LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Channel 13 obtained bodycam footage, surveillance video, and additional grand jury transcripts which may reveal how a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sergeant set up illegal arrests on the Strip.
Sergeant Kevin Menon is facing charges of oppression, battery on a protected person and subornation of perjury.
RELATED STORY | 'Shoulder check and smash': Grand jury transcripts reveal how Metro sergeant allegedly orchestrated arrests
Video footage from the alleged illegal arrests appears to show several confused individuals asking officers why they're being arrested. One individual says he's being "set up." Another individual said he was being arrested on "false pretenses."
Watch the bodycam footage here (Disclaimer: This video contains expletive language)
According to testimony from grand jury transcripts, several officers under Menon were afraid to come forward, stating concerns of retaliation. Officer Abbygail Armijo even stated that Menon would constantly say, "The captain has my back."
Two grand jury proceedings, one on October 1 and the other on October 8, were held.
We previously told you about five Metro officers who testified about Sergeant Menon.
Seven more witnesses and Metro officer Abbygail Armijo, who previously testified on October 1, were brought to the stand on October 8.
The first witness
The first witness was Captain Steve Connell. He testified he was the captain at the Convention Center Area Command from December 2022 until two months ago, when he was transferred to Homicide Sex Crimes.
Connell said four lieutenants, 16 sergeants, and about 230 to 240 officers are under his command.
Previously, Connell said he had experience with the Tourist Crime Unit, which would be a full team of plain clothes detectives.
But he said times have changed and now the department does what's called ORCA (Overt Resort Crime Abatement) operations. Members who do ORCA operations are comprised of both uniformed and plain clothes officers. Therefore, those getting arrested cannot argue "they didn't know they were police."
Connell told the grand jury plain clothes officers who perform ORCA play a "spotting role," meaning they are passively watching and reporting to uniformed officers what they are seeing.
Under background information of ORCA, which was presented to the grand jury, it states, "police contact WILL NOT be initiated by plain clothes officers unless there is a life preservation or officer safety reason."
Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Hamner asked Connell what to do in a situation where a citizen is "befuddled" while being detained by a uniformed officer, and a plain clothes officer is the one issuing the detention order.
Connell responded that's when the plain clothes officer should take out their badge, identify themself as an officer, and clarify what's going on.
- Hamner: Were these directives issued down to Kevin Menon when he was under your command?
- Connell: Yes, that was understood.
Menon was the sergeant on the Flex squad, a team that proactively hunts for crime, for about five weeks before he was relieved from his duties, according to Connell.
Connell testified he noticed Menon's Flex squad was "the most junior," but he would expect younger officers to take directions from their superiors and rely on good faith on the probable cause.
Hamner then asked Connell about an incident on April 26 at the Cromwell Sportsbook, where Menon acted as a civilian and is detained by an officer which then leads to an arrest of another individual.
- Hamner: So did Sergeant Menon ever bring this event to your attention?
- Connell: No.
- Hamner: Did he ever approach you about a plan to have his fellow uniformed officers detain him or put him in cuffs or do anything like that?
- Connell: No, I've never heard of a tactic where you would let your fellow officers handcuff you.
Connell testifies if he knew about what Sergeant Menon had ordered his officers to do, he would've written a complaint to Metro's Internal Affairs.
Surveillance video from May 3 at the Bellagio appears to show Menon bump into a citizen on the pedestrian bridge between Caesars and Bellagio.
Connell told the grand jury banging into a citizen to effectuate an arrest is not an approved tactic under Metro policy.
According to edit notes presented to the grand jury, Menon wanted his officer to add notes that the person on the bridge bumped into another person on the bridge and asked if they "had a problem."
We told you last time, Officer Justin Candolesas who wrote this arrest report did not include these details because he said "It's a lie."
Connell acknowledged an arrest report is signed by an officer who knows it's under penalties of perjury.
During testimony, Connell said there were three incidents that called for disciplinary action of Menon. But his lieutenant and he didn't take any action because they "never knew of these as they were going on at all."
A juror asks about how someone becomes a sergeant. Connell said it's a "pretty rigorous process" which includes testing, practical applications, management review, and oral board interviews.
- Juror: So is there any reason that sergeants would not know what he should and should not be doing on these ORCA?
- Connell: No.
The second witness
The next witness was Lieutenant Travis McMurtry, who has been in the position since February.
McMurtry told the grand jury Menon was a sergeant under his supervision.
He said outside of emergency-type situations, a plain clothes officer's job is to observe and report and not to interact with those on the Strip.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Nicholas Portz asked McMurtry about the importance of a plain clothes officer to provide accurate information to the uniformed officer filling out an arrest report.
- Portz: When an officer is filling out an arrest report, are they typically expected to put the name of the plain clothes officer who observed the criminal acts?
- McMurtry: Yes.
- Portz: Have you ever issued any sort of directive at any time that uniformed officers filling out arrest reports should not put the names or identity of the sergeant who was the person who observed the probable cause or reasonable suspicion?
- McMurtry: No.
Similar to Captain Connell, McMurtry said he was not aware of Sergeant Menon's alleged illegal tactics.
He told the grand jury if he was aware, he would've brought it to the attention of his captain and also would've filde a complaint to Metro's Internal Affairs.
McMurtry was asked about an incident on May 5 in which four people were detained at the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino.
Bodycam footage of the incident show the four individuals appear to be confused. Shortly after, one of the four individuals is placed under arrest in reference to making a sexual comment near a restroom.
Watch the bodycam footage here (Disclaimer: This video contains expletive language)
- Portz: And was that a change as to the reason for the initial detention of these four individuals?
- McMurtry: Yes, from the video I've seen.
- Portz: So reasonable suspicion to stop someone, is that something that — how is reasonable suspicion developed?
- McMurtry: It's developed by the plain clothes officer's observations of the suspect's actions.
McMurtry said reasonable suspicion should not change during the course of a stop.
Then, Portz asked McMurtry about the incident on May 5 involving Menon and Officer Brett Flygare.
Bodycam video appears to show Menon approaching Flygare, and the Menon pushing Flygare, and saying, "I'm the [expletive] sergeant, you idiot."
Watch the bodycam footage here (Disclaimer: This video contains expletive language)
McMurtry said he was made aware of the incident from Menon because Menon had sent him a text message.
"He stated that he had to push past Officer Flygare to assist an officer in taking someone into custody," McMurtry said.
But in review of the bodycam video, McMurtry acknowledges it is not consistent with what Menon said.
"In the video it seems like he walks up, pushes him and then after he goes past him he kind of stands there and watches the other officers," McMurtry said.
The third witness
Officer Abbygail Armijo is then brought back onto the stand.
Hamner asked Armijo about the incident on May 5 involving an individual arrested for making a sexual comment near the restroom.
Armijo said the keys of the person being arrested were removed and given to Menon. She testified Menon then ordered Officer Seth Acda and Officer Rawlin Behunin to find his car and search it.
- Hamner: He gives that order to those two officers?
- Armijo: Correct.
- Hamner: Okay. At some point later in that evening does Sergeant Menon say something with respect to that vehicle?
- Armijo: Yes.
- Hamner: What does he say to you?
- Armijo: He made a statement to me saying that those two officers conducted an illegal search of the vehicle.
A juror then asked Armijo why she left the Convention Center Area Command and she said she felt "very uncomfortable after some of the situations" she was put in and felt it was best for her career to leave that station.
- Juror: Did you report any of this activity to senior officers?
- Armijo: To the officers on my squad?
- Juror: The lieutenant, the captain?
- Armijo: The lieutenant was involved in the group chat as well as out with us most of these nights, so he was seeing the things that were said in the group chat and our sergeant would constantly say to us the captain has my back. So it was a little bit uncomfortable for us to go to the lieutenant and the captain about this which is why some officers decided to go to the union.
Armijo said she had an underlying fear based on things Menon had said before.
The fourth witness
The fourth witness was Officer Charles Cruz who worked under Menon.
He testified he was typically in uniform and text would be the way uniformed and plain clothes officers would communicate.
Cruz was asked about an incident on May 4 when an individual was arrested near Margaritaville for allegedly preparing for a fight against Menon.
He writes in the arrest report:
"Due to the fact that [the individual] did willfully and unlawfully challenge another person to a fight, incite a disturbance by [the individual] challenging Sgt Menon to a fight...[the individual] was arrested for disorderly conduct."
Cruz testified while he made the arrest, he did not observe the details written in the arrest report and those details were from Menon.
Bodycam footage shows Cruz arresting the individual and Menon to the right of him.
In the video, you can hear the individual telling Menon, "Why are you so mean to me?"
The fifth witness
Officer Nicholas Hajduk is then called to the stand, an area command information officer at the Convention Center Area Command.
Hajduk said he worked for the Flex squad until August of this year.
He was one of the officers in the April 26 incident at Cromwell Sportsbook.
- Hajduk: So we see him sit down in the Sportsbook. We just keep eyes on him for maybe a minute or two to see if he acts out of the ordinary. Since he doesn't do anything he just sits there. Eventually Sergeant Menon sits down next to him and advises for some officers in uniform to come and arrest him.
- Hamner: So before Menon sits down, does he look over to you and say anything about what he's about to do?
- Hajduk: No.
Ultimately, the individual is arrested after running a name check and noticing he is not registered as a convicted felon, a fact that was unclear before detaining the person.
Hamner then asked Hajduk about the incident on May 5 involving the arrest of four individuals at the Cosmopolitan.
Hajduk testified he was a plain clothes officer with Menon on this day but does not remember the four individuals loitering around a restroom.
- Hamner: Do you hear them directing any lewd comments towards any females or any other citizens in the casino?
- Hajduk: No.
- Hamner: Do you see any people reacting to their comments, like 'why would you say that' or like 'who the hell are you' or 'go screw yourself,' anything like that?
- Hajduk: No, I did not.
Despite Menon's accusation that one of the individuals said 'suck my d***' in the restroom, Hajduk said he did not take any voluntary statements from people who were this statement.
Hamner then asked Hajduk about an incident on May 10, when two people were detained at the Cromwell for speaking with Menon, who was acting as a civilian dealing with fake money.
- Hamner: On that day or before you went out that day did Sergeant Menon sit anyone down and say we're going to do an undercover briefing about 'I'm going to start handing people fake money and you're going to arrest me,' anything like that?
- Hajduk: No.
- Hamner: Are you sure?
- Hajduk: Positive.
Hajduk testified he saw Menon being detained by Officer Sanchez, and then two individuals who are seen on surveillance footage briefly speaking with Menon are handcuffed.
He said from what he observed, there was no reasonable suspicion or probable cause to arrest these two individuals and he found out one of them wanted to file a complaint.
The sixth witness
The next witness is Officer Seth Acda, who said he was pulled to the Flex team by Menon after less than a year of employment as a Metro officer.
Acda testified that Menon provided him with background information about how he was on the gang squad and counterterrorism and graduated from an Ivy League school.
- Portz: What was Sergeant Menon's personality while he was your sergeant?
- Acda: He was very, carried a big stick. He kind of boasted about how he was as an officer and just his basic background kind of like he's smarter than everyone else.
Acda said he couldn't call into question when Menon issued an order and Menon often made reference to kicking people off his squad.
Portz then asked Acda about the May 5 incident at the Cosmopolitan.
Acda testified Menon directed him to find where the individual who was arrested had parked and then drove over to the Bellagio to find the person's car with Officer Behunin.
He said he called Menon when he found the car on the top floor of the Bellagio parking garage and then looked inside the vehicle with a flashlight.
- Portz: So you're not actually physically going into the vehicle, correct?
- Acda: Yes.
- Portz: You didn't open the car, you didn't stick your hand through a window or anything like that?
- Acda: No.
Acda told the grand jury he did not find anything of concern and relayed the information to Menon, who then instructed him to search the vehicle.
He said he ultimately searched the vehicle with Officer Behunin and felt they didn't have any probable cause to search the vehicle.
He testified he made a statement to Officer Behunin after the search.
"I said it was illegal as f***," Acda said.
He said Menon never told them why they needed to search the vehicle.
The seventh witness
The seventh witness called to the stand on October 8 was Officer Rawlin Behunin, a member of the Flex squad at the Convention Center Area Command.
During the course of his tenure, Behunin testified there were a series of incidents that ultimately caused him to come forward and report Menon to the police union.
Portz asked Behunin about the incident on May 5 when he searched a person's car at the Bellagio with Officer Acda.
Behunin said Menon told him he had a "special mission" for him. He later found out this was the search of the car.
- Portz: After the search was conducted what did you do?
- Behunin: We got back in the car and were returning back to the Cosmopolitan and on our drive over there Officer Acda turned to me and he said that was illegal as f***.
Behunin said he also became aware of the "shoulder bump" incident on the pedestrian bridge on May 3 after speaking with other squad mates.
"There was a lot of confusion, just overall discomfort with what occurred," Behunin said.
Then, he is asked about the incident at the Cromwell on May 10 involving fraudulent money.
He said Menon sent in a text thread:
"Come arrest me in a sec. Soon as I make contact with them. Then detain and identify them".
The next text from Menon reads:
"425. Possible fraud activity" with a smiling devil emoji following.
Behunin testified he became uncomfortable after seeing those messages and decided to make a phone call to his union representative.
- Portz: Is it an easy thing to do to report a superior officer to a union or to IA or anything like that?
- Behunin: No.
- Portz: Why is that a difficult thing to do?
- Behunin: It can have negative ramifications with your peers and with other superior officers.
The last witness
The last witness called as Metro Detective Matthew Pluck, assigned to the Internal Affairs Bureau.
Pluck testified his job is to investigate misconduct and policy violations committed by police officers.
He said he was one of the detectives assigned to the criminal Internal Affairs investigation of Kevin Menon.
Menon worked a total of 20 shifts as a sergeant on the Flex squad and after officers brought concerns to the union, Pluck said the union officer wrote a letter sent to a Metro assistant sheriff and then Menon was placed on modified duty on May 15.
On May 16, Menon was suspended from police powers.
Pluck said he was brought on to investigate on July 27 and he conducted a series of interviews from May 16 to July 27. He testified he had enough evidence to arrest Menon on August 30.
Metro told Channel 13 that Menon is now on unpaid leave. He was indicted by a grand jury on October 9.
Despite numerous attempts to ask about Menon's case, Metro has not responded to requests for comment.
Menon's initial arraignment is scheduled for October 23.
