Metro officer arrested on child abuse charge slapped his 4-year-old, police say

The Las Vegas police officer arrested Thursday on a child abuse charge is accused of striking his 4-year-old son’s face four times, authorities said.

Brandon Pierce, a Metropolitan Police Department correctional officer since 2023, told the boy’s mother he hit the child after becoming “flustered” while getting him ready for school Thursday, according to an arrest report. Pierce had dropped off the boy for afternoon prekindergarten, the report said.

A North Las Vegas police officer who examined the boy after the alleged incident noted that he had a slightly swollen and red handprint mark on the left side of his face that had “begun to turn purple,” the arrest report said.

The North Las Vegas officer was called to the child’s school around 5 p.m. Thursday as a result of the alleged incident, and met the boy and the child’s mother at the school. The report did not state who contacted police.

The mother told the officer that she left the boy at her home in Pierce’s care around 6 a.m. Thursday to go to work, according to the arrest report.

Around 4 p.m., the mother arrived at the school to pick the boy up and school staff told the mother that the boy couldn’t leave school until police arrived because the boy had made statements about being “slapped in the face” by his father, the arrest report said.

The mother then called Pierce, and he talked about getting flustered because the boy was being “difficult” and didn’t want to get ready for school. According to the arrest report, Pierce told the mother that he hit the child on the left side of his face with an open hand strike one time.

After speaking with the mother, the North Las Vegas officer spoke with the boy. He told the officer that he was sitting on a couch in their living room playing with an old car key before the alleged incident, the arrest report said. Pierce got upset that the child had the key and struck him on the left side of his face with an open hand strike four times, the child said, according to the arrest report.

Because Pierce was a law enforcement officer, the North Las Vegas officer did not call him on his cellphone to hear his side of the story before his arrest, the report said.

Metro placed Pierce on “suspension of police powers,” with pay, pending further investigation, according to a Friday news release. A judge said at a Saturday court hearing that Pierce posted bond after being booked into the North Las Vegas Community Correctional Center. A criminal complaint filed Monday accused Pierce of committing misdemeanor child abuse.

Contact Peter Breen at pbreen@reviewjournal.com. Follow @breenreports on X.