LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The family of suspended Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sgt. Kevin Menon is responding to the charges he is facing in two separate criminal cases.
Menon was indicted by a Clark County grand jury last month, accused of setting up illegal arrests on the Las Vegas Strip.
He was also arrested a second time at the courthouse because Metro police said detectives found child sex abuse material on two of his devices.
Menon's family has sent Channel 13 a statement denouncing the criminal allegations against him as a conspiracy to discredit him publicly.
They also allege Menon's civil rights and those of his wife and family have been violated.
"The truth is that Sgt Menon is an exemplary officer, a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions on 1 October, among many other distinguished accomplishments, and he is an asset of AND reflection of the community he has served for over a decade - not including his decade saving lives around the world as a paramedic," Menon's family wrote in part.
On Friday, Menon's attorney, Dominic Gentile, filed an opposition to the state's motion to increase Menon's bail in the original case pending in district court.
Prosecutors want to raise his bail from $27,000 to $250,000 cash only.
Gentile called the ask "entirely punitive" and argued it shows the state is trying to keep Menon in custody by any means necessary.
State prosecutors argue allegations against Menon relating to possessing child sex abuse material were not known during the original bail setting of his other case. They said there is the likelihood of more criminal activity, and he is sophisticated enough to try and cover it up.
Prosecutors said he wiped data off his Metro-issued work phone. Gentile said this likely occurred when he gave Menon's work phone to an IT person.
Attached with Gentile's motion is a character statement written by Menon himself.
In it, he writes:
"I am a 42-year-old, bi-racial, first-generation American. My father was born in British Administered India, where he became a physician and served with the Indian Army, before moving to the United States and serving as a captain in the United States Navy. My mother was born in the Netherlands and worked as a nurse in a variety of capacities. My parents instilled a deep sense of community service within me, which has led to a long and diverse history of volunteering beginning at the age of 14..."
Menon also said Sheriff Kevin McMahill selected him to represent Metro in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates for an international law enforcement exchange program just months after his promotion to sergeant.
Channel 13 obtained photos from that excursion on the International Association of Chiefs of Police social media pages.
Menon's next court date is set for November 6.
