Frank Mir Testifies In Deadly Chokehold Case Involving Police Officer

No one knows submissions like Bellator heavyweight Frank Mir.

The former UFC champion has broken the arms of Tim Sylvia and Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira, submitted Brock Lesnar with a kneebar, and choked Cheick Kongo completely unconscious in a little over a minute.

So his testimony in a case involving Las Vegas police officer Kenneth Lopera, who stands accused of fatally choking out Tashii Farmer, also known as Tashii Brown. Lopera’s police union doesn’t believe the chokehold caused Brown’s death and rather attributes it to an enlarged heart and drugs in his system during his struggle with Lopera.

While the exact nature of Mir’s testimony remains secret, a local news station reports Detective Steve Grammas with the Las Vegas Police Protective Association says Mir saw the video evidence and quickly came to Lopera’s defense (via MMA Mania):

“When he did that one of his first reactions to me was, Steve, there is no way this guy killed the suspect involved. There’s no way.”

An autopsy report determined cause of death to be asphyxia due to police restraint procedures and other significant conditions included methamphetamine intoxication and (enlarged heart).

The choke Lopera used on Brown was considered a low-level use of force prior to the incident but has since been moved up to the intermediate-level use of force.

Mir most recently fell in his return fight against Fedor Emelianenko at Bellator 198 following a two-year USADA suspension.

Prior to that, Mir had an illustrious if somewhat inconsistent career in the UFC where he was known for his ruthless submissions, where he would break a bone without flinching if his opponent didn’t tap.

Mir himself is a life-long Las Vegas resident.