Motion seeks injunction restricting controversial Las Vegas police protest tactics

Attorneys are asking a judge to restrict the way Las Vegas police enforce dispersal orders and shoot pepper balls in the wake of controversy over their handling of protests last year.

The request comes in the form of a motion for preliminary injunction as part of a lawsuit filed by protester Emanuel Beltran against the Metropolitan Police Department.

The motion asks that Metro be prohibited from enforcing dispersal orders outside dispersal zones once protesters comply with the orders and also prevent police from shooting pepper balls at people who are not committing serious crimes or threatening others.

It was filed in state court Tuesday by attorneys Jared Richards, Stephen Stubbs and Dustin Birch. Stubbs said in a phone interview that the motion intends to have Metro follow restrictions that courts have already established for police.

Metro did not respond to a request for comment.

“During the June 11, 2025, protests, the LVMPD far exceeded their legitimate police powers, completely disregarded the First Amendment rights of protesters, illegally shot hundreds of pepper balls with no threat of harm to officers or others, and improperly used their arrest powers, all with the goal of stopping the protest and extinguishing the protesters’ First Amendment-protected activities,” Beltran’s attorneys argued in the motion.

Protesters gathered in downtown Las Vegas on June 11 and June 14 to oppose President Donald Trump’s administration and its efforts targeting illegal immigration. Thousands participated in those demonstrations, and over 100 were arrested, but the city decided not to prosecute most of those who faced charges, a decision that rankled Metro.

While police have said some protesters behaved violently, legal experts and advocates have also criticized the conduct of officers and said some of the arrests appeared retaliatory.

‘Simply asking questions’

Body camera video linked to the court papers shows police taking a man into custody who was standing at the corner of the Fremont Street Experience and Las Vegas Boulevard and asking them questions.

“Why can’t I go that way?” the man asked, apparently referring to crossing Las Vegas Boulevard at Fremont.

“Because I said so,” an officer replied. “Get the f—- out of here. I’m not going to tell you again.”

“You don’t have to curse at me,” the man said.

“You don’t have to keep asking me questions,” the officer said.

The exchange continued and a group of officers grabbed the man, who is not identified in the motion. According to the filing, Undersheriff Andrew Walsh ordered his arrest.

Walsh did not respond to requests for comment.

“This is not a matter of rogue officers going against their superiors or their orders,” the attorneys who filed the motion argued. “Rather, the second-highest ranking LVMPD officer, Undersheriff Walsh, was on-scene and officers were following his directions. Undersheriff Walsh also set a horrible example for his officers when he ordered a man arrested for simply asking questions on a public sidewalk.”

Dispersal order interpretation criticized

Protesters followed a dispersal order at Las Vegas Boulevard and Bridger Avenue telling them to go south on Las Vegas Boulevard and east on Clark Avenue, according to the filing, which added that most demonstrators could not hear the dispersal order.

Metro has said in arrest reports that multiple dispersal orders were given via loudspeaker.

Police then “spent the rest of the evening chasing down the smaller groups of protesters that continued their protests in various locations throughout downtown Las Vegas, despite the protesters completely avoiding the dispersal zone,” the motion said.

Some, the lawyers wrote, were arrested for simply taking part in the demonstration “under the guise of violating a dispersal order.”

The filing alleges that Metro eventually ordered the arrest of anyone protesting.

A note in Metro’s computer aided dispatch log at 11:36 p.m. on June 11 said, “IF THEY HAVE SIGNS THEY CAN BE ARRESTED,” according to court documents.

Beltran was not at Las Vegas Boulevard and Bridger Avenue when Metro said disperal orders were read, and not a single officer told Beltran that there was a dispersal order in place, according to the motion.

Pepper ball use

The motion said police also shot pepper balls at non-threatening protesters.

Beltran’s suit accused Las Vegas police officer Mark Eshe of firing 157 pepper balls at protesters in just under 90 minutes on June 11.

The ACLU of Nevada previously released a letter from the department disclosing that officers deployed 750 pepper ball rounds in the June 11 and June 14 protests, as well as dozens of other munitions.

Beltran, who joined protesters after meeting a cousin for dinner in downtown Las Vegas, was hit in the legs with three pepper balls, according to his suit, which said Eshe fired at him 13 times.

The people at whom Eshe shot pepper balls also included a woman crossing the street, a man waving a flag in an intersection and a group of protesters standing on the sidewalk and holding signs, the suit said.

Metro’s “refusal to follow binding precedents, and use of pepper balls and tear gas on individuals and protesters that pose no harm whatsoever increases the need for injunctive relief early in litigation,” the motion said.

District Judge Tara Clark Newberry is scheduled to hear the motion Feb. 4.

Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.