LAS VEGAS -- Metro Police officers who were on the front lines of a recent showdown near the Bundy ranch in Bunkerville say they feared for their lives.

At least some of the militia members who pointed weapons at police officers during the confrontation may have wanted a violent outcome and tried to incite one.

In exclusive interviews with the 8 News NOW I-Team, officers who were on the scene shared their thoughts and fears, and they say it is not over.

"These guys with rifles, keep them calm," was Clark County Assistant Sheriff Joe Lombardo's request to one of Bundy's sons the day of the confrontation.

Lombardo's top priority was to prevent a spark that might set off a bloody firefight.

"There was a possibility of somebody just having an accidental discharge causing a blood bath, because the individuals that were showing up, the militia quote unquote, were armed to the teeth," Lombardo said.

On one side, armed federal rangers and agents, on the other, a huge crowd of angry militia members and in the middle, 30 Metro officers, exposed and vulnerable, aware that if the shooting began, some of them would die.

"You are standing there going, 'I just hope it doesn't hurt when it comes. That it's quick,' and it was real for us. It was real," Sgt. Tom Jenkins said.

&quot You thought you might die?) Yeah." Sgt. Jenkins said.

Gillspie and Lombardo say they offered to provide Bundy with legal counsel---free. He turned it down and later urged the crowd to go after his cattle.

"Mr. Bundy, in my personal opinion, incited the crowd," Lombardo said.

They were equally hostile to journalists covering the story. Pistol-packing militia men have blocked 8 News NOW's access to public roads. Some poured lighter fluid around our news vehicle while others got physical.

http://www.8newsnow.com/story/25396688/i-team-police-say-bundy-ranch-protesters-not-off-the-hook

(Reuters) - A congressman is calling for a probe into the activities of armed militiamen who are supporting a Nevada cattleman in a high profile showdown with federal authorities over grazing rights, citing allegations they set up armed checkpoints on local roads.

Rancher Cliven Bundy of Bunkerville became a symbol for conservative Republicans in April, particularly among the Tea Party movement, for his longstanding defiance of court orders to remove his cattle from federal land.

The dispute led to a showdown this month in which the federal Bureau of Land Management sent in helicopters and wranglers on horseback to seize his cattle, before backing down for safety reasons as militias flocked to support the rancher.

Bundy's supporters hailed the outcome as a victory over government tyranny. Detractors called Bundy an outlaw, and conservatives later cooled toward the rancher after he made a series of racist remarks and suggested that African Americans may have fared better under slavery.

Camouflage-clad volunteer militia members have remained a visible presence in Bunkerville, about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas, in the two weeks since the showdown despite the departure of Bureau of Land Management officers.

Representative Steven Horsford of Las Vegas, in a letter sent on Sunday, asked the Clark County sheriff to look into complaints that militiamen had been present in Bunkerville-area schools and churches and had set up armed checkpoints on state, federal and county roads, seeking proof of residency from motorists.

"We must respect individual constitutional liberties, but residents of and visitors to Clark County should not be expected to live under the persistent watch of an armed militia," wrote Horsford, a Democrat. "Residents have expressed their desire to see these groups leave their community."

A spokesman for Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie confirmed receipt of the letter on Wednesday and said Las Vegas police would investigate if the department is "confronted with a victim of a crime."

Ammon Bundy, the rancher's son, said armed militiamen do accompany his father to news conferences at a roadside protest area and were guarding the family home, but denied they had established a deliberately intimidating presence.

"They have sidearms, but they are not carrying rifles," he told Reuters. "But going down to churches and schools, or stopping people on the road, that's not happening."

"This kind of armed presence and force does help keep the peace," he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/nevada-congressman-seeks-probe-armed-militia-operations-bundy-224834646.htm

Insurgent wearing the black shirt: "This man and The people that obeyed that order have violated my personal creed."

Other insurgent: "Absolutely"

Insurgent wearing the black shirt: "You don't fucking walk in and say I'm sorry and you're back in brother, you can walk in and say you're sorry and you're lucky that you're not getting shot in the back because that's what happens to deserters on the battlefield"

Other insurgents: "Amen brother, amen"