Sheriff says officer died after ‘medical issue’ in Mexico

Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Joe Lombardo said this week that officer Briar Huff died of a “medical issue” while on vacation in Mexico in December.

Huff, 37, who had worked for the department for five years after serving as a Boulder City marshal, died on Christmas Day while vacationing with her family, according to police.

Lombardo said Tuesday that the department looked into Huff’s passing and determined “there was no nefarious reason for the death.”

“Unfortunately it was based on a medical issue,” he said. “And I don’t know the absolute reason for the medical issue, but it’s my belief it was some form or fashion of food poisoning that may have led to dehydration and subsequently they attempted to get back to the continental U.S. to get medical care and unfortunately she expired prior to,” Lombardo said. “It’s tragic. It’s an absolute tragedy and my condolences go out to the family in that space.”

Metro spokesman Aden Ocampo-Gomez said Wednesday that Metro did not conduct its own investigation, but that one was conducted by Mexican authorities and reviewed by Metro. He did not know which jurisdiction conducted the investigation or whether an autopsy was performed.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Huff grew up in east Las Vegas before her family moved to Boulder City when she was a teenager. She was remembered at a funeral last month attended by law enforcement personnel from across Southern Nevada.

She is survived by her husband, Boulder City police officer Todd Huff, her 11-year-old son Range, and her brother, LVMPD officer Dustin Osborne.

Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @davidwilson_RJ on Twitter.