POLICE ANGER ACLU

The Internal Affairs Bureau clears two officers of infringing on the rights
of downtown petitioners.

Two Las Vegas police officers accused of infringing on the First Amendment
rights of a group of Fremont Street petitioners have been cleared of any
wrongdoing.

The police Internal Affairs Bureau's action infuriated an American Civil
Liberties Union official who said the investigation was slanted in favor of
the officers and disregarded the most serious allegations.

"This was a sham," said Gary Peck, executive director of the ACLU of Nevada,
after Friday's announcement. "The results of this investigation are yet
another example that too often Metro's (Internal Affairs Bureau) is more
interested in protecting their officers instead of finding out what really
happened and ensuring police do their job."

On May 22, five people attempting to gain signatures on a petition to force
a statewide vote on the medicinal use of marijuana were ordered off the
street by security guards working for the Fremont Street Experience. Police
called to the scene detained the petitioners for an hour while their
backgrounds were checked.

One petitioner, Amy Donaldson, claimed an officer wrenched her wrist and
took her pen away when she attempted to write down the officers' names and
badge numbers. The group, with the assistance of the ACLU, subsequently
filed complaints with internal affairs. Police Lt. Rick Alba said Friday the
two officers, whom he declined to identify, were cleared of any wrongdoing.

The officers, assigned to the Downtown Area Command, were both accused of
discourtesy and one was also accused of using excessive force. "It was felt
that they acted appropriately,"

Alba said. "What occurred was proper and under the guidelines of Metro
policy and the law." But Peck said police bungled the investigation by
ignoring the fact that the officers had no right to detain the petitioners
and that they also threatened the group with arrest if they ever returned to
Fremont Street.

The disposition from the internal investigation did not address either
claim. Police Lt. Larry Spinosa, who heads internal affairs, did not return
calls seeking comment. Peck said police did not take into account that the
five witness statements contradicted the officers' accounts.

He also contends the officers refused to offer their badge numbers and names
until ordered to do so by a supervising officer who arrived at the scene
after the controversy erupted. "According to all five witness statements,
the cops had an attitude from the get-go," Peck said.

"They were saying 'You people are not going anywhere and we have the right
to stop anybody for any reason.' " "The thing most disturbing about what has
transpired is that Metro has now changed its story and so have the security
guards," Peck said. "Initially these people who were accosted were accused
of violating city law by soliciting out on Fremont Street.

Now, once Metro has obtained a better understanding of the city ordinance,
they say they were called to the scene because these petitioners were acting
up." City law prevents people from begging, soliciting financial
contributions or other valuables. There is no mention in the ordinance of
any ban against handing out leaflets or asking for signatures.

Although enough signatures have been obtained in 11 counties -- including
Clark County -- to put the marijuana proposal on the statewide ballot, it
appeared that the effort may fail because the signature drive is falling
short in Nye County.

Under the proposal, a patient could use, upon the advice of a physician,
marijuana for "treatment or alleviation" of cancer, glaucoma, AIDS,
persistent nausea, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and other medical problems.

The ability of people to freely express their opinions on Fremont Street has
been at the center of an ongoing fight between the ACLU, the Fremont Street
Experience and the city of Las Vegas.

In October the ACLU filed suit against the city, arguing a 1995 ordinance
creating the pedestrian mall and giving downtown casinos broad control over
the area was unconstitutional.

A decision by a U.S. District Court judge essentially ruled that the Fremont
Street Experience is not open to all types of free speech, even though
public monies were used to convert the area into a mall.

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett