Nevada Cop Block Conversation with LVMPD Sgt Reyes at Insert Coin(s) Protest
Channel: Nevada Cop Block (NVCopBlock.org)
Date: 2015-02-20

On February 16th, 2015 members of Nevada Cop Block, Southern Nevada Watchdogs, and the Sunset Activist Collective participated in a protest to bring attention to an incident in which a man was beaten by bouncers working for Insert Coin(s) on Fremont Street February 12th. (More info and video: http://nvcopblock.org/2534/security-guards-fremont-street-beat-obstruct-assault-threaten-witness)

Also, other bouncers attempted to prevent a witness from taking video of the assault and eventually broke his phone, then assaulted him, as well. In addition, the LVMPD officer who responded refused to listen the witness or accept any evidence (including that video, which can be viewed here: http://youtu.be/Rkb53F7oFt8) from him. Instead, the man who had been beaten and choked while already lying on the ground was arrested and the witness was told to "get the fuck out of here!"

During that protest, which included writing on sidewalks with chalk, the police were called and Sgt. Reyes responded. Once it was determined that the protesters were not doing anything illegal, a conversation took place, regarding the incident with Insert Coins' security and the Las Vegas Metro officer's failure to conduct a proper investigation of it when he responded.

The lack of accountability for Las Vegas area police in general was also discussed. This included the murders of Stanley Gibson and Erik Scott by employees of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and a recent case in which a Metro detective posted racist comments and insinuated he wanted a race war on Facebook, but rather than being punished in any way he was cleared and assigned to investigate black people exclusively.

While Sgt. Reyes was a personable guy and obviously knows how to talk to people in a friendly manner, he consistently justified and made excuses for fellow cops that have used excessive force and even killed people under very questionable circumstances. People might be inclined to say he's one of the "good cops" and while he may in fact be a good guy on a personal level, the refusal of those "good cops" to acknowledge the misdeeds and outright crimes of the "bad apples" in their midst enable that behavior, which creates a distrust, fear, and hostility between the police and the communities they work in. That in turn perpetuates the cycle of violence and actually makes their own job even harder.

References:
http://snwatchdog.org - The Southern Nevada Watchdogs website
http://sunsetactivistcollective.org/ - Sunset Activist Collective website
http://youtu.be/zmeDtrD0Drg - Video of Stanley Gibson murder
http://www.copblock.org/1004/erik-scotts-death-what-happens-in-the-lvmpd-stays-in-the-lvmpd/
http://nvcopblock.org/2534/security-guards-fremont-street-beat-obstruct-assault-threaten-witness/
http://youtu.be/Rkb53F7oFt8 - Video of Insert Coins' bouncers beating and choking man who is already on the ground and obstructing a witness who is attempting to film the incident.
http://nvcopblock.org/265/justice-for-stanley-gibson-or-just-an-end-around-coroners-inquest-reforms/ - The LVMPD and DA Wolfson's use of the Grand Jury to ensure Jesus Arevalo wouldn't be tried for the murder of Stanley Gibson
http://nvcopblock.org/1030/lvmpd-killer-reputation-fear-and-loathing-in-las-vegas/ - The LVMPD's historical lack of accountability.
http://nvcopblock.org/tag/chalk/ - Use of chalk in Las Vegas protests