July 6, 2020

Governor Steve Sisolak Attorney General Aaron Ford

State Capitol Building Office of the Attorney General
101 N. Carson Street 100 North Carson St.
Carson City, NV 89701 Carson City, NV 89701

Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro Speaker Jason Frierson

Members of the Senate Members of the Assembly
Legislative Building Legislative Building
401 S. Carson Street 401 S. Carson Street
Carson City, NV 89701-4747 Carson City, NV 89701-4747

Dear Governor Sisolak, Attorney General Ford, Majority Leader Cannizzaro,

Speaker Frierson, and members of the Nevada Senate and Nevada Assembly:

The Time to Start Reimagining Nevada’s Criminal Justice System is Now

Advocates urge lawmakers to adopt police accountability measures during special
legislative session.

Nevada made great strides during the last legislative session to create a more just
criminal justice system. Assembly Bill 236 begins to address the systemic issues of
inequality through reforms, including cost saving measures that also enhanced
community safety. AB 236 is a first step. Additional reforms are needed now, or AB
236 will be hollow legislation that recognizes a way to implement reform in our
communities, but does not address the intrinsic systemic issues that have brought
us to where we are today.
Our nation is grappling with unprecedented circumstances, from the COVID-19
pandemic to the murders of George Floyd, Brianna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and
countless others across the country. Public demands for substantial reform resound
nationwide. Deaths in our own communities – like Miciah Lee and Byron Williams
– have raised awareness that these issues impact our citizens. There needs to be
equal justice for Nevadans. Mere words are insufficient. Meaningful action
addressing the root causes of unequal justice is needed—and we need it now.
Reimagining an unjust system will not happen overnight. We need to begin the
process now. The process should start with minor yet meaningful police reform.
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Changes enacted during this special legislative session will demonstrate Nevada’s
commitment to change and begin to restore community trust. In the short term, we
urge our leadership to focus police reforms on two significant issues effecting law
enforcement’s relationship with the community: 1) accountability and transparency,
and 2) training and resource reallocation.

Accountability and Transparency

Police Union Collective Bargaining Contracts: Repeal Senate Bill 242
SB 242 passed during the 2019 Legislative Session. It must be repealed. This
harmful legislation empowers police unions to protect officers who commit
misconduct. Leadership should codify the State’s constitutional duty to disclose
officer misconduct, and repeal statutory provisions allowing police departments to
purge these records. Transparency will eliminate “bad apples,” to the benefit of law
enforcement and rebuilds trust in our communities.
Body Worn Cameras
We need legislation that penalizes an officer’s failure to wear and activate their
body camera. Even where internal policies impose sanctions or remedies – and some
do not – consequences for violation are rarely, if ever, enforced. Additionally,
allowing departments to independently redact footage without oversight
compromises transparency and deteriorates community trust. This is easily
remedied: Remove the unreasonable and cost prohibitive redaction charge ($280 per
hour in Las Vegas); timely release footage of critical incidents; and, make critical
incidents, like officer-involved shootings, a matter of public record.
Independent Oversight Over Police Conduct
To properly police the police, leadership should convene an independent body to
investigate allegations of misconduct, including the use of force. For example, the
Attorney General’s office could independently investigate cases in which police use
force, or cause death. Leadership could and should prohibit clandestine grand jury
proceedings in use of force or civilian death cases. These vital changes will ensure
that the families of those injured or killed by law enforcement receive an equal
pursuit of justice by way of a transparent process that promotes accountability.
Qualified Immunity
Qualified immunity must no longer be a shield for constitutional violations
committed by law enforcement officers. Leaving the victims of police misconduct
without a legal remedy is simply unjust.
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Data Collection
Data pertaining to use of force, misconduct, racial profiling, untruthfulness, and
failure to comply with P.O.S.T. training requirement must be collected and
maintained by an independent entity to guarantee law enforcement transparency
and integrity.
Training and Reallocating Resources
In Person De-escalation and Racial Bias Training
Law enforcement leaders have yet to implement AB 478 which passed last session
that requires additional training to obviate improper use of force. Ensuring that
our officers have nonlethal tools at their disposal, and that they rely on those tools
before escalating to lethal force, is crucial in alleviating tensions during community
interactions. Reforms to recruitment, P.O.S.T., officer training is also needed.
Furthermore, codifying a citizens’ right to video record police encounters will
prevent future misconduct.
Use of Force
Many local law enforcement agencies are reevaluating, and making more accessible,
their use of force policies. Many have adopted policies outlined in the #8can’twait
campaign. Nonetheless, officers nationwide still use chokeholds. Chokeholds and
similar restraint tactics have taken the lives of too many citizens. Likewise, teargas,
a chemical weapon, should never be used on our citizens.
Alternatives to Policing
We must invest in policing alternatives. For example, an armed officer should not
be the first response to a person in a mental health crisis. Community-based
solutions can protect officers from situations they are not trained to handle and
protect the community from excessive or lethal force.
Decriminalizing Minor Traffic Infractions
Decriminalizing nonviolent traffic infractions will alleviate oppressive fines and fees
imposed upon impoverished communities. Poor communities are disproportionately
impacted by excessive fines and fees and are more often incarcerated for their
inability to pay. Decriminalization will permit the reallocation of resources
needlessly expended to prosecute broken taillights and speeding tickets to, for
example, public health issues.

Nevadans deserve substantial, meaningful reform not only to law enforcement, but
to the fundamental inequities that plague our criminal justice system. The above
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reforms can and should be enacted now. We should be looking for ways to
accomplish equal justice for all Nevadans, and now is the time to work on long-
overdue remedies to systemic injustice. Our communities deserve better, and it’s
time to deliver.
Sincerely,

J.D. Klippenstein Kate O’Bryan Randolph Fiedler

Executive Director Nevada Attorneys for Criminal
ACTIONN Kenneth A. Stover, Esq. Justice
Law Offices of Kenneth A.
Adrienne Feemster Stover Nevada Democratic Veterans
and Military Families Caucus
Caitlyn McAmis, Esq.
Holly Welborn
The Law Offices of Kristina Nevada Coalition to End
American Civil Liberty Union
Wildeveld & Associates Domestic and Sexual Violence
of Nevada
David Figler, Esq. Jessica Vann
Athar Hasseebulah, Esq.
The Law Offices of Kristina Northern Nevada Black
Wildeveld & Associates Cultural Awareness Society
Edward Coleman
Black Caucus of the
Diamond Thomas Esq. Karin L. Kreizenbeck
Democratic Party of Washoe
The Law Offices of Kristina Nevada State Public Defender’s
County
Wildeveld & Associates Office
Alex Goff
Lisa Rasmussen, Esq. Laura Martin
City of Reno Human Rights
The Law Offices of Kristina Progressive Leadership
Commission (member)
Wildeveld & Associates Alliance of Nevada
Yvette Williams
Kristina Wildeveld, Esq. Lonnie L. Feemster
Clark County Black Caucus
The Law Offices of Kristina President, Reno Sparks
Wildeveld & Associates NAACP #1112
Darin Imlay
Vice President, NAACP Tri-
Clark County Public Defender’s
Richard F. Cornell State Conference
Office
Law Offices of Richard F. Idaho/Nevada/Utah
Cornell Nevada State Director, NAACP
JoNell Thomas
National Voter Fund
Clark County Special Public
Shaunda Johnson
Defender’s Office
LIVEFREE Campaign Henry Sotelo, Esq.
Sotelo Legal Associates
Geoconda Argüello-Kline
Sondra Cosgrove
Secretary-Treasurer
League of Women Voters of Veterans for Responsible
Culinary Workers Local 226
Nevada Government
Families United 4 Justice Las
Mi Familia Vota Nevada Marc Picker
Vegas
Washoe County Alternate
Leo Murrieta Public Defender’s Office
Forced Trajectory Project
Executive Director
Make the Road Nevada John L. Arrascada
Hawah Ahmad
Washoe County Public
Monique Normand, LMSW Defender’s Office
Jim Hoffman, Esq.