Wisconsin man died in Las Vegas jail while being restrained

A 36-year-old man died Sunday night after Las Vegas corrections officers restrained him at the county jail.

Four Metropolitan Police Department officers put Nicholas A. Farah into a restraint chair and held his head to his knees for about 75 seconds while they exchanged his handcuffs Sunday night at the jail entrance, Clark County Assistant Sheriff Charles Hank told news media Wednesday.

Farah was returned to the upright position in the chair once Clark County Detention Center officers finishing replacing the handcuffs. But after they finished strapping him into the chair, a medical staffer noticed several seconds later that he wasn’t moving, video footage showed.

“I can’t say that it is common,” Hank said of someone losing consciousness in the chair reserved for uncooperative prisoners, “but sometimes they start cooperating and they’ll be still, and sometimes they remain combative.”

Farah, 36, of Appleton, Wisconsin, died at University Medical Center, the Clark County coroner’s office said. His cause and manner of death were pending Wednesday.

Had he survived, he would’ve faced charges of trespassing, obstructing an officer and resisting arrest.

Police responded about 8:15 p.m. Sunday to a La Quinta hotel at 4975 S. Valley View Blvd., near West Tropicana Avenue, to a request from hotel management that Farah be removed from the property, Hank said. Farah was acting strangely, Hank said, repeatedly calling cabs and then refusing service when they arrived.

He was arrested for trespassing at the hotel and became “agitated” while police tried putting him into a patrol car to bring him to jail, Hank said.

Officers requested a “code 5,” requiring jail staff to meet officers at an entrance to help bring uncooperative people into the facility.

Farah “once again became combative” inside the jail, prompting corrections officers to sit him in a restraint chair, Hank said.

Metro showed clips Wednesday of hand-held and stationary video of officers’ efforts to restrain Farah inside the jail. Metro policy prohibits officers from activating their body cameras inside the jail.

“Waiting for medical to come check him out because he’s really hyped up,” a sergeant said, narrating the hand-held video. “Wouldn’t give any information to patrol.”

Farah, appearing distressed, looked over toward the camera, and police then held his head down toward his knees for about 75 seconds, the video showed. A few shouts could be heard for the first dozen seconds before he went quiet. Farah didn’t appear to move once officers sat him back up.

Police continued to fasten him to the chair for several more seconds until they finished and turned the chair around, stationary camera footage showed. The medical staffer standing nearby noticed he wasn’t breathing, and officers worked to remove him from the chair. He was then taken to the hospital, where he died.

Sgts. Samuel Mendoza and Richard Newman and officers Aaron Mosley and Jeremy Stewart have been placed on administrative leave while police investigate. Metro is conducting internal criminal and administrative investigations into his death, as is typical with in-custody deaths.

Farah had a history of drug usage, but it was not clear whether he was under the influence at the time of his death.

Last month, Roy Scott, 65, died in police custody while police attempted to cuff him and pat him down for weapons outside of his apartment. He died an accidental death at Valley Hospital Medical Center due to methamphetamine intoxication; other significant conditions included paranoid schizophrenia and hypertensive and arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, the coroner ruled.

Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter.