Refusing to Answer Police Questions at Las Vegas Venetian During Tashii Brown Chalk Protest
Channel: Nevada Cop Block (NVCopBlock.org)
Date: 20/02/2018

GoPro video from a chalk protest of the murder of Tashii Farmer-Brown at the Venetian Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip by Officer Kenneth Lopera of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

Full story on the murder of Tashii Farmer-Brown:https://goo.gl/drrcCp

During the protest, security guards from the Venetian tried to tell us they owned the sidewalks. After we corrected them on that inaccuracy, they called the police. This video begins as the police are arriving.

After I invoked my right not to answer questions, one of the officers stated that we were not being detained and were free to leave. (Because writing with chalk on a public sidewalk is legal and therefore they had no reasonable suspicion of a crime to justify detaining us.)

Since we weren't done chalking yet, we declined that offer. He then informed me that he would "just stay there" and keep asking questions because it was his job to find out what our "purpose" was. I, in turn, informed him that we would also stay here and continue not answering those questions. Obviously, if the cops are busy watching us legally writing with chalk on sidewalks, they won't be out harassing (or beating, tasing, and choking to death) anyone else, like they normally would be.

At that point, their captain called one of the other officers, who relayed the message to the one that wanted to hang out all day that he had told them to leave.

With a great deal of disappointment, he soon did so. He was visibly disappointed that he wouldn't be able stand around all day asking questions we weren't going to answer.

The Venetian security guards were even more heartbroken by that turn of events. Even more so after they figured out that we were just going to rechalk the areas they had mopped up. They gave up on that plan pretty quickly. 

Related stories at NVCopBlock.org: https://goo.gl/ApyhxJ