Push to clean up Strip ensnares disabled man

Larry Mangels was giving out water bottles to thirsty homeless people and tourists on the Strip on the Fourth of July.

He sat in a wheelchair on the pedestrian bridge between the Palazzo and Wynn Las Vegas handing out water. A donation jar and a sign saying he was a disabled veteran were nearby. Passers-by could give donations if they wanted to, but that didn't determine whether they got water. He said he knows he can't charge for it - that's illegal.

But the 64-year-old soon found himself handcuffed by Las Vegas police. He was placed on a gurney and taken by ambulance to jail. A truck towed Mangels' electric wheelchair to the station, and his arrest was filmed by a reality TV crew following officers on the Strip.

"It was just really a power trip," Mangels said. The officer "was playing to the cameras, showing how way cool he was. It was extremely embarrassing, and I don't think that's how officers are supposed to act, to verbally abuse and humiliate someone."

Mangels, who said he is an ordained Christian minister, spent four hours in jail after being arrested for doing business without a license in the public right-of-way. If convicted of the misdemeanor, he faces up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. He plans to fight the charge.

The arrest has already cost him.

"I lost my coolers. And I have an American flag - I lost that. And I lost my umbrella," he said. "It was a real unpleasant Fourth of July."

His arrest is part of increased police enforcement to rid the Strip of street vendors and peddlers in an attempt to make the world-famous stretch of real estate more inviting to tourists.

Earlier this week, Clark County commissioners gave police another tool in their Strip crackdown. Even if you have a business license, commissioners made it a misdemeanor to stand on a sidewalk to sell or offer to sell goods or services in the public right-of-way. The punishment could be a $1,000 fine and six months in jail.

In the past, officers have warned illegal vendors, confiscated their wares or ticketed them.

Police Capt. Todd Fasulo, whose Convention Center Area Command includes the Strip, said police will start enforcing that law in about two weeks, as officers have a chance to warn people about the change.

But he added that Mangels was breaking an existing law by doing business without a license. If Mangels had separated his actions - giving out free water and panhandling - that would be "totally legal," Fasulo said.

It became illegal when Mangels told tourists how much to put in the tip jar, he said.

"That's a business transaction," Fasulo said. "If it was totally free, he would have a sign that said free water, no tip jar, and he would be handing out water."

Fasulo added that officers were watching Mangels because he had been warned before.

"If he feels he was mistreated, he needs to file a complaint and have it investigated," Fasulo said. "We've got better things to do than chase people down with water."

Mangels, who said he is a Vietnam-era veteran who served in the Army from 1969 to 1971, said he was trying to do a public service the day he was arrested by providing water to thirsty people. At press time, the Review-Journal could not verify his military service record.

He is unemployed. His income is largely a monthly disability check. He lives in subsidized housing. When he interacts with people on the Strip, it makes him happy, he said. Two days after his arrest, Mangels returned to the foot bridge to panhandle. This time, he did not have water. It's too risky with his pending court case, he said.

A witness to the arrest, who asked not to be named, said he understands police have to enforce the law but felt bad for Mangels.

"I'm watching a crippled American veteran being arrested on the Fourth of July," the man said. "I can't absorb it in my mind."

The witness said police appeared to treat Mangels professionally.

The new law doesn't affect handbillers who distribute fliers for adult entertainment and escort services, street performers and people who earn tips by dressing in costumes and posing for photos with tourists, whose activities are afforded some protection under the First Amendment right to free speech.

The ordinance came from a set of recommendations made by the Resort Corridor Workgroup, an advisory panel to the County Commission of gaming and tourism representatives, which proposed ways to "clean up the Strip."

The law targeting vendors was the second ordinance to come from those discussions. The first was a curfew for animals on the Strip.

The discussion also led to a $581,000 pedestrian study to identify areas where pedestrian movement is congested. The study is funded by room tax proceeds restricted for transportation improvements in the resort corridor.

Mangels said he just wants to help the homeless. He knows their struggles; after all, he lived on the streets a decade ago, struggling to cope with the death of his wife.

Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani, whose district includes the Strip, said Mangels' intentions might be good, but he should try to help the homeless in other ways.

"If he's really worrying about the homeless there are a lot of areas you can impact them more than the Strip with tourists on it," Giunchigliani said. "This is not an appropriate way to do it. Choosing that type of venue makes it look suspect whether it is or not."

Contact reporter Kristi Jourdan at kjourdan@reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519.