Lawsuit Alleges Police Brutality at Las Vegas BLM Protest

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is facing a lawsuit filed by protesters accusing officers of police brutality during demonstrations over racial justice.

The plaintiffs say they were part of a crowd protesting police brutality as part of the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of George Floyd’s late-May death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.

“Illustrating the demonstrators’ concerns,” the lawsuit says, “officers of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and other law enforcement agencies used violent crowd control tactics against them.”

The plaintiffs are three legal observers, in addition to four others who were protesters or organizers, Las Vegas ABC affiliate KTNV reported.

The lawsuit maintains crowd-control techniques employed by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, known as “Metro,” not only targeted looters or others disturbing the peace, but also “legal observers, journalists, and those who posed absolutely no threat to police or to the public.”

A new use-of-force policy came into effect July 8 for Metro that says officers are only to use a level of force “objectively reasonable to bring an incident or persons under control and to safely accomplish a lawful purpose,” the lawsuit says.

The policy states pepperballs are not to be used to disperse a nonviolent group and says projectile weapons, such as rubber bullets, should only be used against someone who is armed, has access to a weapon, or poses an imminent threat to safety. 

The policy prohibits use of projectile weapons in a “civil unrest situation” unless properly authorized.

Lead plaintiff Lance Downes-Covington and his fraternity brothers say they gathered on the Las Vegas Strip to take part in a protest against police brutality on June 1, only to discover Metro “had already established an aggressive presence at the scene.”

The march proceeded peacefully, and Downes-Covington and his friends eventually broke off to visit a fellow brother, a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent at the federal courthouse.

His group reportedly approached a group of officers and asked them to join in a prayer, the lawsuit says. They prayed for the protest to end peacefully, then Downes-Covington’s group went to the courthouse.

Upon arrival, the group sang their fraternity song to try to get their friend’s attention, singing it a second time when their friend appeared in a window.

Downes-Covington said as they were singing, officers in riot gear came up behind him, and he heard “a series of yells and loud pops, which turned out to be pepperball rounds.” One person in their group was hit in the leg by a round.

The group initially was scared and ran away but returned to the courthouse, upset over the use of force. Downes-Covington asked the officers to identify their commanding officer. He was told the “U.S. Marshal” was in charge.

When asked who gave the order to shoot, “the officer falsely stated that no one had been shot at,” the lawsuit alleges.

While waiting for an Uber, Downes-Covington says he saw officers fire pepperball rounds at groups peacefully leaving the protest.

He then reportedly saw officers detaining protesters and throwing them to the ground across the street. He began to use his phone to record the officers’ actions.

As he was recording, a Black officer from the group with whom the fraternity brothers had prayed earlier saw Downes-Covington and pointed him out to other officers, who allegedly ran and tackled him.

Downes-Covington says he saw a group of white women walking nearby, as well as several other non-Black people filming his situation; none of them were confronted or detained.

Police then allegedly put Downes-Covington and his friends in zip-ties and detained them along with other protesters being guarded by an officer with an M-16 rifle.

When he asked why he had been detained, he was allegedly told it was because his group had “disobeyed a dispersal order.”

Downes-Covington told the officer he’d never heard a dispersal order, but the officer just suggested he stop protesting, according to the lawsuit.

Downes-Covington and his friends were released without charges, but he says the experience has caused him to have trouble sleeping as well as “emotional difficulties.” He has not protested again out of fear “that he might become the next ‘hashtag’ of yet another innocent Black person killed or brutalized by police.”

He also says he’s been afraid to protest again because he works at city hall and doesn’t want to put his career in jeopardy.

Metro told local CBS affiliate 8 News Now that the department doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

The plaintiffs are seeking permanent injunctions prohibiting Metro from using noxious gases as a crowd-control technique, and from using “less lethal” weapons such as impact munitions and sound cannons against protesters “who are only engaged in passive resistance, including passive resistance to an order to disperse.”

They are also asking the Court to award monetary, compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and expenses, and any other relief deemed appropriate. 

They also demand a jury trial.

Do you think Las Vegas police should be held responsible in this police brutality case? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Margaret A. McLetchie, Alina M. Shell, Leo S. Wolpert and Dayvid Figler of McLetchie Law.

The Las Vegas Police Brutality Lawsuit is Lance Downes-Covington, et al. v. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, et al., Case No. 2:20-cv-01790, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

What Does the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault Do? 

California Call Recording Was Illegal, Says Class Action

Lawsuit Filed Over Role of Militia Facebook Page in Deadly Kenosha Protest

Louisville Agrees to Pay Breonna Taylor’s Mom Millions, Reform Police