Families impacted by police homicide and police brutality survivors release a collective list of demands amid the special Nevada State Legislature session

In response to the sustained interest in police violence prompted by the extrajudicial killing of George Floyd of Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, the last several weeks Families United 4 Justice - Las Vegas, a coalition of families impacted by police homicide and police brutality survivors, have organized to identify a collective list of demands for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD), Nevada police, and local, state, and federal governments. The demands include the immediate resignation of District Attorney Steve Wolfson for his failure to adequately investigate and prosecute officers who violate human and civil rights, the demilitarization of the LVMPD, and the abolishment of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, the local police union that obstructs police transparency and accountability during police homicide investigations. The demands also call for the creation of a version of the Victims of Crime program for police homicide victims and police brutality survivors as those directly impacted often do not qualify for Victims of Crime or are not made aware of the program causing them to miss the application deadline.

The 36 demands are being called by the families of LVMPD police homicide victims Leopoldo Tijernia, killed on May 5, 2005, Joseph Justin killed on August 22, 2007, Rafael Olivas killed on July 14, 2011, Sharmel Edwards, killed on April 21, 2012, Thomas McEniry, killed on November 24, 2015, Keith Childress, Jr., killed on December 31, 2015, Rex Wilson, killed on October 13, 2016, Tashii Brown, killed on May 14, 2017, Junior Lopez, killed on April 6, 2018, Nicholas Farah, killed on March 31, 2019, Byron Williams, killed on September 5, 2019, Jorge Gomez, killed on June 1, 2020, the family of James Neske who was killed during an altercation with another civilian inside Clark County Detention Center on July 15, 2019, the family of Nathan Benson who was shot by LVMPD on April 29, 2013 and to this day still hasn’t healed from the bullet wound due to the inadequate medical care at Clark County Detention Center, and who remains in solitary confinement despite never being charged for a crime while suffering from mental illness, Clark County resident Tonya Brown, mother of Tyree Davis who was killed by Chicago police on January 4, 2020, Clark County resident Nasha Myart, aunt of Stephon Clark who was killed by Sacramento police on March 18, 2018, LVMPD police brutality survivors, Cristina Paulos, Jesus Carvajal and Terry Rogaczewski.

The demands are:

Mandate independent investigations in all police related killings in Nevada; reopen cases in the last 30 years and all current cases moving forward.

Return the victim's belongings to the family after the case is closed.

Issue an independent liaison/advocate to impacted people to help navigate the criminal legal system and address their needs.

Eliminate qualified immunity in the state of Nevada.

Overturn U.S. Supreme Court cases Tennessee v. Garner and Graham v. Connor that justifies lethal force based on officers' “belief” that their lives or others' lives are in danger.

The immediate resignation of Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson and an investigation into the Clark County District Attorney’s office for prosecutorial misconduct, holding Wolfson criminally liable if misconduct is discovered.

Abolish police unions, including the Las Vegas Police Protective Association.

Removal of the restraint chair utilized in Clark County Detention Center that has been used to brutalize civilians including Nicholas Farah who died while being restrained in the chair.

Repeal the Nevada Peace Officer Bill of Rights.

Mandate...