LAS VEGAS (AP) - The Latest on the arrest of a Las Vegas police officer in the choking death of a man last month at a casino (all times local):
5 p.m.
A police union executive says a Las Vegas patrol officer posted $6,000 bail and was released from jail with an August court date to face a felony involuntary manslaughter charge.
Las Vegas Police Protective Association official Steve Grammas (GRAE’-mas) said Monday that Kenneth Lopera will plead not guilty to that charge and another charge of oppression under color of office in the choking death of 40-year-old Tashii Brown after a chase through a Las Vegas Strip casino.
Grammas says Lopera did nothing criminal subduing a combative man who ran through a restricted hotel area, and who Lopera thought was trying to commit a carjacking.
Sheriff Joe Lombardo announced Monday that Lopera was suspended without pay and arrested after the Clark County coroner ruled Brown’s death was a homicide.
Brown also used the name Tashii Farmer. The coroner says he died of asphyxiation, and that he had methamphetamine in his system and an enlarged heart.
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3:45 p.m.
A lawyer says the mother of a 40-year-old man killed by a police officer using a neck hold after a chase through a Las Vegas Strip casino had hoped the officer would face a murder charge.
Attorney Andre Lagomarsino’s comment came after Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo announced Monday that Officer Kenneth Lopera will face involuntary manslaughter and oppression under color of office charges in the death of Tashii S. Brown.
Brown also used the name Tashii Farmer. Lagomarsino noted that his mother, Trinita Farmer, and family held a funeral for him on Saturday.
The Clark County Coroner says Brown died of asphyxiation. He says Brown was intoxicated by methamphetamine and had an enlarged heart.
Lagomarsino says Trinita Farmer also wants The Venetian held responsible for the actions of casino security officers who helped Lopera subdue Brown.
A spokesman for the casino didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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3:20 p.m.
Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo says a police officer will be charged with involuntary manslaughter in a neck-restraint death case.
Lombardo says Monday Las Vegas Officer Kenneth Lopera is expected to surrender to authorities to face charges in the death last month of Tashii S. Brown, 40, at a casino.
The Clark County Coroner says Lopera’s neck hold killed Brown. Coroner John Fudenberg says an autopsy also found that Brown was intoxicated by methamphetamine and that he had an enlarged heart.
Lombardo says that in addition to involuntary manslaughter, Lopera will be charged with oppression under color of office.
If convicted, the two charges could get Lopera up to eight years in state prison.
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3:04 p.m.
A police officer’s neck hold killed an unarmed man who was also zapped with a stun gun and punched by the officer after a chase through restricted areas of a Las Vegas Strip casino last month, the Clark County coroner said Monday.
An autopsy also found that Tashii S. Brown, 40, was intoxicated by methamphetamine and that he had an enlarged heart, Coroner John Fudenberg said.
Brown’s death was attributed to “asphyxia due to police restraint” and Fudenberg ruled it a homicide,
The ruling doesn’t automatically mean anyone will be charged. Departmental investigations are continuing, and Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson will determine if the officer, Kenneth Lopera, will face criminal charges. Wolfson didn’t immediately respond to messages for comment.
Las Vegas police scheduled a news conference to talk about the coroner’s findings.
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