Two couples say police used excessive force at Strip protest against excessive force

On the evening of May 31, 2020, demonstrators had gathered in Las Vegas, much as they did across the country, to march and protest the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, along with other instances of police brutality.

But Peter and Maria Lykins had only driven to the Strip to pick up her son, who had been surrounded and detained by officers, when the couple were shot with pepper balls and rubber rounds as they tried to walk away, according to the lawsuit filed in Clark County District Court.

Michael Rogers, Nikita Wright and their 9-year-old son, who also were not participating in the demonstration, got stuck in in a traffic jam caused by the protest when Rogers played a song from his car stereo that was described as being “critical” of police, according to a federal lawsuit Tuesday.

“Without justification,” Metro officers rushed the family and “ripped” them from the car , the lawsuit states, adding that Rogers was jailed until the following night on a since-dropped failure to disperse misdemeanor count.

The boy suffered “bruising and soreness on his chest from officers yanking him out of his seat while still wearing a seatbelt,” according to the lawsuit.

Couple arrested

The crowd along Las Vegas Boulevard sidewalks had mostly dispersed when the alleged incident involving Peter and Maria Lykins occurred near MGM Grand, according to a video the woman recorded. Vehicle traffic appeared shut down, and a pair of officers could be seen handcuffing someone on the ground.

The complaint, which claims excessive force, failure to intervene, negligence, assault, and false arrest, alleges that Metro officers retaliated after Maria Lykins started recording them, and then again after her husband began yelling profanities at the officers after they shot him.

The lawsuit names the department and unidentified officers. Metro representatives declined to comment.

The two-minute video shared with the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Tuesday shows the moment pepper balls apparently exploded around the Lykinses, even as they made their way to a pedestrian overpass near Park Avenue.

Pepper balls are capsules that hold Oleoresin Capsicum powder, an eye irritant.

The lawsuit cites Metro police policy, which notes that the use of such projectiles is only allowed with the permission of an incident commander “in response to imminent threat or harm.”

After Peter Lykins was struck, he began to curse at the officers, telling them he was a combat veteran. He and his wife continued walking away as more rounds popped off around them, the video shows.

Officers fired another volley of pepper rounds from the street level toward the stairs and escalator that leads to the bridge, the lawsuit said.

“None of the officers from the area … followed Peter and Maria up the escalator, and did not tell them to stop or return to the scene,” the lawsuit said.

The couple continued toward their car before a minivan pulled over near Flamingo Road, and a half-dozen officers stepped out to arrest Peter Lykins.

“Already in pain from being shot and fearful that officers were going to further assault and batter him, he immediately began getting on the ground,” the complaint said.

A photo included in the complaint showed two bruised welts on Peter Lykins’ back.

A Marine combat veteran with a history of post-traumatic-stress disorder, he had been sober for eight years, the lawsuit said.

“However, as a direct and proximate cause of the actions of Defendants, Peter’s PTSD was triggered, and he relapsed and started drinking again,” the complaint said.

He suffers from seizures following brain surgery when he was in the military, the lawsuit said, and the encounter with police triggered increased “severe” seizures.

Maria Lykins began recording the arrest, but an officer “moved” her away, grabbed her arms and took her phone away, according to the complaint.

Peter Lykins was not resisting and lying on the ground when the officers “dropped their knees on him, wrenched his wrist and shoulder joints, (and) used other painful applications of force on him,” the suit alleges.

The couple were arrested but not told why or on what counts until they appeared in court the next day, the lawsuit said.

Maria Lykins initially faced a charge of failure to disperse, while her husband was booked on a count of provoke breach of peace, both misdemeanors, Las Vegas Justice Court records show. The Clark County district attorney’s office declined to prosecute, and the cases have been dropped, records show.

Attorney Lisa Rasmussen represented them in the criminal case and also is representing them in the lawsuit, which said they spent the night at the Clark County Detention Center.

Rasmussen said she was “confident” that the lawsuit would proceed to trial or that there would be a positive resolution for her clients. Rasmussen did not make her clients available to comment.

Aside from monetary compensation, the lawsuit seeks “declarations” that the Metro officers violated the couple’s constitutional rights and that there is a “permanent injunction” prohibiting the department from the use of pepper ball, rubber bullets and “other projectiles against peaceful protesters, peaceful bystanders, and other persons peacefully engaging in conduct protected by the First Amendment.”

‘You should have thought of that’

Late that night, Rogers, Wright and the boy, were headed home when they encountered a police roadblock near Tropicana Avenue, their lawsuit alleges.

After Rogers saw officers tackle someone, he played the song before about a half-dozen officers swarmed the car, the complaint said.

The incident was caught on officer-worn body cameras, according to the lawsuit.

Wright was placed in zip ties, and when she told an officer that she had not done anything wrong and that her son was in the car, he allegedly replied: “You should have thought of that,” attorneys wrote in the suit.

“There were a few moments where she could not see her son because he was surrounded by officers; she could only hear him screaming and crying,” the complaint said.

She was then told to leave, but Rogers was arrested.

“One officer throttled his neck while muscling him face down on the vehicle,” the lawsuit alleges. “Shocked, stunned, and confused, Mr. Rogers thrashed while being choked before complying quietly before realizing the officers had seized his son.”

When he expressed concerned about the boy, the officers threatened to use a stun gun on him, the suit alleges.

The complaint, which alleges constitutional violations, listed Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo, officers Alfredo Quintero and Praveen Raj, and four unnamed officers.

“This sort of law enforcement conduct is unconstitutional and should not be tolerated in a society that is supposed to value equality and freedom from abuse by the government,” the couple’s attorney, Maggie McLetchie, wrote in an email. “It’s ironic that Metro reacted to calls for accountability by overt hostility.”

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @rickytwrites.