The death of a Wisconsin man who fell unconscious after being restrained by Metro Police officers at the county jail in late March died from asphyxia, according to the Clark County Coroner’s Office, which this week ruled the death a homicide.
Methamphetamine intoxication and obesity also contributed to the death on March 31 of Nicholas Farah, 36, of Appleton, Wis., the Coroner’s Office said.
Metro’s Force Investigation Team was continuing its probe, and further details could not be released, Officer Aden OcampoGomez said today.
Police said Farah was arrested after refusing to leave an off-Strip hotel where he’d summoned several taxis and then refused rides.
When Farah refused to comply with officers, who were trying to book him at the Clark County Detention Center, they strapped him into a restraining chair, police said.
The officers then pushed his head toward his knees for about 75 seconds while they lifted his arms in an attempt to change his handcuffs, police said. Medics present during the incident noticed Farah wasn’t breathing.
Farah died at University Medical Center, police said. The incident was caught on video.
Four corrections officers involved in the incident, Sgt. Richard Newman, Sgt. Samuel Mendoza, Officer Aaron Mosley and Officer Jeremy Stewart, were placed on routine paid administrative leave as the investigation continued, police said.