Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Former Metro officer accused of assault indicted on federal charges

A former Metro Police officer accused of assaulting a woman last year was indicted today by a federal grand jury on charges of violating the woman’s civil rights and obstruction of justice, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Richard Thomas Scavone, 49, believed the woman was a prostitute when he approached her about 5 a.m. Jan. 6, 2015, in front of the Hampton Inn Hotel at 4975 Dean Martin Drive, according to police and the Clark County District Attorney’s Office.

Scavone accused the woman of flashing her private parts by lifting her dress, according to a March 12 police report.

She denied the accusations before throwing a cup of coffee on the ground, and Scavone said the woman began “screaming and cursing,” the report said.

That’s when Scavone approached the woman and allegedly grabbed her, throwing her to the ground and arguing with her before striking and dragging her, according to the report.

He slammed her into a patrol vehicle multiple times, leaving her dried blood on the vehicle, the report said.

“You resisted and fought me,” he told the woman, according to the report.

The woman, whose name was not released, suffered cuts and bruises on her face, the report said.

Scavone’s actions were deemed “unreasonable and excessive,” Metro Police said in a statement last year.

Body camera video was obtained in the case, according to police.

The woman was arrested on counts of littering and loitering for the purpose of prostitution, but those counts were dismissed, police said.

The indictment states Scavone “knowingly falsified and made false entries in a document with the intent of impeding, obstructing and influencing the investigation and proper administration of a matter within the jurisdiction of the FBI.”

Scavone was terminated from his position with the department Sept. 10, Metro Police spokesman Michael Rodriguez said.

The maximum sentence on the federal charges is a combined 30 years in prison and a $500,000 fine, if convicted, according to the release.

The FBI is investigating the case, and the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney’s Office are prosecuting it.

Scavone’s first court appearance in the federal case will be Jan. 20., which is when negotiations are scheduled for a misdemeanor battery charge he is facing in Las Vegas Justice Court in connection with the case, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and court records.

His attorney, Joshua L. Tomsheck, said the “likely potential outcome” is the battery case will be dropped. He emphasized his client maintains his innocence.

“The allegations contained in the federal indictment do not match the facts of the case,” Tomsheck said.

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