Las Vegas videographer sues police over arrest during 2020 protest
A Las Vegas videographer has sued the Metropolitan Police Department, alleging his phone was smacked out of his hand and that he was dragged out of his car during a protest.
Nebyou Solomon filed the complaint in federal court on May 27, arguing that he was filming a protest that broke out May 30, 2020, near Clark Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard, when Metro officers demanded he leave the area. Solomon, who is represented by attorney Maggie McLetchie, alleges that he then was told to park his vehicle and get out.
“An officer reached through the driver’s side window and struck Mr. Solomon’s smartphone and gimble, damaging them,” the lawsuit states. “The officers then demanded that Mr. Solomon exit his vehicle; but before he could do so, the officers violently extracted Mr. Solomon from the vehicle and forced him to his knees on the sidewalk.”
Metro’s attorney, Nicholas Crosby, declined to comment.
According to the lawsuit, Solomon was booked on a charge of provoking a breach of peace, and the case was dropped on Oct. 12, 2020. Las Vegas Justice Court did not show a record of his arrest.
He is seeking unspecified damages from Metro, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo and unnamed officers listed as Doe I-III in the complaint. The lawsuit’s claims include false arrest, battery, negligent training and supervision, a violation of the Fourth Amendment right to be free of unreasonable search and seizure, and retaliation for First Amendment activity.
Solomon worked for the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 2021. McLetchie serves as outside counsel for the Review-Journal.
The videographer has a second pending case against Metro in which he alleges that he was arrested while standing on a public sidewalk filming a protest in April 2017 on assignment for 8NewsNow. Metro claimed that Fashion Show mall security asked him to leave and that he was arrested because he refused to identify himself.
Court records show that he was booked on charges of trespassing and obstructing a public officer, but the charges were dropped two weeks later.
Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.
