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This happened in 2017, captured on body cam footage. The officer, Kenneth Lopera, shocked Brown w/ a Taser 7x, repeatedly punched him in the head & put him in a chokehold for 1min+. He was charged w/ involuntary manslaughter & oppression under the color of office - later dropped. https://twitter.com/kalopsyia/status/1274047702607597568
The county coroner ruled Brown died by asphyxia due to police restraint - a homicide - and that meth use + an enlarged heart contributed. Lopera’s defense argued Brown’s enlarged heart & drug use ultimately caused his death. A grand jury agreed: https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/homicides/former-police-officer-will-not-be-indicted-in-mans-death-on-las-vegas-strip/
“Welcome to Vegas, where police can kill a defenseless human being, brag about it and then get away scot free,” Brown’s mother said at the time. “I hope the public is as outraged as our family.” Prosecutors dropped Lopera’s charges about a week later. https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/courts/Charges-dropped-against-ex-Las-Vegas-officer-in-chokehold-case/
Lopera had been the first Las Vegas police officer to face a manslaughter charge since 1990. He moved to New Jersey as the case progressed, & property records seem to indiciate he still lives there with his wife: https://www.nj.com/bergen/2018/08/charges_dropped_against_ex-vegas_officer_now_nj_re.html
Brown’s death was heavily covered in Las Vegas, and a lot of that coverage came from local @reviewjournal reporter @blakeapgar, who still keeps up with Brown’s mother. This thread isn’t meant to shut down the original tweet. My only point here is this didn’t happen last week.
I hope this information is helpful as news of his shocking case recirculates amid national protests against police brutality and impunity. @blakeapgar’s an expert and I’m sure would be happy to answer Qs.
