Accountability in our Law Enforcement Lets Unite as Americans

5/31/20
Hello, my name is Steve Sanson I am the President of Veterans In Politics International before anyone says who is this guy. I am from European and African decedents and am an American and will always be a United States Marine. I have had both good and bad experiences with law enforcement.

I have many friends that are lawmakers and lawbreakers, but I don’t judge where they came from I judge them how they treat me.

That brings me to this: I received a call last night to go Downtown in Las Vegas Nevada and protest the death of George Floyd. I knew that many of the protestors were angry and this anger would lead to rioting. Instead, I decided to help the cause by doing this public service announcement.

It is disgusting and uncalled for how the Minneapolis Police Department killed George Floyd. Yes, the Police Department. Why I say the Department is because there is a culture throughout almost every police department in America that police officers are untouchable. That they can do what they want and get away with it.

If another officer complains that officer is a rat, not to be trusted, isolated, threatened, and discredit. No room for promotion and the officer’s family is also threatened, no one wants to work with them.

This is shameful... This silence good officers that turn a blind-eye for bad officers. This is why the culture of police officers in America is corrupt.

They are protected by a powerful police union that decides who the next sheriff will be, who the next police chief will be. Most police departments are hostages to the powerful police unions.

I understand your anger, I was detained recently for an hour because I complied with the law and told the rookie cop that I have a Counseled Carry Permit and I had weapons in my vehicle registered in my name. I was pulled out the car handcuffed, more officers showed up, the officer violated my constitutional rights went into my vehicle and took my weapons, and the cop tried everything to take me into custody. All over a traffic stop. I contacted Internal Affairs, the Sheriff’s Office, the Citizens Review Board, and nothing happened.

Why? Because they protect their own.

We have had our own fair share of police misconduct in killing our citizens right here in Las Vegas Nevada.

December 12, 2011, a Las Vegas Police officer Jesus Arevalo used his personal AK47 and shot and killed Stanley Gibson African American a Gulf War Veteran suffering from PTSD, shot him 5 times while he sat in his car. Gibson was barricaded by patrol cars in an apartment complex, the only thing Gibson can do was spin his tires.

Our Sheriff Doug Gillespie tried to cover it up, he said Gibson used his vehicle as a battering ram and Officers needed to protect themselves. The Sheriff did not know that a tenant in the apartment took a video and sent the video to a news station. It showed that Gibson was blocked in, with nowhere to go.

The Sheriff then backpedaled and was blaming the radio communication and when that failed blamed the Lt. in charge. The exposure of this case caused a whirlwind of events. My organization Veterans In Politics International was deeply involved. We interview the officer’s wife and found out that this officer was a problem within the department and made very disparaging statements about African Americans and his view on paid administrative leave. According to the LVMPD’s policy if you used your weapon on duty you will automatically receive paid administrative leave in other words a vacation on tax payer’s dime.

This officer was brought before the secret Grand Jury, the only officer in the LVMPD’s history since its creation in 1973 to be put before the secret Grand Jury for a shooting incident.

We didn’t protest, we exposed the shooting constantly. We struck at the police department hard, we went after legislation that would increase property tax for more police officers. We went to the Nevada legislation and killed the bill for more cops, the bill was forwarded to the Clark County Commissioner and we killed it there as well.

The More Cops bill was the Sheriff’s baby and we wanted to send a message. We became involved and we convinced the Sheriff that a voluntary Crises Intervention Training should be mandatory and taught in the police academy. Crises Intervention is verbal communication, instead of deadly force you use your words. We convinced a state senator that “Veterans” should be on Nevada Driver’s License just in case another Veteran suffers from PTSD in a traffic stop, which officers can identify that the person is a veteran and help might be needed.

We organized, we came together peacefully. We were so determined to make an example out of this shooting. We pressured the Sheriff and he decided he wasn’t going to run for a third term of office after he publicly said he would.

You’re Welcome Joe Lombardo who is now the current Sheriff...