Lawsuit settled with family of man who died in jail incident

Jace Radke

Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2003 | 9:37 a.m.

A federal lawsuit filed by the family of a French citizen who died in the Clark County Detention Center after a violent struggle with guards almost three years ago has been settled.

The undisclosed settlement was reached between the jail's health care provider, Prison Health Services Inc., and the family of Philippe LeMenn, 33, who died in the jail in January 2001, said Gary Peck, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada.

Attorneys representing the family of Philippe LeMenn had alleged in the suit that Prison Health Services' psychiatrists and psychologists who were at the jail when LeMenn was being booked failed to provide him with proper mental health care.

A previous lawsuit by the family against Metro Police claiming wrongful death, battery and negligent supervision and training in connection with LeMenn's death was settled in July when Metro agreed to pay the family $500,000.

LeMenn, who managed a restaurant in Las Vegas at the time of his death, was arrested Jan. 4, 2001, at an elementary school by Clark County School District Police after he allegedly banged on a school bus and yelled incoherently at a group of students in an apparent psychiatric episode.

He was taken to the jail and booked on charges of disorderly conduct, annoying a minor and causing a disturbance on school property. He was combative both verbally and physically, police said.

LeMenn struggled with guards as they tried to put him into a cell. The guards tried to regain control of the 275-pound man, and during the struggle he collapsed and died. The Clark County coroner ruled that LeMenn died of asphyxiation due to restraint.

A coroner's inquest cleared the nine corrections officers involved in the struggle of any wrongdoing.

The incident caused outrage among French nationals in Los Angeles, where LeMenn lived part of the time, and in France after a jail video showing the guards struggling with LeMenn aired on television.

The ACLU acted as co-counsel on the LeMenn case, and Peck said he hopes the case sends a strong message to those responsible for the care of inmates.

"While there is no way to adequately compensate a family for such a tragic loss, I hope the settlement brings some small measure of justice," Peck said.