No “More Cops”

Centuries upon centuries ago, the Roman philosopher Cicero boldly stated that the more laws that exist, the less justice there will be for the people. Hundreds of years later, we still, by the bounds of our own willful shackles, continue to misbelieve that every time a new law is enforced, and the more the individuals trained to do the enforcing uphold it, that we’re going to be given a sense of safety.

This coming Tuesday, January 21st, the Clark County (NV) Commission will vote on a highly publicized and controversial new tax initiative known as the More Cops Tax. As one might expect, the bill is pretty self explanatory:

More revenue from the citizens generates more funding and more police officers on the road. The average informed citizen may wonder why this would need to be placed on the altar for dissection. “Why, more cops means more protection for the people!”, has been the most habitual, emotional based response from the collective of the American populace. Yet, as scientific research has shown us, possible correlations do not spell out causation. I want to make one thing clear to all of my readers right now: regardless as to whether or not you’re a republican, democrat, or libertarian, conservative, liberal, or voluntaryist, we cannot continue to hold the misconception that putting more police officers on the streets is going to endow us with a more solid feeling of protection.

Don’t believe me? Well, I’m sure Kelly Thomas, if he were still with us right now, would have something to say after he was beaten to death by two officers as he was crying out for his dad. Or what about the individuals who are falsely arrested or attacked by officers for videotaping arrests, an act which has been deemed legal by courts? Or, more importantly, what about the seemingly expanding list of individuals who have been assaulted, threatened, forced to watch in agony as their pets are shot, or even killed by officers for absolutely no reason? Are we really willing to continually delude ourselves into thinking that we’re being well protected?

Beyond the abuses, scandals, and deaths, there is another disturbing question about this More Cops Tax that seems to be largely ignored by the media and the commission. That inquiry is whether or not the appropriated funds (which we’ve been told will be spent rationally) could add to militarization of the LVMPD. Over the course of the last few years, the line between police officers and soldiers has become less noticeable. Armored vehicles resembling tanks, assault rifles, and fully equipped armor is becoming a standard norm in many states. The question, of course, is why? I’m not trying to make the argument that cops shouldn’t have equipment. What I would like to know, however, is why every police officer in the country now has to look like a member of S.W.A.T when they go through a neighborhood to settle a dispute.

Some of you probably think that I’m being slightly paranoid about all this, or that I’m simply being too pessimistic about this situation. Perhaps you’re right. However, I want you to consider this: every founder, from Washington to Madison, warned us about the consequences that unfettered militarization could have upon our country. James Madison, the father of the United States Constitution, stated that a country with the elements of a standing army would no longer have the capacity to breed liberty. Posse Comitatus, one of the most important acts in properly defining the limits of military use, forbids the use of the military to handle police actions. If this tax does clear the commission, and ends up creating an environment where militarization and abuse at the hands of the police could fundamentally take root in Metro like it has in other parts of the country, when will we be finally willing to allow reality to slap us in the face and give us the motivation to draw a line in the sand? I want to make it fully clear that I’m not trying to say that every cop is an immoral abuser. I fully recognize that there are cops out there who are well intentioned and do their best to defend and secure our rights. Sadly, there is an epidemic of the uncaring aforementioned that have been detailed in this article, and the media seems to make it clear that they’re growing by the day.

If the commission really wants to make a real change among our police officers, then maybe they should look into how they can re appropriate funds to teach new cadets about the importance of upholding the Constitution, and not using their badge to as an excuse to lay abuse on others.

The above post was submitted by Adam Sanacore, originally via Facebook.

Thanks for reading. More Cops Does Not Mean More Justice For Las Vegas – Submitted by Adam Sanacore is a post from Nevada CopBlock

Metro displaying just how shorthanded they are on Fremont Street. (Notice the massive, unruly crowd being held back behind them.)

This was received via submission after originally being posted at the website of the Sunset Activist Collective.

Once again, Sheriff Gillespie and County Commissioner Tom Collins are trying to push the “More Cops” sales tax down the throats of the people of Las Vegas to fill the self-inflicted gaps in Metro’s already bloated budget and hire even more cops to harass and abuse the members of that very community.

Yet another sales tax is wrong from a practical standpoint in a time when the Las Vegas economy consistently ranks at or near the bottom in every financial category and most local residents are already just barely hanging on. By nature, sales taxes are regressive. Unlike wealthy people that have the capability of stashing most of their income in the bank, poor people generally have to spend most, if not all, of their money on the basic necessities of life. It’s not a coincidence that crime rates have increased as the economy has tanked. People that have little or no other options resort to whatever they have to do to survive. Taking even more from people that are already struggling just to keep their head above water is not the way to “take a bite out of crime.” It’s an unarguable fact that poverty leads to even more crime.

Beyond the basic economics it’s wrong on an ethical level to expect poor residents to fund their own abuse at the hands of the LVMPD. People in poor and/or minority neighborhoods are routinely stopped, searched, abused, and humiliated by the police. In fact, Metro employs several “saturation units,” whose stated function is to descend upon certain neighborhoods en masse seeking any excuse they can to stop, interrogate, and arrest residents of that community. And those many, many abuses don’t end with harassment and wrongful arrests, either. The victims of police beatings and outright murder are predominantly members of the poor/ minority classes.

Not surprisingly, it has also been explicitly stated that these “select’ neighborhoods don’t include the ones in Summerlin. Many of the proponents of the “More Cops” tax increase are, in fact, residents of Summerlin and other wealthy neighborhoods, who have expressed the desire to have a cop in their neighborhood because it makes them feel safe. I have very little doubt that the residents of poor neighborhoods would have no qualms about letting them have some of the cops terrorizing their neighborhoods. They rarely make them feel safe, especially within the Las Vegas area, since there is absolutely no hope that any sort of accountability will ever be imposed upon the perpetrators of injustices against them.

Metro isn’t short on cops, they’re short on priorities. Anyone who has witnessed the massive East German style check point erected on Fremont St. every First Friday or the continual harassment of water vendors and buskers on the Strip, both of whom are just trying to earn a living during tough economic times, would have to question the claims of personnel shortages within the LVMPD. When you can afford to employ undercover cops to ensure tourists don’t have the chance to buy water at a cheaper price than the casinos sell it, then maybe you have a few people to spare for other things. Perhaps those plain clothes cops using official Metro vehicles to escort Zappos employees to their parking garage so they don’t have to look at poor people along the way, could be better utilized, as well.

Gillespie and the rest of his mafia dons have expended their budget on raises for an already overpaid police force, shiny new headquarters buildings that they insisted on pushing forward with in the middle of the worst recession in history, and million dollar settlements to the victims of their abuses and murders. Now they want the poorest people within this community to bail them out so that they can hire more cops even while absolutely refusing to do anything to hold them responsible for the crimes they continue to commit against their own neighbors and families.

Just say NO to more thugs!

Thanks for reading. No “More Cops” for the LVMPD. They Aren’t Needed and They Aren’t Wanted. is a post from Nevada CopBlock

Under what conditions in our oft-promoted libertarian stateless society, will a person’s freedom be taken away? How will people be punished for committing crimes – real crimes, not victimless crimes – against people or property? Will there be pre-trial confinement and bail? House arrest? Will there be prisons? Just how different from the current state injustice system will the stateless libertarian dispute resolution system be? Listen to this week’s episode to find out!

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About the Podcast

The Art of Liberty is a 45-minute weekly podcast about current events and politics by John Tyner and George Donnelly, two highly opinionated, yet eminently reasonable, libertarian activists from opposite coasts. We record every Monday morning and release a new episode every Tuesday morning.

The post Crime and Punishment in a Stateless Society (TAOL 0019) appeared first on Arm your Mind for Liberty.

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.

Thanks for reading. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: The LVMPD’s Killer Reputation is a post from Nevada CopBlock

Every Second Saturday of every month at 5pm. Meet us in front of the LMPD Headquarters Buildings on 400 S. Martin Luther King Blvd.

Below is the audio of an interview by Kelly W. Patterson, editor for NVCopBlock.org and member of the Sunset Activist Collective (SunsetActivistCollective.org) on the “Round Table Group” show, which is hosted by Jim Duensing and Sean Gruber regarding a citation the “Sunset 3″ received supposedly for graffiti while drawing on a sidewalk with (wait for it) sidewalk chalk, which really is nothing more nor less than an attempt by the LVMPD to keep us from exposing their crimes and in all likelihood will do nothing but backfire and create even more publicity.

On June 8th, while participating in Nevada Cop Block‘s monthly “Second Saturday” protest against police brutality at the headquarters of the Las Vegas Metro Police Department, three members of the Sunset Activist Collective, Kelly, Ballentine, and J.R. Dazo, were accused of doing graffiti while writing tributes to past victims of Metro, including Stanley Gibson; Eric Scott; and Trevon Cole, and bringing attention to the total lack of accountability within Las Vegas area police departments (not one cop has EVER been charged for shooting an unarmed/innocent person in the history of the LVMPD), and in fact throughout the country.

In this interview, Kelly discusses the general lack of any repercussions for local cops that murder people (and animals), the incentive to kill that the policy of rewarding those cops involved in shootings with multi-year paid vacations (something that Jesus Arevalo mentioned as a motivation for wanting to find an opportunity to shoot someone shortly before he did exactly that to Stanley Gibson) while their friends “investigate” those shootings represents, and the details surrounding the Second Saturday incident itself.

The full video from the incident with Metro during Second Saturday is available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAj5MKHlPiY

The full broadcast can be found within the archives of the Round Table Group show at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/freedomizerradio/2013/06/10/the-round-table-group, which is part of the Freedomizer Radio Network – http://www.freedomizerradio.com/.

Thanks for reading. Interview With Nevada Cop Block Editor, Kelly W. Patterson, RE: “Second Saturday” Graffiti (Audio Clip) is a post from Nevada CopBlock

Metro’s attempt to hide their crimes using ridiculous, heavy handed charges will only bring more attention to them.

In an obvious and ridiculous attempt to intimidate them into ending their efforts to bring attention to the history of abuses, corruption, and outright murders by Las Vegas area police and a total lack of accountability for such by those that oversee local police departments, three members of the Sunset Activist Collective were given citations for “graffiti” based on writing with washable sidewalk chalk. (See below for video of the incident.)

J.R. Dazo, Kelly W. Patterson, and Ballentine, who have since been dubbed the “Sunset 3” were participating in Nevada Cop Block‘s monthly anti-police brutality protest and vigil known as “Second Saturdays” in front of the LVMPD’s headquarters on June 8th. As has been the case for about nine months, this protest included writing out the crimes of the police, listing the names of their victims, and posting our demands for reconciliation with the citizens of Las Vegas.

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.

Thanks for reading. Las Vegas Metro Police: Chalk Washes Off, But Injustice Never Will is a post from Nevada CopBlock

Justice?

Can there ever really be justice? I never thought I would question this

Really never cared or had a reason to give it too much thought before

 I arrived in Las Vegas in 2000 due to the passing of my father

It was  a sad time for me reconnecting with my little sister

Who I hadn’t seen in many years. This is how I met Stanley L. Gibson

My brother in law and him were friends and he had come over one day

And that basically was the day we started our life together

For the next 12 years it was just Stan-N-Rondha

Two orphans against the world, but we had love

We shared a love that no-one could ever understand

But it was our love and then in one quick instant it was gone

By the hands of the people that say they are here to serve and protect

What they don’t tell you is they only serve and protect each other

They say if you are robbed you should call the police but

I ask you who do I call when Metro was the one who robbed me

This power LVMPD has to kill without consequence needs to end

Too much blood has been spilt due to their actions

Too much innocent blood has been shed

Stand beside me and let our voices be heard

NEVER FORGET!  NEVER FORGET!

by

 Rondha Gibson

Widow of Stanley L. Gibson

And victim of

 The actions of LVMPD & Jesus Arevalo

Will Justice be Denied Yet Again in Las Vegas?

Thanks for reading. WILL THERE EVER BE JUSTICE? by Rondha Gibson is a post from Nevada CopBlock

This week, Nevada Cop Block will be hosting a special event as part of a local activist get together known as the Las Vegas Anarchist Cafe, which will focus on bringing accountability to Las Vegas area police.

This event, “Disarm the Police,” will be an informational and organizing meeting regarding issues with police brutality, lack of accountability, and official corruption. In addition, there will be discussion about setting up regular actions based around bringing attention to and addressing those issues.

Methods, goals, and acceptable outcomes will all be discussed. Also, information about how to get involved with local police “watchdog” groups, such as Nevada Cop Block (NVCopBlock.org), will be provided for those wanting to become more involved on an ongoing basis.

The Las Vegas Anarchist Cafe meets Saturdays, from 6:00—8:00pm, at Sunrise Coffee Shop, which is located on Sunset Rd. between Pecos and Eastern (map below). The A-Cafe is not a place, it’s an event–a social experiment in urban anarchy, organized by the Southern Nevada Alliance of the Libertarian Left and a group of unaffiliated local anarchists. The A-Cafe is a forum for anarchists in the Las Vegas area to get to know each other, to hang out, to shoot the breeze, to talk some shop, to talk about the projects that we are working on, and to organize new projects. Anyone who’s an anarchist, anti-statist, or just anarchy-curious is invited to join us.

Drop in any time — the gathering is informal, and based on chatting and sharing information. There isn’t a fixed agenda. (But if you want to set up an organizing meeting for a particular project with a fixed agenda, A-Cafe is a great place to meet people to invite.) Feel free to drop in at any time and leave whenever you need to.

Bring yourself. Bring a friend. And bring anything — ideas you’ve had, projects you’re working on, literature, zines, flyers, art, whatever — that you’d like to share with some like-minded people.

View Larger Map

Thanks for reading. Join Nevada Cop Block at the Anarchist Cafe (A-Cafe) for “Disarm the Police” is a post from Nevada CopBlock

Recently, Sheriff Doug Gillespie made an announcement that, due to budget shortfalls, Las Vegas police would be forced to shift 26 cops from the D.A.R.E program and one of four “saturation teams” back to patrol duty. This along with hiring freezes instituted earlier in the year, was of course couched in terms of Las Vegas [...]Thanks for reading. LVMPD Budget Cuts: Finally, Minorities Benefit from the Recession is a post from Nevada CopBlock

Continue reading at Nevada CopBlock …