Unarmed man dies after police use stun gun, neck restraint technique

LAS VEGAS -- The death of an unarmed man after police squeezed his neck during a struggle to subdue him outside a Las Vegas Strip casino raised questions Monday about the risks of the technique designed to restrict the flow of blood to the brain.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, which led a push for use-of-force reforms after Las Vegas police were involved in 25 shootings in 2010, will seek a review of the training that allows officers to use what the department calls "lateral vascular neck restraint," ACLU executive Tod Story said.

Story told CBS News that he doesn't believe "there is any real difference" between a chokehold and the police technique, except that "lateral vascular neck restraint" is trademarked.

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"The incident of a man dying in police custody [Sunday] is one more reason why the use of chokehold practices must stop,"  Story said in a statement Sunday. "Too many people have died as a result of this type of excessive force and too many questions remain about the use of chokeholds by our police."

Clark County District Attorney Steven Wolfson said there will be a public use-of-force review to air the findings of the investigation of the death early Sunday of Tashii S. Brown, 40, of Las Vegas. The county coroner said a ruling is pending on what killed Brown.

Brown, who also used the name Tashi Sebastian Farmer, grew up in Hawaii and lived in recent years with his mother in Las Vegas, said Tynisa Braun, a cousin in Honolulu. Brown was a father of two children in Hawaii and had a business in Las Vegas selling shoes, hats and clothing, she said.

Brown's mother didn't immediately respond to a telephone message seeking comment.

Las Vegas police scheduled a Wednesday news briefing about Brown's death and refused to release any information beyond a written statement issued Sunday. The officers involved were not immediately identified, and it wasn't clear if they remained on-duty while the department investigates the death.

Las Vegas police said the arrest happened about 1 a.m. Sunday, after the man approached two uniformed officers inside The Venetian casino-hotel.

Police say the man was acting erratic and said people were chasing him. When one of the officers attempted to talk with the man, he took off running and the officers followed, CBS affiliate KLAS-TV in Las Vegas reports.

A police officer squeezed Brown's neck from the side before Brown lost consciousness, according to the police account. It said officers began CPR, but Brown was pronounced dead at Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center.

It wasn't immediately clear if the fatal struggle was captured on security video. A Venetian spokesman, Ron Reese, referred questions to police.

Eugene O'Donnell, a former New York police officer who is a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said police in New York are taught not to use any kind of chokehold.

"NYPD doesn't want you going for the neck under any circumstances," said O'Donnell, who recalled the public outcry about police use of force after the July 2014 death of Eric Garner in Staten Island.

A passer-by with a cellphone recorded the 43-year-old Garner calling out, "I can't breathe" while officers pinned him to the sidewalk in an apparent chokehold while trying to arrest him for selling loose, untaxed cigarettes.

O'Donnell called it harder than it looks to handcuff a person who resists arrest, but said reaching for the neck can be dangerous.

"Carotid artery versus airway. There are a lot of variables, including the competence of the officer, the condition of the person, mental health issues, whether they're a smoker, alcohol (use)," O'Donnell said. "In the midst of a violent interaction, it's different from doing it in a classroom."