Mentor, coach, brother: Las Vegas officer killed in the line of duty honored
Two days after he was fatally shot in the line of duty, Las Vegas police officer Truong Thai was honored Saturday night with a candlelight vigil.
Several hundred people including law enforcement, elected officials and community members gathered for the evening vigil at Sunset Park. Thin blue line flags lined the entrance to the parking lot that filled up steadily more than half an hour prior to the vigil starting.
Speakers highlighted Thai’s commitment to law enforcement and called on the community to rally around law enforcement.
Thai, 49, had been an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department since 1999. He was fatally shot in the torso and died at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center Thursday morning.
At around 1 a.m. Thursday, the call that would ultimately lead to Thai’s death came in. He and other officers were called to South University Center Drive and East Flamingo Road after a report of a domestic disturbance.
Police said Tyson Hampton, 24, shot at officers, striking Thai before fleeing the scene. Hampton was arrested near South Eastern Avenue and East Desert Inn Road and suffered minor injuries. He faces charges of murder with a deadly weapon, four counts of attempted murder, and one count each of battery with a deadly weapon and domestic battery.
Mentor, coach and brother
On Saturday, South Central Area Command Officer Greg Hilton, who worked alongside Thai, spoke about their friendship as other officers stood behind him.
His voice broke as he talked about his friendship with Thai and memories, both on and off the job, that they shared. Hilton said he and Thai had been scheduled to work an overtime shift during the time the vigil was happening.
“He could easily have been a sergeant or a lieutenant or more. The bottom line is he could have easily been anywhere he wanted to on this department and where was he? He was working in the most dangerous area of the city on graveyard and working with officers 20 years his junior,” Hilton said through tears. “Why? Because he loved it.”
Thai was his mentor, coach and brother, Hilton said. He recalled that after he was involved in a shooting, Thai took him and Hilton’s kids on a fishing trip.
Thai also coached girls volleyball for many years and loved playing volleyball with his daughter Jada, police said.
A stage set up in the park was surrounded by flags with Thai’s picture on them. A large photo of Thai was projected on the screen behind the stage.
Steve Grammas, president of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association said he knew Thai for 23 years and described the call Thai and his partner responded to that led to his death.
“While mortally wounded, Officer Thai did not lay on the ground in fear,” Grammas said. “Knowing the suspect was still engaging and with only the thought of protecting his partner and the victim of the call, he pulled out his firearm, looked evil in the eye and returned fire, eventually causing the suspect to flee.”
Representatives of the Vietnamese-American Community of Las Vegas and the Asian Community Development Council gave remarks in English and Vietnamese to comfort the family.
At around 7:10 p.m. Saturday, the candles of Thai’s ex-wife Angela Thai and 19-year-old daughter Jada Thai were lit as they sat in the front row of white chairs placed in the park.
Sheriff Joe Lombardo knelt in front of them to offer condolences as the light was passed to those in attendance illuminating the crowd.
The Las Vegas chapter of the Injured Police Officers Fund was selling T-shirts at the event to raise money for the family. The shirts bore a logo with Thai’s name and badge number on them. Donations can also be made online.
Family ‘not alone’
North Las Vegas Police Department Officer Alex Cuevas is the secretary for IPOF. He said after 90 days, the money raised by the fund would go to Thai’s family.
He said the Thai family has a larger family than it realizes.
“Ultimately, it is to show the family, it is to show the officers that worked with Officer Thai that they’re not alone in this,” Cuevas said before the vigil. “We all feel for the tragic loss and we’re all here together.”
Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @davidwilson_RJ on Twitter.
