A Clark County man has filed a federal lawsuit against the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department alleging a corrections officer used excessive force during his booking at the Clark County Detention Center last October. Brian Eaton claims he was forced face-first onto a concrete floor in the facility's sally port while his hands were handcuffed behind his back, causing facial injuries that required hospital treatment.
According to the complaint filed October 1 in District Court, Eaton was arrested on suspicion of DUI on October 2, 2024, after Nevada Highway Patrol troopers found him asleep behind the wheel near Las Vegas Boulevard and Town Square Boulevard. Eaton admits in the lawsuit to consuming alcohol in his vehicle before falling asleep and later pleaded no contest to the DUI charge.
The lawsuit states Eaton was already kneeling on the concrete with his arms immobilized behind him when the officer propelled him forward "with sufficient force to cause immediate physical injury and substantial bleeding from his head, face and nose." Eaton alleges he was audibly crying out in pain with blood pooling on the concrete, and when he asked what he did wrong, the officer responded, "You stood up, you put up a fight."
The complaint seeks over $100,000 in damages and cites a pattern of similar allegations at the detention center, including a pending 2024 federal lawsuit filed by Jose Villanueva. That complaint alleges Villanueva was thrown against a wall and headfirst into a floor, with a corrections officer reportedly saying he needed "the treatment" — described as shorthand for extreme physical force against detainees for minor misconduct.
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Original reporting: Las Vegas Review-Journal →
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