Dersch drops casino from lawsuit

Wednesday, March 25, 1998 | 10:03 a.m.

Andrew Dersch, the petty thief whose mistreatment by three Metro Police bicycle patrol officers led to the end of their law enforcement careers and criminal convictions, has dropped his lawsuit against the hotel where the 1995 incident occurred.

Dersch, 32, who is serving at least five years in prison after being declared a habitual criminal, voluntarily dismissed his lawsuit Tuesday against the Fremont hotel-casino and the security guards who watched as he was mistreated.

The incident was captured on videotape by surveillance cameras. Dersch's lawsuit still is pursuing the three Metro officers, who were sentenced to jail terms for their crimes. Former Sgt. James Campbell and former officers Brian Nicholson and Robert Phelan are appealing those sentences to the Nevada Supreme Court. Dersch's attorney, Robert Kossack, said the casino was dropped from the lawsuit to let him "focus the action against the remaining defendants."

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