(Las Vegas, NV) – Today, Sheriff Lombardo of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, announced that Officer Kenneth Lopera, the officer involved in the death of Mr. Tashii Farmer (Brown) will be charged with involuntary manslaughter and oppression under color of office. The Clark County Coroner’s office also released the results of their autopsy report indicating that Mr. Farmer died from “asphyxia due to police restraint”.

“The tragic death of Mr. Tashii Farmer was completely avoidable if training and procedure had been followed by Officer Lopera. This situation was a textbook incident of escalation, not de-escalation protocols and violates the new training protocols adopted by the department. The LVMPD and this community have come too far together for anything less than total transparency throughout this process, said Tod Story, executive director, ACLU of Nevada. We continue to call on the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department to ban the use of LVNR and chokeholds of any kind because they too often result in death. With the results of these two reports released today, the district attorney must prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law.”

“Today the coroner released their findings regarding the death of Mr. Tashii Farmer (Brown), confirming what many who have been following this tragic event already knew.  LVNR, a choke hold that is a banned form of restraint utilized by Officer Kenneth Lopera lead to “asphyxia” suffocation, ultimately killing Mr. Brown. As a community, our hearts continue to break and we lend our deepest and sincerest condolences to his family and friends.  The NAACP is hoping that when reviewing this case the District Attorney’s findings provide justice for the loved ones of Mr. Brown as well as the community that he has left behind.  Officer Kenneth Lopera had a choice, unfortunately his decision had devastating consequences and we continue to be a community in mourning. Said Roxann McCoy, president NAACP Las Vegas Branch.

The NAACP--Las Vegas Branch and ACLU of Nevada will continue to work with LVMPD to ensure transparency throughout this process and make recommendations on the use of force protocols at LVMPD.

###

Public Money Should Only be Spent on Public Schools

(Carson City, NV) — The ACLU of Nevada celebrates the 2017 legislative session’s protection of taxpayer dollars and safeguarding of students and funding for public schools in Nevada.

The ACLU of Nevada filed the first lawsuit against the 2015 voucher program (SB 302) on August 27, 2015, and after the Nevada Supreme Court found its funding mechanism unconstitutional on September 29, 2016, the ACLU of Nevada declared it dead. While many legislators thought the program should be restored, the ACLU of Nevada stood with our coalition members to oppose diverting Nevadans' public money for discriminatory private school use.

"Nevadan's can be proud that the privatization scheme forwarded by some in the Nevada Legislature will not be used to fund discrimination by private schools,” said Tod Story, executive director. “No public money will be diverted to satisfy the private choices of the few at the expense of the many. Public schools must accept every student regardless of their ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or disability, and these students deserve the equal opportunities public schools provide them."

Prior to the 2017 legislative session, a coalition of organizations opposed to vouchers in Nevada joined forces to stop the voucher scheme started in 2015.

“Our coalition partners have fought to keep public money for public schools. Period. We thank them for all their hard work to ensure that public school funding is protected and that Nevada’s schools be funded and supported properly,” said Holly Welborn, policy director.

###

American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada (ACLUNV) is releasing the biographies of the honorees for ACLUNV’s 14^th Annual Celebration of Civil Rights on Friday, June 9, 2017 at 5:30 p.m. at Panevino Restaurant.

The 2017 Celebration of Civil Rights honorees include:

Emilie Wanderer Award: Kathleen J. England

Liberty in Government Award: Assemblyman James Ohrenschall

Community Equality Award: Theresa Navarro
Ferguson Family Freedom Award: Annette Magnus

Honoree biographies and photos are avilable here.

The celebration will include gourmet hors d’oeuvres, complimentary wine and beer, and a silent auction. Tickets are on sale now and are priced at $150 per person. Tickets can be purchased online at www.aclunv.org/events.