LAS VEGAS - A lot of questions remain unanswered as to how Nicholas Farah, a 36-year-old Appleton man, died in police custody Sunday while on vacation in Las Vegas.

Richard Niemuth, owner of Niemuth's Southside Market, where Nicholas Farah worked, said employees and customers were shocked to hear the news.

"We've had a number of customers come in and ask what happened," Niemuth said. "It's been a very sad week."

Las Vegas Metropolitan police arrested Farah after responding to a report he was trespassing at a hotel, Assistant Sheriff Charles Hank said in a news conference posted online Wednesday. When they arrived at the jail, Farah continued to resist officers. They then decided to put him in a restraint chair, where his head was between his legs for 75 seconds as officers changed out handcuffs.

RELATED:Appleton man dies while in police custody in Las Vegas

When officers sat Farah back upright in the chair, medical staff noticed he wasn't breathing, Hank said. Staff quickly jumped in to help and took Farah out of the chair. He was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.

The Clark County coroner said the cause of Farah’s death could take several weeks to reveal, pending blood test results.

Hank said police are not aware of any mental health issues, but were informed that Farah had a history of illegal drug use.

Between 2000 and 2018, Farah had a handful of minor court cases, including disorderly conduct, battery and drug-related offenses, according to online court records.

A hard worker who loved his daughters

Beyond his history with law enforcement, Farah's family and friends say he was very well respected.

Farah's father, Craig Farah, stressed in a statement to USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin the kind of person that his son really was.

"He was a kind and loving person who loved his two children more than anything," Farah said.

George Engelmann, a former coworker at Niemuth's, said Nicholas Farah was an extremely peaceful guy — someone he would never expect to hurt anyone.

"I could put Nick in my front pocket; that's how docile this guy was," he said. "There was such a peaceful aura about him. So to hear this, it's very shocking."

Engelmann, who used to handle the sausage-making at Niemuth's, said Nicholas Farah was his "right-hand man," keeping him organized and answering phones, all while using his skill of excellent customer service.

For Engelmann, what stood out the most was Farah's compassion to help others. He cited numerous times Farah would go out of his way to carry groceries to older customers' vehicles without being asked.

Outside of work, Nicholas Farah loved spending time with his daughters, Engelmann said.

"He always talked about how much he loved his kids and how he enjoyed spending time with them," Engelmann said. "All week long he would mention them. ... He loved being involved at their school and always talked about plans for their weekend."

Niemuth said Farah will be remembered at the store as a dedicated worker who cared about the customers.

"He was always on time, always was very pleasant with customers and always got his job done and was looking for stuff to do," Niemuth said. "There was no issue with him when it came to missing work or things like that."

Contact Trent Tetzlaff at 920-858-9657 or ttetzlaff@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ttetz5.