Las Vegas Police Officer Charged With Manslaughter For Choking Man To Death

On May 14, 2017 at about 1 a.m., 40-year old Tashii Brown (also known by the last name Farmer) approached police offficer Kenneth Lopera of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.  Lopera and another officer were in a coffee shop in the Venetian which is located in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip.

According to police, Tashii asked them if they knew where a drinking fountain was located and said that people were chasing him.  He then abruptly ran through an employee-only area. Lopera gave chase.  When he caught up with Tashii, he was trying to unlatch the tailgate of an occupied pickup truck.  Lopera believed that Tashii was trying to carjack the truck, and he tased Tashii.  The driver later told investigators that he did not think he was being carjacked.

Lopera shocked Tashii 7 times.  Body cam video from the incident shows Tashii writhing on his back in pain with his hands in the air as Lopera commanded him to roll onto his stomach.  Lopera hit Tashii with a closed fist several times in the head and face. He then put Tashii in a chokehold and held him in that chokehold until other officers arrived.  Body cam video shows that another officer told Lopera to release his chokehold on Tashii, but Lopera continued the hold for another 46 seconds.