The latest on the criminal involuntary manslaughter case against a former Las Vegas police officer accused of killing a man with an unapproved choke hold after a chase through a Strip casino in May 2017:
8:40 a.m.
A prosecutor says a grand jury will review the involuntary manslaughter charge against a former Las Vegas police officer in the on-duty neck hold death of an unarmed man outside a Strip casino last May.
A judge on Thursday gave the Clark County district attorney's office until March 26 to seek an indictment against Kenneth Lopera in the May 2017 asphyxiation death of 40-year-old Tashii Brown, also known as Tashii Farmer.
Lopera didn't appear for the brief date-setting hearing.
The grand jury could revise the charges lodged last June against Lopera, who also faces a charge of oppression under color of office.
Steve Grammas, a union official representing Lopera, welcomes the review.
He says evidence will show that Lopera didn't kill Brown, who the coroner found had health problems and was under the influence of methamphetamine.
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7:20 a.m.
A former Las Vegas police officer is due in court on an involuntary manslaughter charge in the neck hold death of an unarmed man outside a Strip casino last May.
Kenneth Lopera is accused of asphyxiating 40-year-old Tashii Brown after a chase through back hallways of The Venetian resort.
Lopera was arrested in June and has remained free for more than eight months on $6,000 bail pending a preliminary hearing or a grand jury decision whether to send the felony case to state court.
Lopera is now 32. He was dismissed by the department in September.
He's also charged with oppression under color of office, and faces up to eight years in state prison if he's convicted of both counts.
Las Vegas police union officials are representing Lopera. They maintain that he did nothing criminal.
