PO Truong Thai
Officer: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Police Officer Truong Thai
Date: 10/13/2022 Location: Las Vegas, NV FACTORS (1,2,8,9,13,14,15,18,19)
Perpetrator(s) Involved: Tyson Hampton
Criminal Activity History/Involved: Yes, for a domestic incident in July 2020, Hampton “was charged with using a deadly weapon in a threatening manner, and felony assault using a deadly weapon.” / Yes, Hampton had just assaulted his wife and was illegally in possession of a gun.
Mental Illness: Unknown. / None stated.
Substance Abuse History/Involved: Unknown. / None stated.
Race/Sex/Age: Black//Male/24
What prompted the initial contact with the killer? At shortly after 1 a.m. on October 13, 2022, Las Vegas Police Officers Truong Thai and Ryan Gillihan responded to a 911 call of a violent domestic dispute occurring in the street. Upon arrival at the incident location, they spoke with the victim and then went over to her husband, Tyson Hampton who was sitting in his parked vehicle. Officer Thai told Hampton to put his hands on the steering wheel and then reached into the vehicle attempting to gain control over Hampton when he refused to comply.
Actions taken by subject toward police: Hampton fought off Officer Truong, put his vehicle in drive and started shooting at the officers as he slowly fled the scene, striking his mother-in-law and fatally wounded Officer Truong.
Reactions by the police: Even though mortally wounded, Officer Truong and his partner Officer Gillihan returned fire as Hampton sped off. Law enforcement officers quickly tracked Hampton down and deployed a K9 to take the combative subject into custody.
How murdered? Officer Truong was fatally shot while handling a violent domestic dispute.
What could have been done differently for the officer to still be alive? Officer Thai acted reasonably throughout the incident, and since Hampton was driving away and not at him, Thai correctly refrained from shooting at him until Hampton started firing from the vehicle.
Would the officer have been justified to use deadly force before being murdered? Officer Thai used deadly force as soon as it was reasonable to do so. Had Officer Thai seen a weapon inside the vehicle and observed Hampton reaching for it before driving away, then he would have been justified to shoot him.
Outcome for the cop-killer: Hampton was arrested a few blocks away from the scene and faces “eight felony charges including murder and attempted murder” along with misdemeanor domestic battery.
Miscellaneous: “Tyson has been known to pull guns on the family during arguments” and during a 2019 domestic incident he reportedly his gun into the ceiling.
