Byron Lee Williams
Byron Lee Williams, 50, was a barber who often gave free haircuts to people who could not pay, and he used his bicycle to run errands for elderly neighbors in central Las Vegas. His family, who have seen additional body camera video, say he was left motionless beside a patrol car and that officers ignored his pleas for help. Police stopped him on his bicycle in September 2019, and body camera footage shown by police captures him repeatedly saying "I can't breathe" while officers held him on the ground and knelt on his back. He died at Valley Hospital Medical Center; the Clark County coroner ruled his death a homicide, citing methamphetamine intoxication, heart and lung disease and "prone restraint", and no charges have been filed against the officers involved.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by staff (disputed; neglect alleged). The Clark County coroner ruled his death a homicide, citing methamphetamine intoxication, heart and lung disease, and prone restraint, while his family says officers ignored his pleas for help and left him motionless beside a patrol car, and calls for an independent review of the video.
Reported by: Clark County coroner (medical examiner or coroner); Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (the agency that held him); his family.