Court cases dropped against police brutality protesters in Las Vegas

Every person who faced criminal charges in Las Vegas Justice Court after being arrested during dispersal orders at last summer’s police brutality protests has since seen their cases closed, records show.

The final four cases were dismissed this week, with the Clark County district attorney’s office declining to prosecute.

“The closure of this case is my fruition to start healing,” Annelise Friedman, 28, said hours after her case was dismissed Tuesday.

Clark County Detention Center records indicate that between May 29 and Oct. 2, 240 people were arrested and accused of failing to disperse or provoking a breach of peace in connection with local protests after the murder of George Floyd.

Hundreds were never charged. At least one person pleaded no contest to resisting a public officer on the condition that he stay out of trouble for six months to see his case dismissed, or face 30 days in jail, records show.

The district attorney’s office declined multiple requests for comment on the adjudication of protest-related cases.

Friedman’s arrest came May 29, 2020, when she was taken into custody with Jameelah Lewis, 24, as the women were leaving a demonstration on the Strip. As they walked to Lewis’ car by Flamingo Road and Koval Lane, both women recall nearly 10 officers rushing them from behind, tackling them to the ground and arresting them on a charge of failure to disperse.

“The intention behind rounding a lot of us up was to deter us from going to protests,” Friedman said.

When Friedman was released from jail the next morning, her first stop was a hospital to treat the thumbprint-size contusions on her arms, her bruised face and black-and-blue legs.

“Mentally, I have struggled so much this past year with severe PTSD that I had to start going to a psychiatrist,” she said. “I don’t feel like constantly in danger anymore that I’m just going to go to jail.”

In an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal last month, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said that those who were arrested had already broken the law at multiple protests, which is why their cases remained in court until June.

“The intent is to change behavior and not ruin someone’s life,” he said.

None of the four defendants, including Friedman, whose cases were in limbo for more than a year had prior charges in Justice Court or District Court.

Friedman said she still limped her way through more protests last summer before shifting her activism to other local causes.

“I haven’t gone away,” she said. “It’s a minor irritant. It broke my spirit. It hasn’t deterred me from seeking justice.”

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.