Sabrina Bistel stands at the corner of Main Street and Clark Avenue in front of Las Vegas City Hall. In a bold red lipstick and matching headband, she raises a sign above her head with the names of black Americans and the dates they died from police brutality as cars whiz by.
“Say their names,” the sign reads in capital letters. “George Floyd 2020; Philando Castile 2016; Alton Sterling 2016; Breonna Taylor 2020, etc.”
Citizens have taken to the streets nationwide advocating for police reform after George Floyd, a black man, died in the custody of Minnesota police last week. Bystander video showed Floyd pleading for air for several minutes. Bistel is seeking justice for more than Floyd.
“There are 13 people on my board right now and this is just a small list — it doesn’t even include the people who haven’t been documented yet,” she said.
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Bistel was joined by at least 300 other demonstrators in downtown Las Vegas in what was initially planned to be an open conversation between protesters and Metro Police. The gathering was organized by March for Peace Las Vegas, which is not affiliated with Black Lives Matter Las Vegas.
While participants were reeling from the loss of black Americans at the hands of police, Las Vegas officers were also dealing with the shooting of one of their own. Officer Shay Mikalonis, 29, is on life support at University Medical Center after being shot late Monday during a protest. A protester was also killed by police on Monday.
Forty-eight hours later, the tension between cops and protesters was subdued and the environment was peaceful throughout the four-hour affair.
Additionally, for the first time since the protests began last week after Floyd’s death, there was an open, and at some points amicable, dialogue between protesters and law enforcement before the march. Officers said the agency was disgusted by the actions of Derek Chauvin, the officer accused of killing Floyd.
Still, discussions were at times heated as protesters grilled officers about their recent crowd-control tactics. On some nights, officers used tear gas and other “nonlethal” rounds like pepper balls after some protesters reportedly didn’t comply with dispersal orders.
“(Agitators) are mixed in with the people who want to peacefully protest,” Metro Capt. John McGrath said. “We don’t have a problem with peaceful protests. That’s why we helped arrange this … a safe space for everyone with no vehicle traffic, just us talking. This is the first step. Somebody asked, ‘What are we going to do differently?’ This is it. We’re here to talk.”
One protester asked how Metro keeps officers accountable for violations while on the job. Metro Police Assistant Sheriff Chris Jones detailed some of the department’s protocols in regulating its staff, including a policy of sending a statement to media each time they arrest one of their own.
“Look at the arrests we’ve made recently of our officers,” he said, referring to two officers who were arrested last month on suspicion of child abuse. “We are not proud of that. It sits with me every single day and it sits with our Sheriff Joe Lombardo every single day. But we hold them accountable.”
The dialogue was partly organized by R&B artist I.Am.Tru.Starr, who emphasized that these conversations need to happen.
“We’ve got to have a solution to our problems, bro,” he told one protester. “I’m angry too, I’m hurt. But what are we going to do about it?”
The Las Vegas transplant admitted he wasn’t sure if having this dialogue would make a difference. But it’s a start.
“We’ve got to take a step in the right direction,” he told one protester. “I don’t know if it’s the right way to make you feel comfortable, but bro, we have to try something. We’ve never had this opportunity.”
Not everyone was satisfied with the answers, but the discussions ended peacefully before the crowd began their march around downtown.
Approached by a pair of women asking officers to join the trek, McGrath stressed that it wouldn’t be a good idea, logistically. He said officers were feeling a little nervous after Monday night’s violent episodes.
“What we’ve been doing, it’s not working, let’s change it,” he told them, referencing the demonstrations that have turned unruly. But if Wednesday’s protest went off peacefully, he said police could participate in an act of solidarity during a future march.
Several legal observers, including members of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, were seen marching with protesters to document the events.
Officers, stationed at various points along the walk’s path, kept a distance, occasionally telling marchers to stay on the sidewalk. But most of the policing came from protesters telling others to follow the law, “be smart” and peaceful.
At one point, a woman filming the protest flashed a smile and waved at officers in a cruiser. “Peaceful protest, this is beautiful,” exclaimed one demonstrator.
At the end of the march, protesters took a knee in front of City Hall, raising their fists and lit-up cellphones. “Say his name,” yelled a man on a megaphone, “George Floyd!” they shouted back.
A smaller-scale march on the Strip reportedly went off without any disruptions.