdez)) beyond spay and neuter -- its increasing foster homes -- offering adoption discounts -- stronger marketing -- and transferring more pets to rescue groups. (( dogs barking at diana's house)) ((denise valdez)) nearly 70 rescues work with the foundation... but many like diana england's "a home for spot" are already stretched pretty thin. ((diana england: it's not slowing down at all .. this christmas was the worst christmas in the seven years that i've been doing this. ... the worst )) ((denise valdez)) audio - redux pick up sending adoptable dogs to rescue could save 3-thousand lives every year. and community cats could save 4- thousand. (( chris robinson: its a trend country. its been really really successful. )) ((denise valdez)) the road map is laid out -- now they just need to get there -- but critics enough. (( bryce henderson: we're certainly watching were gonna make sure we hold them to it. )) (( christine robinson: i believe we will get there ..

i've seen other communities do )) > ((kirsten joyce)) the foundation admits these outreach programs -- including counseling people to keep rather than surrender their pets... could cost millions. ((brian loftus)) but its moving the needle in the right direction -- the kill rate is going down. in fact -- larger cities than us -- like los angeles -- new york -- and san francisco are very close to becoming no kill. ((kirsten joyce)) if you want more information about the clinic featured in our story... or what to study the animal foundation stats -- go to las vegas now dot com and click links we mentioned. /// ((brian loftus)) > jennifer lopez isn't leaving las vegas anytime soon. the number of shows the pop singer added this year... after a high demand from her fans.

smartphones now acting as our go-to camera... we're all looking for ways to create a better selfie... or take the next best picture. and this skier has definitely done that! he shows us a

while swinging his smartphone around him. he only used two things to make this look professional -- his iphone and a tether. it took him nearly two years to perfect it... without damaging his smartphone. /// let's get to sherry with a look

sherry swensk this is the nice break in mid- winter to go hiking or biking or maybe clean out the garage... just get outdoors and do a little early spring cleaning perhaps. ............... we're not looking for rain...

just nice sunshine and easy weather over the next week or more. ...... clear skies and mild temps again this morning... after hitting those extra warm 70s on tuesday. another beautiful spring day in las vegas and southern nevada. .......... this morning we are cooling off to 50 at the airport and mostly down into the 40s around the valley. outside the valley pahrump is falling into the upper 30s now... while laughlin is still in the mild low 60s. ely is cold in the single digits, ....... the air is dry and the winds will stay mainly light and variable today. highs will once again reach to above normal temps and could even set a new record at 75 degrees! it will be a warm valentine's day and a very warm president's day weekend. ....

snowy across the eastern u.s. temps in the single digits and teens acrosthe upper midwestd the northeas ............. d our warm trendontinues alle way into next week with ightly cooler temps by next ekend. ((sherry swensk))

roads... back to you./// ((brian loftus)) > due to popular demand... jennifer lopez is adding more shows to her residency at planet hollywood. ((kirsten joyce)) the singer added 19 more performances to her list... from may to december. tickets go on sale for the shows on friday. for more information on pre-sales and special offers... head to our website at lasvegas now dot com... and click in the links we mentioned. /// ((kirsten joyce)) > mccarran international airport is getting some great recognition! ((brian loftus)) what airport officials say makes it so great...and what they say they could improve on...for a better visitor experience. ((kirsten joyce)) plus... google is skipping the learner's permit... why the government is giving the company the okay--to hit the

> kanye west is creating some controversy on twitter... over a tweet about bill cosby. the rapper tweeted that --quote-- "bill cosby is innocent!"... followed by several exclamation points. he didn't elaborate and ignored a number of angry responses to his tweet. cosby is facing sex assault charges in pennsylvania... and is accused by dozens of women of assaulting them. /// ((kirsten joyce)) > a wildlife

rescued four wolves... from a northern california ranch... that was recently devastated by wildfires. "keepers of the wild" announced "miracle wolves of the butte fire"... arrived at their new home in northwest arizona. the fire consumed more than 70- thousand acres and 500 homes. the wolves survived by digging a 15- foot deep den to escape the heat and smoke. we've shared the video of their story on our website... on las vegas now dot com. /// ((brian loftus)) > shark attacks set a new record in the u-s and worldwide in 2015. that's according to the florida museum of natural history. there were 59- unprovoked shark attacks in the u-s last year... beating the record of 53 set in 2012. the report also found there were 98- unprovoked attacks across the world... 2014. experts say swimmers and surfers attributed to the rise in the

it took joel silverman years to become a master dog trainer. but only a few commands to master depositing checks at chase atms. technology designed for you.

ftus)) > a clue discovered... after a little girl was hit and killed by a van over the weekend. why her parents say they're relieved. ((kirsten joyce)) > the first presidential primary is in the books... who took the top spots on the democratic and republican sides. ((michael stevens)) > ((michael stevens is live with more about mccarran's success))///