A lawsuit has been filed against a Metropolitan Police Department officer accused of asking a woman he encountered on duty for a hug and a kiss.
Manuel Ramangmou, 28, was arrested Wednesday on a single gross misdemeanor count of oppression under the color of law. Ramangmou is assigned to Metro’s Southeast Area Command.
On Friday, Las Vegas attorney Carl Arnold also filed a civil rights lawsuit against Ramangmou and Metro in U.S. District Court on behalf of his client, April Woolum.
Police said Ramangmou was charged after he responded to a suspicious vehicle call in the 3400 block of East Sunset Road at 3:41 a.m. on May 9. There, Ramangmou encountered the woman sleeping in a van in a parking lot.
Police said Ramangmou initially approached Woolum to tell her she had to leave, and she agreed to do so.
This interaction, police said, was captured on the officer’s body worn camera.
Police said Ramangmou admitted to then disabling his body worn camera and approaching Woolum’s vehicle again. Ramangmou said he led Woolum to a landscaped area with trees and bushes at his request, and that he asked her for a hug and a kiss “because he thought she was attractive,” police said.
“Officer Ramangmou wanted a hug in the trees because the area was ‘hidden,’” police said.
Although Ramangmou’s body worn camera was disabled, police said a portion of the interaction between Ramangmou and Woolum was captured on private surveillance video from the area.
“Officer Ramangmou agreed that April may have felt like she had to give Officer Ramangmou a hug, and not free to leave, due to the fact that his Patrol Vehicle blocked her van from moving along as he ordered her to do,” police said.
Police said Ramangmou previously worked in security at both The Cosmopolitan and the Palms. When asked if he’d engaged in similar behavior while in the private sector, “he recalled three (3) instances when he asked for a hug.”
Arnold alleged in the lawsuit that Ramangmou molested his client while she was under duress “by rubbing his hands down her sides, back and buttocks,” the suit states.
Woolum, Arnold said, immediately stepped backward.
“Before Woolum could speak, Officer Manny asked: ‘Can I have a kiss too?’” according to the suit. “Woolum responded: ‘I don’t even know you! and turned back toward her driver’s side door.”
Arnold said Woolum was scared by the encounter.
“Woolum did not want to hug him and was frightened,” Arnold wrote in the complaint. “She realized she was in an isolated location with no one else present, it was approximately 4:00 am., she was in minimal clothing, and she was alone with an armed officer. Despite not wanting physical contact, Woolum reluctantly agreed out of fear.”
Arnold questioned why Ramangmou was only charged with a gross misdemeanor, noting Ramangmou obtained Woolum’s personal information and was attempting to text Woolum after the encounter.
Ramangmou is out of custody on a $2,000 surety bond. He is expected to appear in Las Vegas Justice Court in mid-June.
Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@reviewjournal.com.
