$2.2M Settlement in Tashii Farmer Case: White Vegas Cop Murdered Black Man in 73 Second Chokehold. If He Survived He Wouldn't Have Been Charged w/a Crime. White DA Dropped Charges Against Cop

From [HERE] Tashii Farmer’s [aka Tashii Brown] family filed the lawsuit against the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. According to a spokesperson for the family legal team, a $2.2 million settlement was reached. The settlement will now go before the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Fiscal Affairs Committee for its approval.”

The settlement is believed to be the largest ever in a lawsuit alleging misconduct by the Metro Police.

The former officer accused of causing Farmer’s death, Kenneth Lopera, who was accused of using excessive force, was charged with involuntary manslaughter and oppression under color of office in the death of Farmer. However, racist suspect District Attorney Steve Wolfson dropped the charges.

Tashii Brown initially approached Ofc Lopera and another white uniformed officer having coffee about 1 a.m. May 14 inside The Venetian, 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. South. The arrest report said that he was sweaty and told the officers he was sweaty because he had run from people who were chasing him.

He asked the officers if they knew the location of a drinking fountain, and he ran off when Lopera tried to grab him. Lopera then inexplicably fervently chased the man out of the hotel - as if he had committed a crime and ordered him to stop. [Under arrest for Sweating? Under arrest or seized by cops for what crime at this point? In order for the police to stop you the Supreme Court has ruled that police must have reasonable articulable suspicion that there is criminal activity afoot and the person detained is involved in the activity. Clearly, these rules have no practical significance in reality in regards to interactions between cops and Blacks.] 

During the chase Officer Lopera, who caught up to Mr. Farmer behind the hotel, said he believed Farmer was trying to carjack a pickup truck. [right] As he ran behind him, the Loopera later claimed he saw Farmer try to open the tailgate and then driver’s side door of a truck parked near the rear of the property.and stunned him with a Taser when he saw the man trying to open the tailgate of a truck parked near the property’s rear. 

The arrest report shows the men in the truck did not feel threatened by Brown and notes Lopera did not have “reasonable suspicion or probable cause” to chase him. The video also does not show Farmer even touching the car. He runs past the vehicle. He is about 10 feet from the vehicle when the cop orders him to stop and when the first stun gunshot comes. [MORE] 

Police said Brown would not have been charged with a crime if he survived.

Lopera stunned Brown with a Taser seven times — engaging the stun gun for five seconds six times and for nine seconds the final time, the report shows. Police Department policies are to use the Taser three times, for five seconds each cycle, and then move on to another type of force.

The Taser’s prongs attached to Brown’s lower back, causing “neuromuscular incapacitation” that would have made it difficult for Brown to move, the report shows.

Throughout the encounter, Lopera was screaming at Brown to get on his stomach so he could be handcuffed. But the longest time between stuns was six seconds, so Brown never had a reasonable opportunity to do so. The arrest report also notes that Brown was positioned on his stomach several times as the officer yelled at him to comply.

Contradictory commands

Lopera’s commands also contradicted each other. He told the man, “don’t move” and “get on your stomach.” The report also notes that several commands for Brown to lie on his stomach were issued while Brown was on his stomach.

Brown was struck in the head 10 to 12 times after he was stunned with a Taser, even though he was not displaying aggressive resistance. Detectives investigating the case concluded the man was trying to pull the Taser prongs out of his back, trying to avoid being handcuffed and protecting his face from the punches, the report shows.

The report first describes the chokehold the officer used on Brown as the lateral vascular neck restraint, the only neck hold allowed under Metro policies, but later describes it as a rear naked choke based on statements Lopera made to other officers after the struggle.

LOPERA [IN PHOTO] BRAGGED ABOUT HIS ACTIONS TO OTHER OFFICERS AFTER THE ENCOUNTER, ACCORDING TO A FEDERAL LAWSUIT FILED IN MAY ON FARMER’S BEHALF BY ATTORNEY ANDRE LAGOMARSINO.

“I tased him, fought a little bit and choked him out,” Lopera told an officer.

During the choking, another white police officer on the scene told officer Kenneth Lopera to release his chokehold on Tashii Brown, but the officer continued his hold for another 46 seconds, a Metropolitan Police Department report on the officer’s arrest shows.

Lopera places Brown in a chokehold 2 minutes and 58 seconds into the struggle, the report shows.

“Is he out yet?” the officer asks 15 seconds later. He then repeats the question twice.

Another officer arrives on the scene 3 minutes and 25 seconds into the struggle.

“Let him go, Ken,” the officer is heard saying.

“Are you sure?” Lopera said.

“Yeah,” the officer replies 3 minutes and 26 seconds into the struggle. Lopera released the hold on Brown at 4 minutes and 11 seconds, the report shows.

The exchange between the two officers can be heard clearly when the sound from previously released body camera footage is enhanced.

According to Metro Police, Lopera used his taser seven times, along with an unauthorized chokehold while trying to restrain Farmer outside The Venetian. The Clark County D.A. dropped those charges in August 2018 after a grand jury decided not to indict Lopera.

Lopera retired from the LVMPD and filed a lawsuit of his own against the agency, stating that the department’s internal investigation is self-incriminating.