Two North Las Vegas police officers arrested

By Mary Manning

Thursday, Jan. 15, 2009 | 1:43 p.m.

Two North Las Vegas police officers were arrested Thursday, both accused of filing a false report stemming from an December incident in which a man was tossed from a casino.

Mark Alan Miles and James F. Balelo, both 27, were arrested Thursday by North Las Vegas police detectives, police Sgt. Tim Bedwell said.

Miles, who has been with the department for a year, was booked for filing a false report by a public officer, a gross misdemeanor, and for a felony charge of oppression under color of office. Balelo was booked on one count of false report by a public officer.

The criminal complaint alleges that Miles and Balelo responded at 11:45 p.m. on Dec. 6 to a report of an uncooperative person detained by security at the Cannery Casino, 2121 E. Craig Road. When Miles and Balelo arrived at the casino, they found a 31-year-old California man secured and handcuffed in a security holding cell.

The man was under citizen arrest by security guards at the time for causing a disturbance in a casino bar, refusing to leave and waving a beer bottle that was alleged to be a potential weapon, Bedwell said.

Miles and Balelo took the man into custody and booked him into the North Las Vegas Detention Center for assault with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest, Bedwell said.

The criminal complaint alleges that during the arrest, Miles committed oppression under color of office by using physical force and threat of physical force by arresting a person and holding him against his will -- and injuring the person during the process.

The criminal complaint also alleges that Miles and Balelo committed false reporting by a public officer in written reports that contained an inaccurate account of their actions and the actions of the suspect while in a holding cell.

The officers were arrested on warrants obtained after a criminal investigation by the North Las Vegas Police Department.

An internal complaint initiated by a North Las Vegas police supervisor on Dec. 7 led to the arrest, Bedwell said. Both men have been booked into the Clark County Detention Center.

The investigation included interviews of people involved and examination of evidence, including a surveillance recording the incident, which resulted in warrants of arrest being issued.

Police officers are held to a higher standard because they are entrusted with powers exceeding that of the average citizen, Bedwell said. Miles and Balelo are on paid administrative leave during the investigation, Bedwell said.