I.Am.Tru.Starr, left, and Prie Falaniko, organizers of the June 3 March for Peace event, pose in front of Las Vegas City Hall Tuesday, June 9, 2020. The event featured dialogue between protesters and Metro Police.
Friday, June 12, 2020 | 2 a.m.
Prie Falaniko was saddened by what he was witnessing at the end of a George Floyd protest in downtown, where police fired tear gas and so-called “less-lethal” rounds into the crowd to get them to disperse.
The night ended with several arrests, the looting of a pawn shop and a Metro Police SUV torched. A similar protest the following day brought more violence, including police shooting and killing an armed demonstrator, and an officer being shot in the face.
“I started to realize that these protests were unorganized and people were getting hurt,” said Falaniko, a leader with March for Peace, a group he was also active with in his native Hawaii. “I started realizing, I don’t see any local, solid community leaders ensuring the safety of the people.”
Floyd, a black man, died in the custody of a white Minnesota police officer. Falaniko said he’s experienced violence and police brutality in his own family, but he also has an aunt who is a police officer, so he can identify with both sides.
He reached out to Metro Police and local leaders to discuss frustrations with the agency and how to peacefully go about changes.
“We both found some common ground in the mix,” he said. “It was a great meeting. They were down to make sure people were safe for the next march.”
Some Metro leaders, including Metro Capt. John McGrath and Assistant Sheriff Chris Jones, agreed to have an open dialogue with protesters. The first March for Peace event on June 3, while heated initially, included amicable dialogue between protesters and law enforcement at Las Vegas City Hall. Some protesters criticized the event for simply being a photo-op for Metro.
Local artist I.Am.Tru.Starr, who partly organized the discussion, said he shared a lot of the anger with the other protesters. A Rochester, N.Y., native, he has personally experienced police brutality but emphasized that these conversations need to happen.
“We’ve got to have a solution to our problems, bro,” he told one protester at the event. “I’m angry too, I’m hurt. But what are we going to do about it?”
Tru said as a black man, he was “born into the movement.” His introduction to activism came after the shootings of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown.
“I’m still angry,” he said. “There’s a lot of anger, hurt and pain. But then it was more unguided. It was different.”
Eight years later, he wants to direct his anger and energy into something more productive, which is why he joined March for Peace Las Vegas with Falaniko.
Some local Black Lives Matter activists disagree with the tactics behind March for Peace, with others on social media accusing him of hijacking the movement and conspiring with police. They asked Falaniko to take the “Black Lives Matter” logo off any literature and social media advertising the event, which he agreed to do.
“I couldn’t wrap my head around it,” he said. “You want people to endlessly protest and us to go to jail with absolutely no solution? I found that to be a big problem. You’re exposing the problem but not remedying the anger.”
Las Vegas doesn’t yet have its own Black Lives Matter chapter — Facebook posts indicate that local activists are working to change that — but the overall consensus of the nationwide movement is that defunding police would achieve accountability and real change. In one interview, co-founder Patrisse Cullors argued that it isn’t possible for law enforcement institutions to be “a compassionate, caring governmental agency in black communities.”
Instead, she calls for reinvesting funds to address things like mental health, homelessness and domestic violence, arguing that law enforcement shouldn’t be the first-responders to these crises.
Falaniko agrees that more funds need to be allocated toward social programs, but he doesn’t really buy the “defund the police” argument.
“Defunding the police is not a great idea,” he said. “The system may not be perfect but it’s definitely necessary. If it wasn’t in place, I think it would be the Wild Wild West out here. Defunding the police would not help black people.”
Instead, Falaniko wants to address more stringent background checks on Metro or strike rules to ensure officers aren’t tied to any racist organizations. He also wants to see more town-hall type gatherings between police and members of the community.
“We could go to a neutral place, maybe somewhere in downtown Fremont or some event that holds space for the local community,” he said. “We should also create programs for felons who come out of prison and look for an opportunity so they don’t go back to the prison system.”
Falaniko also noted that Metro has drastically changed their use-of-force tactics over the past years after the Department of Justice worked with leadership to identify and address shortcomings in its guidelines. In 2014, Metro implemented a training program on racial bias and how officers can identify it within themselves.
Falaniko plans to have more community engagement events between local leaders, Metro and the community. The event earlier this month was not a one-time solution, just a step in the right direction, he said.
“Even if we have to get crucified for it,” he said. “We’re here to bring truth and bring people together.”
The point of the dialogue isn’t about “giving Metro a voice,” Tru said. Rather, it’s more about making them listen to the people and facilitating an uncomfortable but necessary conversation.
“You can’t say, ‘Oh we’re not being heard’ if you have sergeants and sheriffs in front of you listening to your concerns,” he said. “People were out there voicing their honest opinions and talking actual truth to power.”
Tru said that although he and Falaniko may have conflicting ideas with other activists, they have the same goal, noting that Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X existed with conflicting ideas.
“As long as both sides are standing up against the injustice our people have to face on a daily basis, it’s fine,” he said.
