FBI to question witnesses of inmate’s death

Keith Paul

Thursday, Aug. 30, 2001 | 11:22 a.m.

Local FBI agents have been directed to interview eyewitnesses to the deadly struggle in the Clark County jail between corrections officers and a Frenchman.

The interviews are part of the Department of Justice's investigation into the Jan. 4 death of Philippe Le Menn to determine if federal civil rights charges should be filed.

"It's to provide them (Department of Justice officials) with more information so they can determine whether there was a violation of federal law," Special Agent Daron W. Borst, a spokesman for the FBI's Las Vegas office, said. "It is a very common request in these inquiries."

Borst said the witness interviews would be completed in the coming weeks, however, he would not reveal who was going to be questioned. He also noted the interviews were voluntary.

A coroner's inquest jury voted 5-2 on Feb. 24 that Le Menn's death was excusable, meaning it was neither justified nor criminal. A total of nine corrections officers and sergeants were put on paid leave until after the inquest results. As many as five officers were struggling with Le Menn at once in the small cell after he had acted bizarrely in a holding cell.

The Department of Justice refused to discuss the Le Menn investigation, saying policy dictates no comments be made on pending inquiries, Dan Nelson, a Justice Department spokesman, said.

There is no time frame on deciding whether federal civil rights charges will be filed, he said.

Metro Police officials are aware of the Department of Justice's request, Undersheriff Richard Winget said, but would not comment, because the investigation is ongoing.

While Le Menn's family has filed a federal civil right lawsuit against Metro, Le Menn's cousin, Philip Moreau, said he would rather see federal charges come from the investigation than money from the lawsuit.

"I'm hopeful now that the FBI is doing an investigation," he said Wednesday night from Los Angeles, where he lives. "I think the FBI will do a better investigation than the Las Vegas police."

Moreau and civil liberties officials have been critical of Metro's investigation of the corrections officers, claiming that several witnesses were never questioned before the coroner's inquest. French officials also protested that they were not notified one of their citizens was in custody. Le Menn had lived in the United States for years, but he was still a French citizen.

The FBI in February opened a preliminary inquiry into Le Menn's death after outcries from the French government and a day after the Clark County coroner released the 33-year-old man's cause of death as asphyxia and the manner of death as homicide.

During the coroner's inquest, a county pathologist testified Le Menn died from asphyxia, "consistent with someone being restrained." However, each corrections officer who struggled with Le Menn testified they never touched his head or neck. The autopsy found injuries on his neck.

The events that led up to Le Menn's death began about 9 a.m. Jan. 4, when Clark County School Police arrested him at Marion Earl Elementary School after reports that he banged on the doors of a school bus full of children. When officers arrived, he yelled, "I'm here to help the children. I'm here to save them."

Le Menn was booked into the jail on three misdemeanors. He then stripped off his clothing, plugged up the toilet and flooded the holding cell. He was also making bizarre statements about being Christ, police said.

Le Menn was handcuffed and taken to another cell that was equipped with a videocamera, so the corrections officers could watch him, police said. Officers stated they had concerns about his mental stability after the statements.

Once a corrections officer took off one handcuff, the struggle with Le Menn started. The fight lasted for about five minutes until Le Menn collapsed. Officers started CPR, but Le Menn later died.