LVMPD Ofc. Kenneth Lopera Only Charged With Involuntary Manslaughter For Murder of Tashii Brown
Channel: Nevada Cop Block (NVCopBlock.org)
Date: 2017-06-08

Official Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Press Conference by Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo

Read the full story here: http://nvcopblock.org/173184/lvmpd-officer-kenneth-lopera-choked-unarmed-man/

Tashii Brown-Farmer was murdered on May 14th at The Venetian Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip by LVMPD Officer Kenneth Lopera. After Brown had asked Ofc. Lopera and another officer for help inside the Venetian, stating that he thought someone was chasing him, they began treating him as if they were going to arrest him, instead of actually helping him. This made him more afraid and led to him attempting to run away from them.

Ofc. Lopera chased him into the Venetian's parking garage, tased him seven times, assaulted him repeatedly, and then used an illegal rear naked choke hold to kill him. In spite of the fact that Tashii Brown had not committed any crime or been suspected of doing so and was not attempting to attack anyone (including police officers) physically and was only trying to get away, he was violently attacked and eventually choked to death.

Lopera could have actually helped Brown instead of treating him like someone that needed to be arrested. Also, at the time that he began choking him, Brown was already being held down my at least two Venetian security guards. So there was no reason whatsoever for Lopera to commit the murderous act that he did that night.

However, instead of being charged with the crime of murder, which he actually committed, Officer Kenneth Lopera was only charged with Involuntary Manslaughter and "Oppression Under the Color of Law," essentially saying that it was just an accident and carrying only a four year maximum sentence. The reality is that it wasn't involuntary and it wasn't manslaughter.

It was murder.