Uproar grows in France over Las Vegas jail death

Keith Paul

Thursday, Jan. 18, 2001 | 11:28 a.m.

Officials at the highest levels of French government have expressed concern to U.S. diplomats in Paris about a French national who died while in custody in Clark County jail, but the officials stopped short of demanding an FBI investigation.

Public outrage in France over the Jan. 4 death of Philippe Le Menn is growing as more television stations and newspapers run details of the incident, said Yo-Jung Chen, a spokesman for the French consulate in Los Angeles.

French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's diplomatic adviser -- similar to the U.S. national security adviser -- discussed Le Menn's death with U.S. Embassy officials in Paris.

"The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs also notified the American State Department about the grave concern the French government and its people have over Mr. Le Menn's death," Chen said.

But the French government plans to wait for the outcome of Metro Police's investigation before deciding whether to request that the FBI or another agency investigate Le Menn's death, Chen said. Le Menn's family has demanded the FBI participation.

The State Department released a brief statement about Le Menn's death that read, "We are saddened by the recent death of (Le Menn) while in police custody in Las Vegas. A full investigation is under way (by Metro Police) as is standard procedure in such cases. Until the investigation is completed, we are unable to comment further."

No State Department official could be reached for comment Wednesday.

Le Menn, 33, was in a cell by himself after he had been verbally and physically disruptive when he was brought into the jail about 9:15 a.m. Jan. 4. He faced an assortment of charges after he was accused of trying to grab children off a bus at an elementary school.

While in a cell, Le Menn apparently stripped off his clothing, stuffed them in the toilet and began flushing it, causing his cell to flood, Capt. Henry Hoogland, a Metro Police jail official, said.

Le Menn was handcuffed and taken to another cell that has a videocamera, which enabled jail officials to watch him. They were concerned about his sanity after he made several bizarre statements about being Christ and needing to save the children.

The five-minute struggle started when one handcuff was taken off. The struggle was captured on videotape, which Le Menn's relatives say shows the guards beating him. Metro officials say the tape shows guards trying to regain control of the 6-foot-2, 300-pound inmate.

The tape has been shown on French television many times. A French station is having a reporter interview Metro Deputy Chief Ray Flynn today about Le Menn's death.

Flynn said Metro officials are waiting for the cause of death from the Clark County Coroner's Office, which is awaiting toxicology test results. The cause of death is expected to be released in the next week or so.

But Flynn said after viewing the tape he doesn't see the guards doing anything other than trying to prevent Le Menn from getting out of the cell and regaining control of him.

"Preliminarily, I don't see any excessive force used in this case," Flynn said. "I don't see any kicking or punching."

But Le Menn's cousin, Philip Moreau, called the tape "disgusting" and says it is clear from the tape that Le Menn was being beaten. The family has hired a private pathologist to conduct an independent autopsy.

Gary Peck, executive director of the Las Vegas ACLU, said what Metro has said about this case ranges from "laughable to down right shameful."

"It is laughable to say there is no evidence Mr. Le Menn was beaten when it is clearly seen on the tape ... a guard strikes him on the head," Peck said. "I have seen pictures of Mr. Le Menn, and he has obvious bruises on his face."

A shameful statement made by Metro, Peck said, was when Flynn said on a local radio station newscast that, "We shouldn't be surprised if we learn that (Le Menn) died from a drug overdose."

"This is just a desperate attempt by Metro to cover (its) behind," Peck said.

Peck said he has no faith that Metro or the FBI would conduct an impartial investigation.

"The only way the truth is going to come out is by hiring the very best civil-rights attorney and (private) investigators to get to bottom of this and file a lawsuit," Peck said. "We are helping the family do just that."

Moreau has said he and the rest of Le Menn's family plans to sue Metro.