LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A police sergeant allegedly instigated false arrests on the Las Vegas Strip and ordered other officers to lie on his behalf, according to documents the 8 News Now Investigators obtained Tuesday.
Metro police arrested Sgt. Kevin Menon, 42, on Friday, Aug. 30, at headquarters. The 8 News Now Investigators first reported Menon’s arrest. Menon, who was assigned to the department’s Tourist Safety Division, faces charges including oppression of color of office with force, subornation of perjury and battery on a protected person.
Investigators within the department believe Menon orchestrated fake arrests by instigating situations with the public without probable cause, documents said. In one case, Menon ordered the search of a car without any reason, police said. In another, the sergeant, who often worked in a plain clothes capacity, intentionally collided with a person on a pedestrian bridge, leading to their arrest, police investigators allege.
Sgt. Kevin Menon faces charges including oppression of color of officer with force, subornation of perjury and battery on a protected person. (LVMPD/KLAS)
Metro’s Internal Affairs Bureau believes the arrests may have been part of an attempt to skew crime statistics, documents said. The office received a complaint on May 15 from an officer within the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, the union representing Metro police officers. In the letter, the officer alleged Menon “was using ‘probably illegal tactics’ while dealing with the public,” documents said.
April 26
At the Cromwell Casino, Menon, posing in plainclothes, interacted with another man in the sportsbook, documents said. Other officers then detained Menon, handcuffing him and moving him to another area. Officers then began to question the other man, saying “[Menon] was involved in some form of illegal activity and officers wanted to identify [the other man] due to his interactions with [Menon].”
In body camera video, another officer is heard telling the man, “As long as you don’t got no warrants, we’ll kick you loose,” documents said. While there was no probable cause at that point to arrest the man as he had done nothing illegal, a records check showed he was a felon from Michigan, documents said. Officers then arrested him on a charge of failing to register as a felon in Nevada.
On April 26, Menon, posing in plainclothes, interacted with another man in the sportsbook at the Cromwell, leading to the man’s arrest, documents said.
“While it is legal for officers to use a ruse, officers may not fabricate reasonable suspicion or probable cause, and this tactic used fabricated justification to obtain [the man’s] identification, which ultimately led to his arrest,” the investigating officer later wrote in court documents.
May 3
Menon, working in a plain clothes capacity, allegedly intentionally shoulder-checked a man walking on a pedestrian bridge between the Bellagio Hotel & Casino and Caesars Palace, documents said. Officers then arrested the man after they found he was carrying a small knife.
“The officers did not articulate in [the man’s arrest report] that Sergeant Menon actually shoulder-checked [the man],” the investigating officer wrote in court documents. Menon later denied the initial report, writing to an officer: “Add that the subject had bumped into another person on the bridge, then, while staring at the citizen, asked if the citizen, ‘had a problem,’ sufficient to cause your intervention as you believed this could escalate to a physical battery.”
People take photos of the fountains at the Bellagio. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
In a subsequent interview, the man officers arrested with the knife told other officers that Menon “shouldered [him] like the hardest I’ve ever been shouldered,” documents said.
May 4
A man allegedly challenged Menon to a fight on the Strip after the man “was staring at [Menon] with angered eyes,” documents said. Other officers then took the man into custody though some noted the man seemed calm and noncombative.
The investigating officers noted had it not been for Menon indicating “he wanted a particular subject stopped” the man would not have been taken into custody, documents said.
“If officers did not stop the subjects, [Menon] would make derogatory statements to the officers about their abilities as police officers,” an officer involved in the May 4 arrest told Metro investigations according to documents. “[The officer] believed [Menon] instigated the altercation with his actions. The squad was low on arrests that night and [Menon’s] actions were likely linked to his desire to arrest more subjects for statistics.”
May 5
Officers working under Menon detained four people in the Cosmopolitan after an “unprovoked fight,” which was not listed in their arrest reports, documents said. Menon said he overheard one man make an inappropriate comment in a bathroom. Another officer “believed there was probable cause for the subjects because, ‘They were kinda being loud walking through the casino a little bit,’” documents said.
Menon then allegedly orchestrated an illegal vehicle search, sending a group message to officers with a devil emoji.
On May 5, officers working under Menon detained four people in the Cosmopolitan after an “unprovoked fight,” which was not listed in their arrest reports, documents said. (KLAS)
When another officer asked about probable cause to search the vehicle, Menon “did not provide a reason,” documents said. Officers searched the vehicle anyway, with one telling Metro investigators the search was “illegal as [expletive]” and that they did not want to question their supervisor.
The same day, Menon allegedly ordered officers to detain two people inside the Cromwell regarding counterfeit money, documents said. Menon, working in plainclothes, approached the pair and “attempted to hand them what was believed to be fictitious currency.”
Officers later determined there was no probable cause to detain the duo and released them. Menon then allegedly ordered the officers not to document the incident and attempted to cover up the interaction “with false and misleading information,” documents said.
Also on May 5, Menon, working in a plain clothes capacity, allegedly shoved an officer arresting a person on the Strip, later telling the officer, “I’m the [expletive] sergeant you idiot,” documents said. Metro investigators described the incident as a “battery” and said the arresting officer had no way to know Menon was actually a sergeant.
“Menon created fictitious reasonable suspicion and probable cause to detain citizens,” investigators said in court documents. The situations led to some arrests, which Menon allegedly ordered officers to lie about in internal documents.
Menon joined the department in 2014. He spoke with 8 News Now during his graduation ceremony.
“This experience has been humbling,” he said. “It’s taught me more than I could ever imagine. I feel ecstatic or electrified right now. It’s absolutely unbelievable.”
The department placed Menon on leave with pay and his police powers suspended pending an investigation. He posted his $27,000 bail and was not due to return to court until October.
“I am extremely proud of Sheriff McMahill making the tough decision to hold this rogue sergeant accountable for his actions,” LVPPA president Steve Grammas said. “I am sure it is never easy for the sheriff to charge an officer, let alone a supervisor. But this shows that it does not matter the rank, Sheriff McMahill will do what is right by his officers and by the community.”
Representatives from the union representing Metro leadership, including sergeants, did not respond to a request for comment. An attorney for Menon was not provided in his court docket.
It was unclear Tuesday if Menon was involved in incidents other than what was laid out in police documents. A spokesperson for Metro police declined to comment Tuesday.
