Family members of Byron Williams and their supporters meet in front of Metro Police headquarters for a protest Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019. Williams died in police custody earlier this month.
Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019 | 7:43 p.m.
Unreleased video documenting an interaction between Metro Police and a man who died in their custody shows law enforcement in a negative light, the man’s family said.
Byron Williams’ family, activists and community members on Saturday afternoon stood in front of Metro’s central valley headquarters, demanding that police release the unseen footage and explain what happened when officers reportedly turned off their body-worn cameras during Williams’ arrest. Metro has shown the family the unreleased footage, where Williams is shown repeatedly telling officers he couldn’t breathe.
Metro showed no regard for Williams’ life during his Sept. 5 arrest, said his niece, Teena Acree. Williams' family alleges that footage not released by Metro shows officers ignoring the man's pleas about breathing problems. At one point, an officer indicated that Williams was not going to be helped.
“We want America to see that; the full unedited version,” Acree said through tears. “I just want people to know that he was a person, that he was a human being,” who did not “deserve to be murdered.”
Williams, 50, was riding a bike on Martin Luther King Boulevard and Bonanza Road before dawn when patrol officers attempted a traffic stop because it was dark out and his bike didn’t have lights or reflectors, according to police and footage released earlier this week.
Williams was declared dead at Valley Hospital Medical Center 56 minutes after the officers first encountered him, police said. The Clark County Coroner’s Office this week had not ruled on his cause and manner of death.
Williams first pedaled away and then took off running with officers chasing, police said. After scaling a couple of walls, Williams surrendered by lying down on the ground of an apartment complex courtyard.
It wasn’t clear if the officers were familiar with Williams, said Clark County Assistant Sheriff Charles Hank earlier this week, noting police were in the process of getting a warrant for his arrest for violating terms of his house arrest on drug trafficking charges. Also, Williams was accused of fleeing electronic tracking because his monitoring ankle bracelet wasn't charged.
But Williams’ family and activists contend officers were profiling an unarmed black man for simply riding his bicycle in the “ghetto,” said Stretch Sanders, a community organizer. Williams was “hunted” by “police terrorism,” he added.
By releasing information on Williams’ extensive criminal record from California and Nevada, Metro “assassinated his character” to make themselves look better, said Williams’ stepson, Jeffrey Thompkin. He said the family has retained an attorney.
“The way that they released the footage and showed the least egregious tape, that’s not being transparent and it’s not fair to the family, the community or fair to reputation of transparency they’re trying to adhere to,” he said about Metro Police. “This is not a ‘my family issue,’ this is a Las Vegas issue.”
In an edited five-minute video police released this week, Williams is seen mostly complying, but tucking a hand beneath his chest. Hank said that he was likely trying to conceal the baggie of methamphetamine and opioid pills found on him shortly after.
Multiple times, Williams is heard saying he couldn’t breathe, according to the video. An officer was heard telling him: “Yeah, because you’re tired of (expletive) running.” The two officers also sounded winded from the chase, Hank said.
When backup officers arrived, one is seen straddling Williams, with his knee pinned against his buttocks. “Pressure on your butt, that’s all,” said an officer as he continued to complain.
Officers help Williams to his feet and shortly after, the drugs fell from his clothing, which he tried to hide with his foot, Hank said. Around the same time, Williams continued to make noises, but his body went limp, Hank said, and two officers are seen hauling him to a police cruiser.
That’s where the video released to the public ended. Hank said medics arrived at 6:08 a.m., 14 minutes after they took Williams into custody. The family also disagrees with the timeline.
Hank said the officers had turned off their body cameras for sometime after Williams was taken to the cruiser, which he said is allowed under policy when an incident is under control, which the arrest seemed to suggest. He said the officers’ actions remained under investigation, and the two officers who chased and took Williams into custody, Officer Benjamin Vazquez, 27, and Officer Patrick Campbell, 28, were placed on routine administrative leave while the probe was ongoing.
Williams’ family was joined by protesters Saturday of many backgrounds and ages. Some hoisted signs, such as “Black Lives Matter” and “Justice for Byron Williams!”
Then there was Alma Chavez, holding a photos of her son Rafael Olivas, who was shot and killed by Las Vegas police in 2011. She’s a regular at police protests. She spoke about Metro reform of policies, and how to her, it seems like a facade.
After the one-hour protest, she embraced with one of Williams’ family members. They both cried.
