Clark County holds public fact-finding review after DA declines prosecution in death of Ismael Barney Castillo

Clark County held a police fatality public fact-finding review after the Clark County District Attorney’s Office made a preliminary determination that no criminal prosecution of the officers involved in the March 13, 2024, death of Ismael Barney Castillo was appropriate, Presiding Officer Ozzie Fumo said at the opening of the session.

The review was convened under Clark County Ordinance chapter 2.12, which requires a public presentation when the district attorney declines prosecution following an officer-involved death. The proceeding was intended to provide the public with the facts gathered in the law-enforcement investigation; it did not render a formal finding on cause or manner of death.

Detective Todd Fasulo, the lead investigator with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s force investigation team, summarized scene evidence, witness statements, surveillance footage and body-worn camera recordings. Fasulo said the subject officer was Sergeant Brett Brosnahan, assigned to South Central Area Command, whose department-issued Glock 19 was fired during the incident. The investigation record shown at the review reported Sergeant Brosnahan discharged six rounds, while the county autopsy later described multiple gunshot wounds and, in testimony, the autopsy count was discussed as approximately five and later corrected to four wounds.

Fasulo described a civilian victim identified in the investigation as "AA," who told investigators she was placing groceries in her trunk when Castillo approached, asked for change and then produced a knife. Video and witness accounts shown at the review indicated Castillo obtained a 13½-inch kitchen knife from inside a retail store and later confronted the civilian in the store parking lot.

Multiple arriving officers attempted nonlethal options before lethal force was used, Fasulo said. Officer Lusung deployed a Taser and Officer Parham discharged two rounds from a low-lethality shotgun. Fasulo said officers also issued repeated verbal commands for Castillo to drop the knife. He stated that officers perceived an immediate threat when Castillo left the store, moved into the westbound travel lanes of East Flamingo Road and ran toward officers, and that Sergeant Brosnahan fired his firearm as officers backed away and lifesaving measures followed.

The investigator presented a timeline used in the inquiry: a 911 call at 19:41 reporting an attempted carjacking; officers arriving about 19:47; Sergeant Brosnahan arriving at 19:47:52; a broadcast of "shots fired" at 19:49:34; and emergency medical personnel arriving at 19:54:09. Crime-scene photos shown at the review included a cone drop placed by Sergeant Brosnahan marking his stated position when he first fired; Fasulo said the first round was about 13 feet 4 inches from Castillo in that demonstration. In Sergeant Brosnahan’s statement, he said he believed he was 20 to 30 feet from Castillo when he began to fire and that after Castillo fell he was approximately 2 to 3 feet away.

The Clark County autopsy report, conducted by Dr. Nathan Schaller on March 14, 2024, ruled cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds and listed the manner as homicide. Toxicology results read at the review showed amphetamine, methamphetamine and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in Castillo’s system, Fasulo said.

The ombudsman appointed to represent the public and the Castillo family, Carl Arnold, asked whether Sergeant Brosnahan had been involved in prior police shootings and about his training; objections to those lines of inquiry were sustained during the proceeding on grounds of relevance to the application of force in this incident, and the presiding officer and investigators limited certain questions under the review rules. Members of the public submitted written questions, which the presiding officer read and adjudicated for relevance before asking the witness.

Detective Fasulo also described the officers’ immediate medical response: patrol officers used a trauma med pack carried in their vehicles, applied gauze and a chest seal, and performed CPR and other life-saving techniques until paramedics arrived. At the review, Fasulo said the entire encounter from Sergeant Brosnahan’s initial contact to when shots were fired lasted about 1 minute and 42 seconds.

The public presentation included surveillance and multiple body-worn camera clips and stills that investigators said showed Castillo armed with the long knife and approaching officers. Fasulo testified that decisions not to deploy low-lethality rounds earlier were influenced by the risk that such rounds could miss and strike other officers because of proximity and crossfire concerns.

The review concluded with the presiding officer reiterating that the presentation was required by ordinance after the district attorney’s preliminary decision and that no formal determination of manner or cause of death would be rendered by the review itself. A full video recording and transcript of the proceeding are available on the Clark County website, according to the presiding officer.

No motions or votes were taken during the public review; the session’s stated purpose was to present investigatory facts and allow public questioning under the procedures prescribed by the county ordinance.