Sheriff Joe Lombardo addresses police interactions with protesters during a press conference at Metro Headquarters, Tuesday, June 16, 2020.
Published Tuesday, June 16, 2020 | 3:13 p.m.
Updated Tuesday, June 16, 2020 | 10:35 p.m.
At least two legal observers arrested over the weekend during a protest on the Strip were “antagonizing and obstructing” officers, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said Tuesday.
Citing American Civil Liberties Union guidelines, Lombardo said that “it is the job of legal observers to be neutral and impartial and observe and witness the events.”
“That did not happen Saturday,” the sheriff said.
Protesters were marching on the Strip to protest the death of George Floyd, who died last month after a Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck during an arrest.
Several observers, who wore red T-shirts that identified them as such, walked into the street as officers were trying to get dozens of protesters “out of harm’s way,” Lombardo said.
One of the observers, a woman, “shoved” a cellphone camera into an officer’s face, and another approached a Metro vehicle, seemingly leading a group of “aggressive protesters,” Lombardo said.
Officers arrested 21 people on Saturday and gave citations to four observers, Lombardo said. The arrestees were taken to the Clark County Detention Center, where they were released after booking.
As for a complaint from attorney and legal observer Belinda Harris, who reported being shoved to the ground, Lombardo said initial footage viewed by investigators does not show that occurring.
Lombardo played video of the arrest showing a North Las Vegas Police officer searching Harris and helping her sit on a curb with other detainees.
On Tuesday evening, North Las Vegas Police also disputed Harris’ allegations. “We take allegations of improper conduct extremely seriously, and a thorough investigation shows that our police officer acted professionally and courteously, as we train and our department requires,” Chief Pam Ojeda said in a release, which contained additional body-cam footage.
The video shows Harris taken into custody as she’s on a sidewalk after authorities had purportedly dispersed the protest. “We’re moving … we were walking,” she told police.
The officer walked her down the road to an area where other protesters were being detained, and helped her sit down on a curb. In a Facebook post over the weekend, she wrote that she was thrown onto the ground and that officers were “rough” despite her telling them she was a cancer survivor.
Sitting down, Harris complained that the plastic zip ties they’d cuffed her with were “super, super tight” and that they were cutting her circulation. Asked if she could wait a “couple seconds” for new ones, so they wouldn’t have to use steel ones, she said, “Yeah, I guess that’s my only option, right?”
Moments later, the new cuffs arrived. When asked to lift her arms, Harris informed the officers she had cancer. The interaction throughout the video between Harris and police appears to be civil. An officer then helped her sit again.
Harris could not be reached for comment.
Gov. Steve Sisolak on Sunday called for an investigation into the arrest of the observers. He was echoed by Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, whose office is working on a set of police reform guidelines that it was sending to state lawmakers for possible future legislative action, the Associated Press reported.
“Metro’s job right now should be to listen to the community and make meaningful changes to protect Black lives, not to engage in rhetoric using a handful of video clips,” The ACLU of Nevada wrote on Twitter. “It’s time to act on the issues at heart of these protests.”
As of Tuesday, Metro hadn’t identified any officers who violated protocol, but it was investigating 17 complaints from protests in recent weeks, Lombardo said. Those investigations typically take at least 30 days to complete, he said.
Metro has monitored 87 protests since Floyd’s death, Lombardo said. “Over this time, our officers have shown care and restraint in the face of incredible conflict,” he said.
Lombardo said officers understand people’s anger and respect their right to peacefully protest, but they also are tasked with protecting the “people’s rights, welfare and property.”
Saturday’s march, which started in front of the Bellagio, was initially peaceful.
Demonstrators who were walking against traffic on the Strip were subject to arrest after officers ordered them to disperse, Lombardo said. Officers at some point overheard a self-proclaimed leader of the demonstration take to a megaphone to instruct demonstrators to shut down an intersection to “lock up the whole city,” including access to the Strip, the airport and the freeway, Lombardo said. Officers had also heard talk about overtaking Interstate 15 near Russell Road, he added.
Lombardo also said some videos of arrests can be misleading, citing a recent viral video that seemingly showed a peaceful protester being arrested. What the video doesn’t show is that the man had thrown objects at officers before the camera started rolling, Lombardo said.
During a meeting with the Clark County Commission Tuesday morning, Lombardo said that the public should be proud of Metro, which he said is approached by agencies across the U.S. to serve as an example of police reform following changes the department made after a scathing 2012 Justice Department review.
A total of 42 officers have been injured during protests in Las Vegas, including Officer Shay Mikalonis, who was shot and paralyzed June 1 while helping break up a crowd on the north Strip.
About the same time, in an unrelated shooting in downtown Las Vegas, officers shot and killed Jorge Gomez, an armed protester they say raised a gun toward them.
