Vegas police: Unapproved neck hold used in chase

This undated booking photo provided by the Hawaii Department of Public Safety shows Tashii Brown, known to them as Tashii Farmer-Brown. He was released from state custody in January, 2016, according to the department. Court records show he was sentenced to five years in prison in 2010 for assault. Brown, unarmed, died early Sunday, May 14, 2017, outside The Venetian in Las Vegas, after a police officer grabbed him in a neck hold, a much-criticized law enforcement technique to subdue people. Brown became unconscious and died, despite efforts at CPR. (Hawaii Department of Public Safety via AP)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Las Vegas police officer used a stun gun seven times and an unapproved neck hold on an unarmed man in a deadly foot chase at a casino over the weekend, authorities said Wednesday.

The officer reported that he thought the man was trying to carjack a pickup truck before the officer used the stun gun and choking technique to subdue him early Sunday at The Venetian, Clark County Undersheriff Kevin McMahill said.

Authorities say 40-year-old Toshii Brown shook off the effects of the stun gun.

McMahill said the officer was heard on a body camera recording saying he used a “rear naked choke,” a prominent mixed martial arts technique.

it could take several weeks for a ruling on Brown’s cause of death.

Previous reports indicated the officer had used a neck hold that is approved in Las Vegas but banned in many other cities.

Brown grew up in Hawaii, where records show he was released from prison in January 2016 after serving a sentence for assaulting his girlfriend.

In Las Vegas, he pleaded guilty in February to misdemeanor driving under the influence.

Brown was a father of two children in Hawaii and lived with his mother in Las Vegas where he had a business selling shoes, hats and clothing, according to Tynisa Braun, a cousin in Honolulu.

Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said there will be a public use-of-force review to air the findings of the investigation of Brown’s death.