NAACP-hosted forum on racial justice ends with audience outbursts
A forum meant to address racial justice in the criminal justice system grew tense Saturday as top law enforcement officials in Nevada tried to answer audience questions.
About 150 people attended the forum, which was hosted by the Las Vegas chapter of the NAACP, sponsored by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Foundation and held at the College of Southern Nevada in North Las Vegas. Each panelist was a law enforcement official: Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo; District Attorney Steve Wolfson; Attorney General Aaron Ford; acting U.S. Attorney Christopher Chiou; Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge for Las Vegas Francisco Burrola; and FBI Special Agent in Charge Aaron Rouse.
The majority of the forum was dedicated to questions from two moderators, NAACP members Sherrie Royster and Gwen Migita. The panelists discussed the criminal justice system in Nevada, including how local prosecutors and Metro officers police minority communities.
The NAACP advertised the forum as a way to encourage “deeper dialog around policing efforts, community concerns, and the importance of diversity representation when policing.”
In response to a question about the abundance of viral videos from across the U.S. showing police brutality in recent years, Lombardo pointed to department statistics to show that the majority of Las Vegas officers are not investigated for misconduct.
“What I have to admonish folks in that space is just because you see it on video doesn’t mean it’s absolutely 100 percent accurate,” he said.
Lombardo also referenced an internal affairs report released last month showing that less than 10 percent of misconduct allegations from 2018 and 2019 resulted in disciplinary action for Metro officers. But Metro did not release the underlying documents or identifying information regarding specific cases, which critics said undermined the data.
Angry murmuring was occasionally heard from the audience during the forum.
At the start of the event, a group of about 15 people with the More Than a Hashtag group walked into the auditorium to sit near the front. Many wore shirts reading “Justice for Jorge Gomez.”
During the question-and-answer portion of the forum, Royster asked if law enforcement sees a trend of more minority groups being arrested on charges that are later dropped and how can agencies address the issue if current data takes a colorblind approach. While answering the question, Wolfson talked about programs meant to prevent people from being charged with misdemeanors and the re-entry program Hope for Prisoners.
Raised voices broke out in the audience as one woman stood up to address Wolfson before she was escorted out.
“That was my question, and they’re not answering it!” she told a security guard, her voice echoing across the theater.
Other small audience outbursts came when the panelists discussed the Citizen Review Board and policing undocumented immigrants.
As Roxann McCoy, president of the local NAACP chapter, was giving closing remarks, the More Than a Hashtag group stood up and started chanting. The panelists walked off the stage or posed for pictures as the protesters continued chanting for nearly 10 minutes, even as loud music was played over the theater’s sound system.
Protester Desiree Smith, who started the chanting inside the theater, later said that she didn’t believe the forum was effective.
“We just thought the panel was a joke, to be honest,” she said.
A previous version incorrectly identified Francisco Burrola and Aaron Rouse.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.
