LAS VEGAS — An unarmed man died after police officers used a stun gun and a neck grab to subdue him during an arrest on the Las Vegas Strip, authorities said.
Las Vegas police said the arrest happened about 1 a.m. Sunday, after the man approached two uniformed officers inside The Venetian casino-hotel.
Police said he was acting erratic and claimed people were chasing him. Officers were attempting to respond to him when the man ran off.
Police said an officer used a stun gun, which affected the man, but he continued to struggle. Venetian security guards also tried to assist the officers.
The situation escalated, prompting an officer to punch the man with a closed fist multiple times and then use an approved ‘‘Lateral Vascular Neck Restraint’’ control technique to subdue him, police said. The neck grab involves applying pressure to the side of the neck.
The man lost consciousness. Police said they attempted CPR on the scene, but the man died at a Las Vegas hospital trauma center a short time later.
The Clark County coroner’s office hasn’t released the man’s identity.
The Office of Internal Oversight and Constitutional Policing is investigating.
The death has raised questions about whether the restraint technique is too risky.
American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada executive Tod Story said Monday he will seek a review of a policy allowing Las Vegas police to use what the department calls lateral vascular neck restraint.
Eugene O'Donnell, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, says police in New York are taught not to go for the neck under any circumstances.