Jury acquits two former NLV police officers of misconduct charges

A jury acquitted two former North Las Vegas police officers Friday of charges that stemmed from misconduct allegations.

Mark Alan Miles was found not guilty of oppression under color of office, a felony, and falsifying a police report, a gross misdemeanor, according to a law clerk for District Judge David Barker.

James F. Balelo also was found not guilty of falsifying a police report, the clerk said.

The two officers, both 27 at the time, were no longer employed with the department as of March 2009. Their departures came after the department conducted an internal affairs investigation.

Details of the investigation were not released, and police would not say whether the officers resigned or were fired.

The officers were suspected of misconduct during a December 2008 incident at the Cannery, on Craig Road near Interstate 15, involving a casino patron.

Police launched an internal investigation into whether the two falsified the patron's police report. The oppression charge against Miles stemmed from allegations that he had slapped the patron repeatedly and slammed him to the ground face-first while handcuffed.