Officer Cordell Hendrex hesitated in the hallway of the 31st floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino while above him gunman Stephen Paddock unleashed a hail of gunfire on the crowd below.
A Las Vegas officer who stood frozen during the 2017 massacre has been fired, according to police.
Officer Cordell Hendrex hesitated in the hallway of the 31st floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino while above him gunman Stephen Paddock unleashed a hail of gunfire on the crowd below at the Route 91 Harvest music festival, killing 58 and injuring hundreds.
The Oct. 1 shooting is the deadliest in the U.S. in modern-day history.
Hendrex, who admitted he "froze" and was "terrified with fear" in a police report, was fired in March following an internal review, police confirmed. Video shows Hendrex first in the hallway, then moving to the stairwell to the 32nd floor, where he and the rookie he was accompanied by stayed for at least 15 minutes.
But police union officials say that he did nothing wrong and want him reinstated.
"It's not like Cordell hopped in his patrol car and drove away and went to a missing persons call on the other side of town," Las Vegas Police Protective Association President Steve Grammas told KTNV.
Grammas added that he believes Hendrex was trying to figure out whether there was one or multiple shooters.
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