Las Vegas Police To Pay $3.5M To Settle Lawsuits

Las Vegas Police To Pay $3.5M To Settle Lawsuits

Introduction

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Agency will pay more than $3.5 million to resolve two recent lawsuits brought against the department.

The LVMPD Fiscal Affairs Committee decided Monday to authorize settlement payments of $1.75 million and $1.81 million to the two claimants.

In December 2021, one of the plaintiffs filed a federal court case after his son was strangled to death by an inmate at the Clark County Detention Center in May of that year. According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff's son had schizophrenia and bipolar illness and should not have been placed in the general population the jail.

In 2021, another plaintiff filed a federal court action alleging that LVMPD executed a search warrant on her house to hunt for a guy who did not live there.

According to the lawsuit, cops planted explosives on the door and exploded them without notice while the plaintiff was nearby. According to the agenda item for the committee meeting, an explosive device was detonated prematurely, causing the door to blast open and strike the plaintiff in the face. She said she sustained major injuries, including irreversible eye impairment.

According to the lawsuit's counsel, the case prompted LVMPD to evaluate and adjust its internal practises. Although the lawsuit is done, the plaintiff will have to deal with the consequences for the rest of her life. That is a hard fact that is frequently forgotten until these cases are resolved.

LVMPD's $1.81 million payment to the plaintiff is part of a total settlement of $11.5 million, with insurance covering the remainder.