District attorney may seek death penalty for suspected cop killer

Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said Tuesday he is considering the death penalty for a man accused of fatally shooting a police officer.

Tyson Hampton, 24, faces 28 charges, including murder, attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, battery resulting in substantial bodily harm, discharging a firearm at a vehicle, battery resulting in domestic violence and 18 counts of discharging a firearm within a vehicle.

“What was displayed in this video was this menace, that’s what I consider him, this menace acted with total disregard for human life,” Wolfson said after a court hearing for Hampton on Tuesday. “But for the grace of God, there could have been three to four more people murdered.”

Hampton is accused of fatally shooting Officer Truong Thai on Thursday after Hampton’s wife called police to report her husband was beating her. Body camera footage released Monday showed Thai approached Hampton while he sat in a blue car near South University Center Drive and East Flamingo Road.

Thai asked the man a few questions, which Hampton refused to answer, before Hampton turned to his passenger seat and grabbed an AK-47 pistol. He drove away slowly, and police said he fired 18 rounds from the weapon, striking Thai, a Metro vehicle, Hampton’s mother-in-law and her vehicle.

One of the rounds struck Thai in the side, passing through his bulletproof vest, police have said.

Despite being shot, Thai and officer Ryan Gillihan, who was not injured, both returned fire.

Hampton was arrested a short time later a few blocks away.

Thai died an hour later at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, according to the Clark County coroner’s office.

Hampton appeared in court Tuesday in a brief hearing. Dozens of police officers from across the valley stared at the man while he stood silently, shackled at the wrists, waist and ankles, with a bandage on his left forearm.

The public defender’s office was appointed to represent Hampton, and the case was delayed for two weeks. A criminal complaint had not been filed as of Tuesday morning.

Wolfson said Hampton’s case will be presented to the death penalty review board, which is made up of prosecutors.

“At the end of the day, the decision is mine. It’s a one-man committee if you know what I mean,” Wolfson told reporters after the hearing. “And I’m strongly considering filing a notice of death penalty.”

Las Vegas Police Protective Association President Steve Grammas called for capital punishment in the case and said Thai’s family is pushing for the death penalty as well.

“This should be a death penalty case,” Grammas told reporters. “That is the expression from myself and I believe all of our police officers. We’re all upset that we have to be here to deal with a case because we lost one of our brothers.

Grammas said the union intends to have officers at every court hearing for Hampton.

“This guy won’t walk into a courtroom without seeing us,” Grammas said. “Every time we’ve got the ability, we’re going to be down here. … We’ll stop showing up the day that they put him down.”

Nevada has not executed anyone since 2006, though 65 people sit on death row, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Hampton is scheduled to appear in court again Nov. 1.

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter. The Associated Press contributed to this report.