Police brutality rally briefly halted when protester passes out on Strip
A protester collapsed in the middle of Las Vegas Boulevard on Monday night during a demonstration against police brutality.
A group of about 20 had gathered by 7:30 p.m. outside Bellagio, where a group of about 150 had gathered to protest on Saturday.
That protest ended with multiple arrests, including legal observers, after Las Vegas police used pepper spray and gave two separate orders to disperse.
The arrests of at least seven attorneys and law students who documented interactions with police and demonstrators led Gov. Steve Sisolak to call for an investigation into the arrests on Sunday.
On Monday, Metro released a statement saying they are “reviewing actions taken by both protesters and law enforcement.”
Looks like the protesters will eventually walk up and down Las Vegas Boulevard, but they haven’t yet. We’ve watched three water shows outside the Bellagio as still about 30 or so people. pic.twitter.com/EnyGO9i4rf
— Briana Erickson (@ByBrianaE) June 16, 2020
11:07 p.m.
What was left of the group has dispersed near Bellagio. The protest is over.
— Briana Erickson
9:56 p.m.
Protesters are chanting the name of Jorge Gomez, the armed man who was fatally shot by Las Vegas police on June 1 at the end of a Black Lives Matter protest.
— Briana Erickson
9:51 p.m.
Protesters have reached Circus Circus, which appears to be their final destination tonight.
— James Schaeffer
9:28 p.m.
Protesters carried the man who passed out to the sidewalk. Las Vegas police officers immediately responded to the scene, making room for the person on the ground.
One protester yelled, “Let’s see if they actually do something.”
Firefighters and an ambulance arrived. The ambulance loaded the man on a stretcher and left.
— James Schaeffer and Briana Erickson
9:08 p.m.
Marchers are shouting for someone to call 911 after a protester passed out in the middle of Las Vegas Boulevard.
— James Schaeffer
8:51 p.m.
Looks like the crowd has grown to about 50. As they crossed the bridge over Flamingo Road at Las Vegas Boulevard, they were greeted to about 5 officers standing by the entrance to Bellagio.
— Briana Erickson
8:42 p.m.
Protesters have started marching north on Las Vegas Boulevard.
— Briana Erickson
8:28 p.m.
A man who goes by his rap name, Taylocc The Entertainer, thanked the white protesters in the crowd. “Keep your fists high, keep your signs high,” he said. “Let’s make the best of this protests, and we’re going to walk in unity.”
— Briana Erickson
8:23 p.m.
As Bruno Mars plays in the background at Bellagio, a protester on a megaphone addresses the crowd, “There’s not that many people here now, but you know how these things go.”
They plan on marching, no planned destination.
— James Schaeffer
8:16 p.m.
As about 30 people started to gather around Bellagio, a gold SUV beeped on Las Vegas Boulevard. A woman in the passenger side popped her head out and flashed a “Black Lives Matter!” Sign.
Three Las Vegas police officers spoke to organizers to try to coordinate efforts for the protest.
“I’m just a small piece of the bigger picture,” the organizer of the protest, Porfirio Flores, said. “The same police trapped us and tear-gassed us, so you never know,” he told one officer.
“Well, I don’t know about the other day,” the officer replied, encouraging them that it would be a peaceful night. “We will keep everything regulated, we won’t let it slip through the cracks.”
Flores said it wasn’t about the amount of people but the “showing of the movement.”
“The most important thing is just keeping the voice loud,” he said.
The plan was to continue marching up and down Las Vegas Boulevard.
— Briana Erickson
8:05 p.m.
An organizer said the group of about 30 protesters would soon begin walking along Las Vegas Boulevard.
— Briana Erickson
Contact Briana Erickson at berickson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5244. Follow @ByBrianaE on Twitter.
