INCLINE VILLAGE - The cause of death was not determined of a man found hanging from a flagpole at 915 Tahoe Blvd. early Saturday morning.
"We can't speculate on whether he took his life," said Cmndr. Gregg Lubbe of the Washoe County Sheriff's Incline Village Substation. "There's no indication he's been murdered. It was not a natural death."
Brian "Rus" Broadbent, 36, was found at around 6:45 a.m., according to Washoe County Deputy Coroner Joe Kubo.
Originally from Salt Lake City, Broadbent lived in Incline, attended Sierra Nevada College, and worked at 7-11.
"He was so funny. He was full of life," said Roger Himmelright, Broadbent's supervisor at Peet's Coffee in SNC's Primm Library. "He seemed like he had such a great outlook. He lived a great life, but it was a hard one. We can't live that fast."
Himmelright said Broadbent struggled with alcohol, but had planned to get help.
"He was starting an alcohol program," he said. "He was cutting back on classes because it was getting too hard for him. He moved here to better his life."
Sitting outside of Primm Library on Saturday afternoon, Broadbent's friends remembered him as a warm, open person who lived life to the fullest.
His friends said he joked about his frustrations with completing entry-level college classes because he felt his life experiences surpassed what he could learn in school.
"He was trying to get 'life experience' credit," Himmelright said, laughing.
Broadbent's friends described him as a musician and a poet, and told stories of how he touched their lives.
"He was like a gentle giant," said Rory Glass, Broadbent's co-worker at Peet's Coffee and his classmate. "He would stand up (to read his poetry), and you'd just hear this booming voice across the library. I had to go outside the last time he read because it was so good."
