Police won’t stop photos on Strip bridges under new law, sheriff says

Police won’t enforce the ban on stopping and standing on Strip pedestrian bridges until signage informing people about the law goes up, Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said Wednesday.

The ordinance, which prohibits individuals from engaging in an activity that causes another person to stop on the bridges and connected escalators, elevators or stairways, went into effect Tuesday.

It could be a few weeks before the ban will actually be enforced, however.

County spokesperson Erik Pappa said signage would start going up by the Super Bowl, which will occur on Feb. 11.

Ban aims to curb crime, ensure traffic flow

The ordinance was approved by Clark County commissioners on Jan. 2. Under the new law, any person who stops in “pedestrian flow zones,” which include the bridges and up to 20 feet surrounding the connected stairs or escalators could be charged with a misdemeanor.

The ban is meant to stop crime on the bridges and ensure a continuous flow of traffic, McMahill said.

“Are we going to stop people for stopping and taking a picture at all? Absolutely not.” McMahill said in a Wednesday interview with the Review-Journal. “But those chronic individuals up there that are preying on our tourists and our locals that are visiting the Strip (are) just not going to have a place to do it anymore.”

Opponents to the law, however, argue it violates the First Amendment. American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada Executive Director Athar Haseebullah warned commissioners ahead of the early January vote that the law would likely result in litigation.

“Making criminals out of ordinary Nevadans stopping for a mere moment on the pedestrian bridges they fund as taxpayers is lunacy,” Haseebullah told commissioners.

‘Can’t afford no tickets’

But the risk of a misdemeanor conviction, which carries a penalty of up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both, is enough to deter some street performers from dancing, singing or drumming on the pedestrian bridges.

“I can’t afford no tickets,” said Johnnie Morisette Jr., who was dancing on a pedestrian bridge crossing Tropicana Ave. Wednesday afternoon. “I’d rather just stay home and practice.”

Morisette, who has been a street performer on the Strip for five years, said he thought the ordinance was because of the Super Bowl.

“After the Super Bowl, people will make their way back,” he said.

Elijah Raysheek, a street performer who usually sings or drums on the pedestrian bridges, also said he thought the ordinance was because of the Super Bowl, but cast doubt on why performers couldn’t be on the bridges.

“There’s not going to be a lot of space to walk so they’re really concerned about that,” Raysheek said. “What if somebody trip and fall or breaks out a fight or people start running, you’re going to be tripping, falling over buckets and this and that, but it never happened.”

Raysheek, who’s been performing on the streets for about three years, said a cop told him on Wednesday that he was OK to perform on the bridge for the time being but that soon signs would be going up and no one would be allowed to play on the bridge.

But it’s not the first time street performers had been restricted from stopping on the bridges, Reysheek said, pointing to a period of time following a stabbing spree in October 2022 that left two people dead and another six injured.

Despite the restrictions and many other street performers he knows avoiding the bridges, Raysheek said he would still continue to perform on the bridges, but now by moving continuously back and forth on the bridges.

“They were saying, like I said, ‘It’s not a bridge, it’s a sidewalk.’ If we can perform on the sidewalk right here, we should be able to perform up there,” Raysheek said.

Contact Taylor R. Avery at TAvery@reviewjournal.com. Follow @travery98 on X.