Arrest report details alleged beating by Clark County jail guards
An inmate who authorities say was beaten by two corrections officers at the Clark County Detention Center claimed he was kicked, punched and stomped on because he pushed an emergency button at his cell, according to an arrest report.
Las Vegas police announced Friday the two corrections officers, Nicholas Diaz Jr., 23, and Eduardo Bueno, 28, were arrested Friday after an inmate reported he was beaten by the pair. Both Bueno and Diaz were relieved of duty without pay pending the outcome of the case, police said.
An arrest report for Diaz obtained Monday indicates the incident leading to the officers’ arrests occurred on Feb. 21. The inmate, whose name was blacked out in the report, told a corrections officer that day he needed medical attention because he was beaten by the two officers. The inmate said sometime between 3 a.m. to 4 a.m., he “used the cell’s emergency light” because he wanted to know why he hadn’t been released on bond even though a bail bondsman had posted bail on his behalf. Diaz showed up at the cell, but when his answer wasn’t satisfactory to the inmate, the inmate kicked his cell door.
A short time later, the inmate said Diaz and another corrections officer returned.
“CO Diaz and CO Bueno began punching, kicking and ‘stomping’ (the inmate) on his head, back and torso,” police wrote in the arrest report. “(The inmate) curled into the fetal position.”
After the alleged beating was over, the inmate said he and his bunkmate were fed breakfast in their cell as opposed to the common area with other inmates, which he found unusual. The inmate said he waited until a new shift of corrections officers started, then reported the allegations to a guard.
An examination of video from surveillance cameras at the detention center, police said, shows Diaz arguing with the inmate through a cell door at 3:21 a.m. Six minutes later Diaz and Bueno can be seen putting on gloves at a control desk as Diaz retrieves a roll of toilet paper. Diaz and Bueno, the police report states, are then depicted heading back to the inmate’s cell and entering. Roughly a minute and a half later the two corrections officers are pictured leaving the cell.
The inmate’s bunkmate said he heard the victim and the corrections officer arguing, then a few minutes later Diaz and another corrections officer entered the cell.
“Diaz grabbed (the victim’s) arm, pinned him against the wall, punched his head, causing it to hit the wall,” the bunkmate told police. “(The victim) then fell to the ground and his head hit the metal seat in the cell before laying on the ground in a fetal position.”
The witness said “the two COs began to kick and punch (the inmate) for minutes.”
A jail porter told police they did not witness an assault but heard what sounded like a fight in the inmate’s cell. Another jail porter said the inmate who said he was beaten “was a troublemaker and wouldn’t follow the rules.”
The inmate said he had pain in his head, back and ribs as a result of the incident. An investigator also noticed a raised knot on the man’s forehead, above their right eye.
Court records show Diaz and Bueno are each charged with oppression, conspiracy and battery. Bail was set at $20,000 for Diaz. Clark County Detention Center records indicated he was still in custody as of Monday afternoon. Bail for Bueno was set at $25,000 in Las Vegas Justice Court. Jail records indicated he was not in custody.
Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0390. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.