LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Prosecutors have filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty should the man accused of killing Las Vegas Metro Police Officer Truong Thai be convicted of his murder, documents the 8 News Now Investigators reviewed Monday said.
Thai, a 23-year Metro police veteran, was responding to a domestic disturbance involving Tyson Hampton, 24, on Oct. 13, when Hampton shot him near the 800 block of East Flamingo Road near University Center Drive, police said.
Hampton’s wife called police at 1:08 a.m., saying “her husband battered her and [she] was bleeding from the nose,” a report the 8 News Now Investigators obtained last year said.
As the 8 News Now Investigators first reported last year, Tyson’s mother-in-law warned dispatchers about her son-in-law minutes before he shot and killed Thai in a barrage of gunfire.
Around 1:45 a.m., Hampton’s mother-in-law called police, warning them “Tyson was known to carry handguns,” a report said. It was unclear if the message was relayed from dispatchers to responding officers.
Hampton fired a total of 18 rounds during the shooting, police said. Hampton’s mother-in-law was shot in the leg. A man sitting in a car near the shooting scene was almost hit by a bullet, the report said. A bullet went through his windshield, almost hitting him.
“The defendant knew the police were responding as his wife told him they were responding,” prosecutors said. “Additionally, Officer Thai was on duty and responded to the battery domestic violence call dressed in his police uniform and in his marked police vehicle. Officer Thai approached the defendant, while the defendant was in his vehicle, in order to investigate the battery domestic violence call. As Officer Thai attempted to perform his official duty, the defendant shot and killed Officer Thai and then fled the scene in his car.”
The Las Vegas Police Protective Association, the union representing Metro officers, welcomed the news.
“We at the PPA are extremely pleased with the DA’s office, DA Wolfson, the team, to move it forward where it needed to be,” union president Steve Grammas said in a video posted Friday. “We will continue to be at every court appearance.”
As the 8 News Now Investigators reported last year, Hampton faced a gun-related charge two years ago and was known to pull out his gun during confrontations, court documents and police records said.
Hampton previously pleaded nolo contendere – meaning he accepted the allegations but denied guilt – to a misdemeanor charge of drawing a deadly weapon in a threatening manner in 2021, records showed.
The incident connected to the charges happened in July 2020 and involved a family fight, records the 8 News Now Investigators obtained said.
During the fight, Hampton pulled out a gun and pointed it at a woman, saying, “I wish you would do something,” a report said.
As part of their investigation, officers spoke to a family member who told them Hampton had previously fired a bullet into a ceiling during another argument.
“Tyson has been known to pull guns on the family during arguments,” police wrote in the document.
In November 2019, police responded to a call for service involving Hampton, who they said was making threats. Police said a family member had also reported Hampton firing a bullet into the ceiling.
In December 2019, police responded to a call for a gunshot and a family argument, they wrote in the document. Police were unable to find evidence a gun was actually fired, they said. However, a gun “was seen on the couch in the living room,” they wrote.
While Nevada has the death penalty, a person has not been put to death since 2006. The Ely State Prison is the only state facility with a death row.
A hearing in Hampton’s case was scheduled for Thursday.
