LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Could suspended LVMPD sergeant Kevin Menon have one of two cases against him thrown out?
He's facing charges for police abuse of powers and possessing child sex abuse material.
On Wednesday, 13 Investigates broke the story of explosive new court documents filed by Menon's defense team in the abuse of powers case.
WATCH: Attorneys for Kevin Menon file motion to dismiss one of two cases against him
Menon's attorneys claim the suspended sergeant was retaliated against by LVMPD and vindictively prosecuted after reporting racist text messages and memes as well as filing whistleblower complaints.
The new court documents paint a broad picture of questionable conduct inside police department.
The text messages and images that Metro officers through they were sharing in secret are no longer shrouded in group chats on the Signal app. They're now public record, on file in Clark County District Court.
As part of Menon's motion to dismiss the abuse of power case pending against him, Menon kept screenshots of the group chats from when he was in Metro's gang unit in 2018.
Some of the texts read:
"We all thought they were from Africa until they started speaking Spanish."
"Ferguson was asking why we stop so many black people ... so he's not making it next time on the list."
"These Savys (short for savages) Will learn to fear this uniform."
Court records show Menon was interviewed by Metro's Internal Affairs Bureau in November 2018 after he reported the texts to his superiors. Records also show that Sergeant Brandon Oris told several of Menon's colleagues he was "No good and they should be careful around him."
In fact, the motion says, "Menon was advised. He said u are too hung up on racism and need to be be careful because one day u will run into someone that pushes back. He said that at times u r too smart for your own good..."
Menon's then-Sergeant Travis Ivie also allegedly told Menon's colleagues that Menon would "Be featured in the news in a negative light someday."
The motion to dismiss lays out a timeline of events Menon's team claims paint the picture of retaliation.
Menon filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in March 2019 and followed up with the agency in March 2021, voicing concerns that he was going to be retaliated against for exposing what the motion calls "shocking and brazen racism that runs rampant and unchecked in the department."
Oris, who allegedly told colleagues Menon was "no good", was promoted to Captain of Internal Affairs in April 2024.
That same month and into early May, Menon, who had been reassigned to the Convention Center Area Command, and other officers were involved in a series of pedestrian stops on the Las Vegas Strip.
WATCH: Bodycam footage shows Sgt. Menon's suspected arrest tactics
Officer Gregory Stinnett reported to the police union that Menon was using "possibly illegal tactics" when dealing with the public, including a stop on May 5, 2024.
Menon detailed that incident in a whistleblower complaint with the Nevada Attorney General on June 11, 2024. He says he saw officers using escalating force against a black military veteran in crisis and decided to intervene.
However, other officers described it differently, according to police records filed with the new court motion. In those records, officers say they responded to the Cosmopolitan casino where a man was hitting a Nevada Energy power box. Records say he was placed in handcuffs after trying to run and pushed onto the hood of a car after trying to fight back. That version of events claims Menon was interfering with a lawful arrest.
The timeline goes on to show Menon was relieved of duty on May 16, 2024, which is one day after he filed his second EEOC complaint.
On July 27, 2024, Internal Affairs again investigated Menon and on August 30, he was arrested on oppression charges and subsequently indicted by a Clark County grand jury.
A Channel 13 report on some of the grand jury evidence was cited in court records for highlighting the Signal app that was used by the Convention Center Area Command Squad.
WATCH: Metro Sheriff speaks on officers' use of disappearing messages app
Signal is a free, encrypted messaging app with automated disappearing settings. To support its claim of vindictive prosecution, Menon's defense team highlights the state's allegation that Menon used Signal on his own accord.
We asked Sheriff Kevin McMahill if he knew officers in the department were using an app that can delete messages automatically and he said no.
However, grand jury testimony and evidence proves they were.
Menon's lawyers say in court records that "Several supervisors at Metro invited Menon to a Signal group chat. One such invite is from LVMPD Director Cary Underwood, Director of the Southern Nevada Counter Terrorism Center. Other supervisors on the Signal messages include Cpt. Connell at CCAC and then-Deputy Chief (now Assistant Sheriff) Dori Koren."
We reached out to Metro to see if they would like to comment on this case and the allegations made against officers in the department.
You can read their full statement below.
"The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is aware of a recent court filing by attorney Dominic Gentile on behalf of his client, suspended LVMPD Sergeant Kevin Menon.
LVMPD began investigating Menon in May 2024, when his squad came forward with allegations that he was making unlawful arrests. Menon was placed on leave and was arrested on August 30th, 2024, after the investigation revealed he was targeting persons of color for illegal arrests in the Convention Center Area Command.
In October 2024, Menon was also charged with 2 counts of possession of visual presentation depicting sexual conduct of a person under 16 Years of Age.
Menon is facing a criminal trial on March 31st, 2025. He was charged with oppression under color of office with force, 8 counts of oppression under color of office, 2 counts of subornation of perjury, and battery on a protected person.
Menon brought forward claims of racism and disparate treatment against a supervisor in November of 2018. At that time, LVMPD conducted two employment diversity investigations, and one internal investigation.
None of the allegations Menon’s attorney included in his filing on Wednesday, March 12th, 2025, were ever brought forward to LVMPD previously. Most of the allegations are against Menon’s former squad mates.
Nevada Revised Statute 289.057 prohibits LVMPD from investigating if a complaint or allegation is filed more than 5 years after the activities of the peace officer occurred. If there are any allegations revealed in the court filing that occurred in the last five years, they will be investigated.
Menon’s criminal case is an active and ongoing investigation by the LVMPD Internal Affairs Bureau."
Everything we've just detailed and more contained in the 230-page motion to dismiss will be heard by Judge Ronald Israel on March 24.
On that day, the judge will also hear a motion the state filed on Wednesday to compel evidence in the other case against Menon regarding possession of child sex abuse material. The state claims that while Menon was being investigated on those charges, he or an IT person wiped evidence from his department-issued cell phone.