Inquest verdict angers Le Menn’s family

Keith Paul

Monday, Feb. 26, 2001 | 10:53 a.m.

The coroner's inquest into the death of a French citizen inside the Clark County jail did not answer many questions, but it did enrage the man's family, marking not the end but just the beginning of further investigations and lawsuits.

The seven-member jury voted 5-2 Saturday that the Jan. 4 death of 33-year-old Philippe Le Menn was not justified nor criminal, but excusable homicide. Le Menn died during a struggle with guards inside a jail cell.

The jurors stated in the verdict that there was no way to determine which guards were directly responsible for his death. Hearing Officer Lanny Waite would not reveal if the two jurors rejecting the excusable verdict were voting for criminal or justifiable homicide.

The jurors left the Clark County Courthouse without commenting on the case.

The proceedings drew the ire of Le Menn's cousin, Philip Moreau.

"All of France is offended by this. It's a one-side story here," he said. "This is really offensive that they can kill my cousin and then just walk away. This is not over."

Metro will face a civil lawsuit that will most likely be filed this week in federal court in Las Vegas, said the Le Menn family's attorney, Paul Hoffman, a noted civil rights lawyer.

The FBI also is investigating the actions of the officers and will refer the information to the Department of Justice to determine if federal charges will be filed.

For now the nine jail guard and sergeants who were put on administrative leave will return to work in the jail.

"We're encouraged by the review of the individuals on the jury for the inquest," Lt. Marc Joseph, a Metro spokesman, said. "We will continue to cooperated with the FBI's review and prepare for any other arenas for review."

Hoffman said the inquest was "ridiculous" and the only outcome that could have been reached with the information given to the jury was the one they came out with.

"If you really want to determine if there was any misconduct by public officers, you're not going to get that from this proceedings," Hoffman said. "We are not allowed to cross examine witnesses or put on our own witnesses."

The jurors' decision is the 93rd out of 94 inquests since 1976 in which officers were not held criminally responsible for a death. One jury in 1976 ruled a Metro officer was criminally responsible, but a Clark County grand jury failed to indict him on the charges.

"Jail is what they deserve," Moreau said. "If someone would have held them responsible before, my cousin wouldn't be where he is today, in his grave."

Dr. Lary Simms, the Clark County pathologist who performed an autopsy on Le Menn, testified the French citizen died from "asphyxia consistent with someone being restrained."

He noted there were ruptured blood vessels in the tissue around his trachea, voice box and on the sides of his neck and discoloration on the back of his neck.

There was also bruising on his knees, arms and face, but none of those injuries could have caused death, Simms testified.

None of the guards during testimony admitted to touching Le Menn around his neck. Most of the officers described how Le Menn was acting strangely and has a great amount of strength. None of the guards testified they saw anyone putting pressure on Le Menn's neck.

The guards each pointed themselves out on the surveillance tape of the incident. Clips of the tape have been replayed countless times on television news broadcasts in Las Vegas and in France.

Guard Jay McCauslin testified he punched Le Menn in the face twice as a distraction, then two more times after Le Menn swung at him.

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

Le Menn was booked into the jail on three misdemeanors. Guards testified if Le Menn had been cooperative, he most likely would have been released from the jail in a few hours.

Instead, various guards testified, Le Menn yelled in his cell, started talking to a milk carton, banged on the cell door with enough force that it was being moved off its hinges, then stated he wanted to die.

That last statement prompted the guards to move him to the second floor, where he could be watched more closely.

It was there, after one handcuff was removed, the struggle started and ended with Le Menn on the floor not breathing. He later died.

But before the statement, even as all described his behavior as bizarre, a psychological evaluation was never requested.

"If nothing else, the inquest made clear that the Clark County Detention Center is hardly the model facility that the sheriff claims it is," Gary Peck, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, said.

"Mr. Le Menn was arrested behaving bizarrely and by their own accounts, (the guards) dumped him in a cell and heard him ranting ... and no one did anything about it," Peck said.

Problems dealing with mentally ill inmates was pointed out in a 1997 letter from the Justice Department to the county stating the federal agency was beginning a probe of conditions in the jail. That probe is ongoing.

"In many case, inmates who are mentally ill go unrecognized and untreated ... despite obvious of mental health problems," the letter states.

The district attorneys who put on the case called a Metro use of force instructor, Lt. Tom Conlin, to explain the actions of the guards.

Conlin testified about the force used in subduing people and about sudden inmate death syndrome, which he said can occur when an inmate struggles with guards, then suddenly and for an unknown reason dies. He added it is a controversial theory, and cited several studies that support it.

Several of the jurors, who are allowed to question the witnesses, asked about Conlin's expertise in the theory. One juror asked how they can take his word on the studies without the studies being available for them to review.

After the inquest, Hoffman was shocked that Conlin was allowed to testify about sudden inmate death syndrome when a cause of death was determined.

"The only reason to include that ridiculous theory was to confuse the jury," Hoffman said. "Obviously they discounted it because they came back with the cause of death as asphyxia."

Hoffman said if he had been allowed to cross examine witnesses, many of the contradictions in testimony would have been explored instead of just glossed over.

Hoffman promised when the civil suit is filed, the family will get the answers they are looking for and the guards will be held accountable for their actions.

"This one-sided show (of the coroner's inquest) won't be the end of the story," Moreau said.

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