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Vol. 3, No 6
“Veritas in Caritatis”
Summer Issue 2013
THEME: “Audi alterum partem” - Listen to the other side!
“Voice of the Nevada Jurisprudence and Prison Report”
E-mail: nvjprudence@gmail.com
Website: http://nvjprudence.wordpress.com
Statement of Purpose:
The NJPR Newsletter reports on current prison conditions, good and bad; more importantly it looks at and
Still Standing StrongIn this deplorable world of confusionAnd of endless confinementWhere we are faced with constant degradation and intrusionAnd battered down for trying to seek personal refinementIn a world so dark, so ugly, so coldFeeling so isolate…
Kelly Patterson & Brian Ballentine were kidnapped last night by employees of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) and are now caged at the Clark County Detention Center (702) 671-3900.
If you’d like to also call their kidnappers at LVMPD do it up: (702) 828-3231.
On Aug. 10th 2013 during a Second Saturday action, chalking the police, Sunset members Ballentine and Kelly were arrested and are now being held in CCDC on two counts of graffiti/ defacing property and two counts of conspiracy to commit non felony crime, each.
We are calling for solidarity from our comrades. Their court date is Aug. 13th. Every day until then we are asking that people go to CCDC in solidarity and demand their release. Inform the public of these injustices. Chalk is not graffiti. Chalk is not a crime! Demanding justice for the murders committed by LVMPD is not a crime! Chalk, yell, hold signs, whatever you feel most comfortable with, whenever you get the chance please go show your support. At the very least make an appearance, numbers do count. Write, call fax, demand the release of our comrades! Show our comrades they are not alone. Show LVMPD that these injustices will NOT be tolerated! Please show your support.
Number to call- (702) 671-3900
Address to write-Clark County Detention Center
330 South Casino Center
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101
Las Vegas Court House Fax Number-(702) 671-3175
To be clear - Patterson and Ballentine caused no victim. This is a free speech issue. The pair had been outside the headquarters of the LVMPD to participate in the monthly chalking done on the sidewalk to bring attention to the double-standards afforded to some predatory individuals who wear LVMPD badges (for example – in the history of the LVMPD not one employee has been found by internal investigations to have been in the wrong when involved in a shooting).
Yesterday when they were placed in handcuffs they had not even chalked.
Instead, an as of yet unknown LVMPD employee(s) told Patterson and Ballentine that they had arrest warrants – both were accused of two counts of “graffiti/defacing property” causing damage between $250-5000 and two counts of “conspiracy.”
Bail is set at 80,000FRNs. A lawyer is abreast of their situation.
Patterson and Ballentine are scheduled to be arraigned on Tue., Aug 13th, 8am in courtroom #5.
If you’re in the area, join them in legaland. If you’re in or out of the area, calls to their captors would be helpful. (702) 671-3900
BACKGROUND
*note that in the first video below I communicated an incorrect phone number, the best phone number to call is (702) 671-3900. If you have a moment please call to inquire about their status. Communicate to their captors that even if the accusations are true, there’s no victim and thus no crime and thus Patterson and Ballentine should be uncaged.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: The LVMPD’s Killer Reputation
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Departments’ Pathetic History of “Accountability”
A Community in Fear
Not too long ago I attended a meeting of the Clark County Commissioners concerning a vote over the process that would be adopted to address shootings by Las Vegas area police. Prior to the vote that eventually happened (after all the important stuff like giving a certificate to a group from a retirement home whose most lauded act was alerting neighbors if they forgot to close their garage door), members of the community were allowed to address the commissioners regarding the issue.
One speaker after another stepped to the microphone and it wasn’t long at all before a common theme began to develop. Statements such as, “I’m afraid of what will happen if I call the police,” “I would never call the police even if I was in real danger because I’m scared more of them,” and “I don’t trust them not to kill someone if I call them for help” were recited over and over again throughout the session. These fears were often accompanied by personal examples of negative experiences resulting from interactions with Las Vegas area police, including several from the families of people that actually had been killed by the police.
Legitimate Reasons to be Afraid
When the cops in Las Vegas kill people their ONLY “punishment” is paid leave.
Obviously, every time the police respond to a call they don’t kill or otherwise abuse the people they encounter, even in Las Vegas. However,it happens often enough to instill the sort of fear and hatred toward them that was on public display during the commissioners’ meeting that day. The problem is that people within the community know that should something happen to them or one of their loved ones at the hands of a member of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department they have very little hope of that cop ever being held accountable for their actions. They don’t know that the cop responding wants to kill them, but they do know that if they do they will get away with it.
The bigger problem is that members of Las Vegas area police departments also know this. Jesus Arevalo told his then-wife that he wanted to shoot someone so that he could get free time off, based on the policy of placing cops on paid leave during investigations. Within a couple of months after that statement, Stanley Gibson, an unarmed, disabled Persian Gulf veteran suffering from a PTSD induced panic attack and in no way representing a threat to anyone was murdered by Jesus Arevalo. Those seven unnecessary shots fired from Ofc. Arevalo’s AR-15 were the ticket to what is fast approaching two full years of the paid vacation that he had indicated he was hoping for. No charges were ever brought against him for his actions, which even other police on the scene characterized as unexplainable in their official statement to the detectives subsequently going through the motions of an investigation. At worst, Arevalo might possibly be punished by being fired.
A Long History of Corruption and Violence
The Biggest Gang in Las Vegas
Throughout their history, the LVMPD has consistently rated among the highest statistically nationwide (even when compared against cities with much higher populations) in times they have shot at people while on duty and in the level of fatalities resulting from those shootings. Stanley Gibson was just one of the latest names in the laundry list of the victims of Las Vegas police that includes Erik Scott (whose murderers were later given an award for bravery while gunning down someone from behind and then unloading their guns on him as he lay already dying on the ground), Trevon Cole, Orlando Barlow, Tanner Chamberlain, Deshira Selimaj, and Henry Rowe, among the 150+ shootings just since 1990.
Yet not one singular time in the close to forty year history of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has a Las Vegas area police officer ever been charged for shooting someone, regardless of whether the person shot was unarmed or even completely innocent of having committed any actual crime. One rather telling fact is that the reason the old Las Vegas city police was originally merged with the Clark County Sheriff department to create “Metro” was in response to an uproar after a very questionable shooting that was ruled justifiable. Yet, no matter how questionable the many shootings by Metro have been, the justifications have continued unabated.
An Absolute Refusal to Hold ANYONE Accountable
Finally someone within the Las Vegas police system has made some sort of stand for justice, but will it actually matter?
A recent incident has shined a very public spotlight on the reasons why it is so impossible to hold anyone within the LVMPD accountable for their actions. In one of the most questionable shootings ever Officer Jacquar Roston claimed to have confused a hat Lawrence Gordon was wearing for a gun and shot him in the leg as he sat in a car. As would be expected of anybody with even half a brain, Metro’s internal Use of Force Review Board didn’t really accept that excuse and recommended that Roston be fired as a result.
The fact that this recommendation was hailed as an “unprecedented” act by the board tells you a lot about the past history of the Las Vegas police in relation to officer involved shootings. The fact that Sheriff Gillespie promptly disregarded that recommendation in favor of a one week unpaid suspension (after Roston had already spent 8 months on paid vacation during the investigation) tells you a lot about the prospects for any sort of accountability for them in the near future.
However, in one glimmer of hope for some sort of prospect for justice, seven members of the board did actually have the integrity to stand up and resign in disgust after Gillespie’s disgraceful action. One former member of the board, Glenn Rinehimer, stated that previously the board had been “stacked” with retired police officers from other parts of the country designated as civilians. According to Rinehimer, they didn’t seem in any hurry to actually investigate whether shootings were justified. “The retired police just didn’t seem interested,” Rinehimer said. “They didn’t ask a lot of questions. They voted quickly for it to be justified.”
Robert Martinez, a co-chair of the board who also resigned, had previously expressed hope that this sort of rubber stamping had ended once former police employees and their family members were banned from being appointed as civilians on the board last year. He believed that Metro truly desired a fair and transparent process. That is until Gillespie essentially exonerated Roston despite the board’s unanimous recommendation. “I was thoroughly fooled,” Martinez said. “I thought it was going to change and it isn’t.” Within his resignation letter Martinez characterized the process as a flawed one that undermined the Use of Force Review Board.
Sheriff Gillespie announcing that the final week of Roston’s 8 month vacation will be unpaid.
Former Assistant Sheriff Ted Moody, who submitted for retirement in response to this case, agreed that Gillespie was undermining the credibility of the board even as Metro faces increasing scrutiny over questionable shootings and other scandals that are becoming hard to even keep up with lately. Las Vegas police officers will not have the public’s trust until the department has a credible process for reviewing its own shootings, Moody stated. And that process must be stable, impartial, unbiased and free from political interference. “Anything short of that is going to fuel further suspicion and mistrust and is just begging for the imposition of externally imposed oversight,” he said. “Nobody wants that. We can be better than that.”
Rinehimer went even further in his assessment of the problems with a system that is in practice designed to ensure no cop is ever held accountable. Rinehimer said the sheriff’s decision to overturn the Use of Force Review Board’s recommendation doesn’t set a good precedent, especially for officers who find themselves in similar situations in the future. “At the end of the day, the officer might be sitting there smiling, knowing the sheriff might not fire him anyway,” Rinehimer said. “It’s a farce.”
A Lack of Accountability that is Not Good for Anyone, Even the Police Themselves
The inevitable backlash
There’s an obvious incentive for members of the community to demand accountability for the heavily armed band patrolling through the streets that they live and work. If those individuals are permitted to act as an occupying force with the impunity to do as they please to those within that community, those among their ranks that have an unscrupulous tendency will take advantage of that to commit criminal and violent acts.
However, there are reasons why even those within the local police departments should want to see accountability for those “bad apples” that we are always being told are just exceptions to the rules. Fear eventually gives rise to hostility and working within the bounds of a hostile environment makes someone’s job just that much harder to do. People within communities don’t feel real obligated to help with the investigation of crimes when the person doing the investigation is perceived as being as bad or worse than the people being investigated. Having to deal with indifference or even active retaliation in the process only serves to make the job of the police more difficult and frustrating, which in turn makes them more bitter and cynical and leads to even more abuses. At some point, that downward spiral needs to be put to an end and the only way to do that is to create real accountability, rather than a hollow, toothless sham that does nothing but draw attention to the lack of it. And as Sheriff Gillespie recently found out, people are a lot less accepting of having their taxes increased in order to supplement the LVMPD’s budget during an almost daily barrage of news about yet another police scandal.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Departments’ Pathetic History of “Accountability”
A Community in Fear
Not too long ago I attended a meeting of the Clark County Commissioners concerning a vote over the process that would be adopted to address shootings by Las Vegas area police. Prior to the vote that eventually happened (after all the important stuff like giving a certificate to a group from a retirement home whose most lauded act was alerting neighbors if they forgot to close their garage door), members of the community were allowed to address the commissioners regarding the issue.
One speaker after another stepped to the microphone and it wasn’t long at all before a common theme began to develop. Statements such as, “I’m afraid of what will happen if I call the police,” “I would never call the police even if I was in real danger because I’m scared more of them,” and “I don’t trust them not to kill someone if I call them for help” were recited over and over again throughout the session. These fears were often accompanied by personal examples of negative experiences resulting from interactions with Las Vegas area police, including several from the families of people that actually had been killed by the police.
Legitimate Reasons to be Afraid
When the cops in Las Vegas kill people their ONLY “punishment” is paid leave.
Obviously, every time the police respond to a call they don’t kill or otherwise abuse the people they encounter, even in Las Vegas. However, it happens often enough to instill the sort of fear and hatred toward them that was on public display during the commissioners’ meeting that day. The problem is that people within the community know that should something happen to them or one of their loved ones at the hands of a member of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department they have very little hope of that cop ever being held accountable for their actions. They don’t know that the cop responding wants to kill them, but they do know that if they do they will get away with it.
The bigger problem is that members of Las Vegas area police departments also know this. Jesus Arevalo told his then-wife that he wanted to shoot someone so that he could get free time off, based on the policy of placing cops on paid leave during investigations. Within a couple of months after that statement, Stanley Gibson, an unarmed, disabled Persian Gulf veteran suffering from a PTSD induced panic attack and in no way representing a threat to anyone was murdered by Jesus Arevalo. Those seven unnecessary shots fired from Ofc. Arevalo’s AR-15 were the ticket to what is fast approaching two full years of the paid vacation that he had indicated he was hoping for. No charges were ever brought against him for his actions, which even other police on the scene characterized as unexplainable in their official statement to the detectives subsequently going through the motions of an investigation. At worst, Arevalo might possibly be punished by being fired.
A Long History of Corruption and Violence
The Biggest Gang in Las Vegas
Throughout their history, the LVMPD has consistently rated among the highest statistically nationwide (even when compared against cities with much higher populations) in times they have shot at people while on duty and in the level of fatalities resulting from those shootings. Stanley Gibson was just one of the latest names in the laundry list of the victims of Las Vegas police that includes Erik Scott (whose murderers were later given an award for bravery while gunning down someone from behind and then unloading their guns on him as he lay already dying on the ground), Trevon Cole, Orlando Barlow, Tanner Chamberlain, Deshira Selimaj, and Henry Rowe, among the 150+ shootings just since 1990.
Yet not one singular time in the close to forty year history of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has a Las Vegas area police officer ever been charged for shooting someone, regardless of whether the person shot was unarmed or even completely innocent of having committed any actual crime. One rather telling fact is that the reason the old Las Vegas city police was originally merged with the Clark County Sheriff department to create “Metro” was in response to an uproar after a very questionable shooting that was ruled justifiable. Yet, no matter how questionable the many shootings by Metro have been, the justifications have continued unabated.
An Absolute Refusal to Hold ANYONE Accountable
Finally someone within the Las Vegas police system has made some sort of stand for justice, but will it actually matter?
A recent incident has shined a very public spotlight on the reasons why it is so impossible to hold anyone within the LVMPD accountable for their actions. In one of the most questionable shootings ever Officer Jacquar Roston claimed to have confused a hat Lawrence Gordon was wearing for a gun and shot him in the leg as he sat in a car. As would be expected of anybody with even half a brain, Metro’s internal Use of Force Review Board didn’t really accept that excuse and recommended that Roston be fired as a result.
The fact that this recommendation was hailed as an “unprecedented” act by the board tells you a lot about the past history of the Las Vegas police in relation to officer involved shootings. The fact that Sheriff Gillespie promptly disregarded that recommendation in favor of a one week unpaid suspension (after Roston had already spent 8 months on paid vacation during the investigation) tells you a lot about the prospects for any sort of accountability for them in the near future.
However, in one glimmer of hope for some sort of prospect for justice, seven members of the board did actually have the integrity to stand up and resign in disgust after Gillespie’s disgraceful action. One former member of the board, Glenn Rinehimer, stated that previously the board had been “stacked” with retired police officers from other parts of the country designated as civilians. According to Rinehimer, they didn’t seem in any hurry to actually investigate whether shootings were justified. “The retired police just didn’t seem interested,” Rinehimer said. “They didn’t ask a lot of questions. They voted quickly for it to be justified.”
Robert Martinez, a co-chair of the board who also resigned, had previously expressed hope that this sort of rubber stamping had ended once former police employees and their family members were banned from being appointed as civilians on the board last year. He believed that Metro truly desired a fair and transparent process. That is until Gillespie essentially exonerated Roston despite the board’s unanimous recommendation. “I was thoroughly fooled,” Martinez said. “I thought it was going to change and it isn’t.” Within his resignation letter Martinez characterized the process as a flawed one that undermined the Use of Force Review Board.
Sheriff Gillespie announcing that the final week of Roston’s 8 month vacation will be unpaid.
Former Assistant Sheriff Ted Moody, who submitted for retirement in response to this case, agreed that Gillespie was undermining the credibility of the board even as Metro faces increasing scrutiny over questionable shootings and other scandals that are becoming hard to even keep up with lately. Las Vegas police officers will not have the public’s trust until the department has a credible process for reviewing its own shootings, Moody stated. And that process must be stable, impartial, unbiased and free from political interference. “Anything short of that is going to fuel further suspicion and mistrust and is just begging for the imposition of externally imposed oversight,” he said. “Nobody wants that. We can be better than that.”
Rinehimer went even further in his assessment of the problems with a system that is in practice designed to ensure no cop is ever held accountable. Rinehimer said the sheriff’s decision to overturn the Use of Force Review Board’s recommendation doesn’t set a good precedent, especially for officers who find themselves in similar situations in the future. “At the end of the day, the officer might be sitting there smiling, knowing the sheriff might not fire him anyway,” Rinehimer said. “It’s a farce.”
A Lack of Accountability that is Not Good for Anyone, Even the Police Themselves
The inevitable backlash
There’s an obvious incentive for members of the community to demand accountability for the heavily armed band patrolling through the streets that they live and work. If those individuals are permitted to act as an occupying force with the impunity to do as they please to those within that community, those among their ranks that have an unscrupulous tendency will take advantage of that to commit criminal and violent acts.
However, there are reasons why even those within the local police departments should want to see accountability for those “bad apples” that we are always being told are just exceptions to the rules. Fear eventually gives rise to hostility and working within the bounds of a hostile environment makes someone’s job just that much harder to do. People within communities don’t feel real obligated to help with the investigation of crimes when the person doing the investigation is perceived as being as bad or worse than the people being investigated. Having to deal with indifference or even active retaliation in the process only serves to make the job of the police more difficult and frustrating, which in turn makes them more bitter and cynical and leads to even more abuses. At some point, that downward spiral needs to be put to an end and the only way to do that is to create real accountability, rather than a hollow, toothless sham that does nothing but draw attention to the lack of it. And as Sheriff Gillespie recently found out, people are a lot less accepting of having their taxes increased in order to supplement the LVMPD’s budget during an almost daily barrage of news about yet another police scandal.
Unfortunately, that’s not actually true for those of us in Las Vegas (or any other part of Nevada), but the Police Accountability Tour will be kicking off during the 2nd Annual Peaceful Streets Project Police Accountability Summit in Austin, Tx., which runs from August 15th -20th. If one of their stops is in fact in [...]
Emma Goldman once stated that if voting actually changed anything they would make it illegal. The rapid progression of new laws designed (or existing laws twisted) to prevent different forms of direct action bears out the truth of that sentiment.
Direct action truly does "get the goods" and whenever the establishment recognizes that something is an effective method of exposing them for what they really are the crackdown is inevitable.
Of course, the fact that someone is writing on a sidewalk isn't really the issue as evidenced by the masses of children playing hopscotch, public events featuring chalk drawing areas, and even businesses that use it for advertising on sidewalks nearby. It's really the content of what people have written that have gotten them in trouble, which is pretty much the definition of a First Amendment violation (in spite of what Jeff Olson's judge would have you believe).
The reason that I know that chalking is an effective way of protest is because about a month ago, on June 8th, I along with two other members of the Sunset Activist Collective were cited during a Nevada Cop Blockmonthly protest for "graffiti" while listing the crimes and paying tribute to the many victims of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. After nine months of "Second Saturdays" and other events calling for the accountability that is sorely missing within Las Vegas area police departments, we were told by a "graffiti expert" that drawing with chalk on a sidewalk is now illegal, in spite of us having been explicitly told by some of his own co-workers that sidewalk chalk is in fact legal previously.
Inevitably, the upside to when the state cracks down on legal forms of protest is that they generally overreach and in the end often the public spotlight and embarrassment generated by their heavy-handed methods backfire in a big way. Such was the case when Jeff Olson wrote stuff about how corrupt the system was in favor of banks and then the San Diego police proved his point by bowing to the pressure of a bank manager to charge him in a case they didn't even want to prosecute (and that even the mayor called stupid) with the outrageous potential of 13 years in prison for writing on a sidewalk with something that was manufactured for that explicit purpose.
Our case, of course, doesn't involve a penalty anywhere near that level of ridiculousness, although there are some bribery demands (i.e. fines) that could amount to as much as $1000, forced slave labor (AKA "community" service), and for some bizarre reason the removal of our legal ability to drive around for two years. Personally, I'm not particularly concerned about any of those things because the case is not just silly, it's already been ruled in courts that chalking is legal and constitutionally protected as free speech.
Solidarity Rally for the "Sunset 3"
What has me looking forward to our court date on July 18th is the fact that this case and the subsequent lawsuit will bring more attention to the unchecked crimes of the LVMPD and their cohorts in and around Las Vegas than we ever did in those nine months of writing our demands on the sidewalk surrounding their (fancy new) headquarters buildings.
And regardless if the outcome isn't what I expect (and common sense dictates) it to be, I will continue chalking until Metro decides to stop allowing their employees to murder people without consequence. In fact, I won't even be waiting until the current case is decided. The next "Second Saturday" is July 13th and we will be there chalking again. We will also be holding a solidarity rally on the morning of the 18th, prior to the trial starting, and there will be chalking that day.
Unjust laws need to be challenged, especially when those unjust laws are themselves being used to hide the injustices of those in power and their enforcers. That's why I won't be putting down my chalk any time soon and you should pick up yours. The best way to overturn a bad law that violates basic human rights, such as the ability to protest injustices, is to violate those laws en masse in order that their true nature can't be ignored. It's even more true when the laws are silly and obviously being used in ways they were never intended to be.
At 11:00 am (PST) on July 18th, join us at the Regional Injustice Center (see map below)to let them know that you want accountability instead of paid vacations for cops that murder people in your community and that they can't silence you with petty, misapplied laws. If you aren't in Las Vegas, then be with us in spirit, draw out some stuff on the sidewalk where ever you are, and join us in a lively round of hopscotch.
We'll see if they have the nerve and the room to haul all of us "graffiti artists" away.
Normally, outside of some dirty looks by the cops at the offices as they drive past and almost without exception supporting comments from passersby, no-one bothers the people participating in these protests. It is supported by and often attended by the family members of people who have fallen victim to police violence. However on this particular day, Sgt Michael Wallace approached them and claimed that writing with chalk that is marketed as and named for the very purpose it was being used for was illegal and constituted graffiti and that they had to stop.
After being told that they wouldn’t stop because it was in fact legal, Sgt Wallace responded that he’s an expert on graffiti because he works for the gang unit. While it’s rare and somewhat commendable of Sgt. Wallace to admit that the police are actually a gang, it’s pretty unlikely that street gangs are using children’s chalk for their graffiti these days. Sgt. Wallace’s next assertion was to insist “that’s what the courts are for,” which is also incorrect. The courts don’t exist so random cops can just disregard the actual law, declare something they don’t like illegal, and then issue fines for it. Part of a police officer’s job description is to know the laws and to apply them properly not to drum up bogus reasons to cite people when he disagrees with the messages they are conveying.
After asserting his expertise in the laws concerning graffiti (even though he couldn’t cite a specific law regarding chalk constituting graffiti), Mike Wallace then returned to his car to write citations. However, he stayed in his car for an inordinately long time (the unofficial estimate was 45 minutes) talking on the phone. During this time, Ballentine called into the non-emergency LVMPD phone line and asked a dispatcher if drawing with chalk was illegal, to which he was told, “I don’t think that is a crime.”
Shortly after this extended wait, Detective Matchko of the gang unit arrived and Mike Wallace informed us that his supervisor was on the way, even though he had refused to call a supervisor when requested earlier, because he “is THE supervisor.” Once that supervisor, Lt. John Liberty, arrived he basically confirmed what had already been assumed regarding the lengthy delay, which was that Mike Wallace had been unable to figure what to write up as a charge on the citations. In all likelihood, the dispatcher had told him the same thing she told Ballentine earlier. Lt. Liberty stated that he had needed to call both a district attorney and a judge to get advice on whether they should issue citations for drawing on a sidewalk with sidewalk chalk.
In spite of being informed of previous court cases in which it had already been found that chalking is a form of free speech protected under the First Amendment, Lt. liberty and Mike Wallace insisted that it was a citable offense under anti-graffiti laws. Their main justification was that the city has to pay to a have a cleaning crew come down and wash the chalk. However, the truth is it would take no more than a bucket of water to remove the chalk and, outside of the fact that the cops would like to avoid having attention drawn to their crimes, there’s no real reason that the city would need to pay to make sure the chalk is gone a couple days earlier than it would be removed naturally by the a combination of the nearby sprinklers and the wind.
Essentially, it amounts to a form of censorship since the reason the citations were issued wasn’t because of the legality of writing on a sidewalk with sidewalk chalk, but rather for what was being written. In addition, it is nothing more than a continuation of the cover ups on behalf of Las Vegas area cops that murder members of our community at an increasingly regular frequency.
Statement of Solidarity and Unity from the Sunset Activist Collective
Earlier this week the Sunset Activist Collective released a statement urging the community to show their support for the three members that were cited and vowing not to be dissuaded from bringing attention to the LVMPD’s crimes, regardless of the outcome:
Chalk: Now Illegal in Las Vegas
“On July 18, three members of the Sunset Activist Collective will go before a Judge to answer the ridiculous charges that drawing on a sidewalk with chalk constitutes graffiti. That’s right! According to the LVMPD, sidewalk chalk is now illegal.
JR Dazo, Kelly W. Patterson, and Ballentine were cited during the “Second Saturday” anti-police brutality protest, organized by Nevada Cop Block (NVCopBlock.org), on June 8th for doing exactly that. As a result, they could all face fines of between $400 and $1,000, 100 hours of community service, and the suspension of their drivers licenses for two years.
This however is not the issue. The issue is the preservation of free speech for everyone, the ability of children to use sidewalk chalk, and the very idea of seeking justice for the victims of pig police in a peaceful way.
The obvious reality is that these bogus charges are truly based on the fact that Metro wants to dissuade us from bringing attention to the fact that its department has become one of the most prolific across the entire country in regards to police brutality and outright murder. They rank among the top in every category related to police violence. yet they continue to employ a stubborn unwillingness to hold any of the murders in their midst accountable for their crimes.
Regardless of what underhanded and over-reaching legal tactics they employ to try and keep us quiet, we intend to continue exposing the LVMPD for the violent criminal gang that it is. In fact, we feel that if anything this is just an indicator that we have been successful in our efforts to seek justice for Eric Scott, Stanley Gibson, Emmanuel Dozier, Trevon Cole, Tanner Chamberlain, and all the other victims of the Las Vegas Metropolitan police Department. We neither be bullied nor threatened into silence. In all likelihood, regardless of the actual outcome this will serve as an even bigger opportunity to bring attention to Metro’s crimes and Sheriff Gillespie’s unwillingness to hold anyone accountable for them.
In regards to the actual merits of these charges, it’s already been ruled in a case in Berkeley (by the 9th Circuit, which also has jurisdiction in Las Vegas) that “no reasonable person could conclude that chalk would damage a sidewalk” and by a federal judge in Orlando that chalking constitutes free speech protected under the First Amendment. So we have no only common sense, but case history on our side.
Please join us and help preserve the ability to seek justice in a peaceful, public manner against those within the Las Vegas are police, who have made injustice a part of their job description.“
The Video (With Bonus Footage)
Embedded below is the entire encounter with Mike Wallace with the exception of the first couple of minutes when he initially approached and the times when he was at his car on the phone trying to figure out some justification to write tickets for drawing with chalk so that he wouldn’t have to come back and tell us we were right. In addition, there are two segments at the end, which repeat some of the full video and in which the audio is somewhat better.
The striking thing about this video is the level to which Sgt. Mike Wallace is flustered and at times downright confused and yet determined to follow through on writing citations for something, regardless of the actual legality of this protest.
Nevada Jurisprudence and Prison Report
Vol. 3, No 5 “Veritas in Caritatis” Winter/Spring Issue 2013
THEME: “Audi alterum partem”
Listen to the other side!
“Voice of the Nevada Jurisprudence and Prison Report”
E-mail: nvjprudence@gmail.com
http://nvjprudence.wordpress.com
Statement of Purpose:
The NJPR Newsletter reports on current prison conditions, good and bad; more
Las Vegas Anarchoblogs is part of the
Anarchoblogs network.
Anarchoblogs is a collection of blogs from
self-identified anarchists, anarcho-syndicalists, anarcha-feminists,
anarchists without adjectives, libertarian-socialists, autonomists and
other assorted anti-statists.