Retired CT state trooper dies after being punched over the weekend in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS, NV March 9 2021 A retired Connecticut state trooper has died after being punched while in Las Vegas over the weekend.
State police said 57-year-old Thomas Driscoll, of Chicopee, MA, died on Sunday.
According to Channel 3’s sister station in Las Vegas, KVVU-TV, the incident happened a little before 4:30 a.m. on Sunday.
Driscoll was crossing a pedestrian bridge on the Las Vegas Strip when they passed the suspect, identified as 33-year-old Brandon Leath.
Leath began shouting at Driscoll and a woman, and reportedly started following them.
As Driscoll and the woman went down an escalator, police said the suspect “ran down the opposite side and waited for them at the bottom.”
At the bottom, Driscoll approached Leath and the two fought. Police said Leath punched Driscoll, causing him to become unconscious and fall to the ground on his back.
He was taken to Sunrise Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Leath ran from the area, but police said he was caught soon after
He was arrested and charged with murder.
Driscoll was a Connecticut state trooper for 22 years.
“He was an integral part of the state police. He started his career in September 1987 and served for 22 years before retiring,” said CT State Trooper Josue Dorelus. “It saddens us as state police family to hear about the circumstances that lead up to his death.”
During his time with CT State Police, he worked in Hartford and later with his bomb-sniffing dog at Bradley International Airport.
Driscoll’s friend, and former girlfriend, said he was in Vegas to trail hike.
“I was shocked when I received the phone call. I was in denial. I thought it was a scam,” said Annie Chong, of Windsor.
She has known Driscoll for 20 years. The two dated for 10 years, and she said he treated her sons like they were his own.
“He was a very important male figure in my kids’ life,” Chong said, adding that Driscoll even met with her sons before the trip back in January.
“He tried to be proactive in our lives and remain in constant contact, text us every Friday and check in,” said Brian Hsia. “He was just a wonderful, amazing, kind-hearted man. One of the greatest men in my life and that he was stolen from us.”
Her sons said they wish they could tell him one more time how much he meant to them.
“That I love him and thank him for helping shape me and for being there and always putting us first too,” said Evan Hsia.
This isn’t the first time Leath allegedly assaulted someone.
Two men who spoke exclusively to KVVU about Leath said he was a “ticking time bomb.” It is also reported that the suspect has a history of crime.
There were also problems at a Las Vegas apartment complex where a staff member had an entire file on Leath, outlining at least eight encounters in the last two months. One was threatened with a screwdriver.
There’s also video showing Leath after he said he would continue to break into a unit, claiming he lived there.
WFSB
