LT. Bryan Zink, public information officer for the Clark County School District Police Department explains the necessary steps they will be taking to ensure safety for the upcoming school year in Las Vegas. Tuesday, July 25, 2023. Brian Ramos
Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 | 10:01 p.m.
The Clark County School District on Thursday released body-worn camera footage depicting a district police officer tackling and kneeling on a Black teen outside a Las Vegas high school nearly a year after eyewitness video of the violent incident went viral.
The release of the footage satisfies a Clark County District Court judge’s order in a lawsuit brought against CCSD by the ACLU of Nevada seeking a raft of records related to the February 2023 after-school incident outside Durango High School. The ACLU is representing two of the boys involved.
“It’s shameful that it took nearly a year for our clients and our community to see transparency from CCSD and its police force, and it’s now crystal clear from the footage that the narrative that the school district has been peddling, that its officers stopped these teenagers as part of some kind of firearm investigation, has always been an attempt to spin the events and avoid accountability for attacking school children,” ACLU of Nevada Legal Director Chris Peterson said in a statement. “Bodycams were always meant to be a tool for the people to make sure our police are acting responsibly in our community, and moving forward, we will keep fighting for the other public records we’re seeking and considering all legal options for making sure there is justice for our clients.”
Like the minutelong cellphone video that roiled the community, bodycam footage shows a uniformed CCSDPD officer detaining a teenage boy in a blue hoodie with his hands behind his back. The reason the officer gave was that the teenager did not move along as he was detaining another student. A crowd of students and several officers were at the scene, which appeared to be on a side street just outside the school football field.
As he leaned the second teen against the hood, a third boy walked through the frame, holding out his phone as if recording video. The officer then followed him, and they exchanged words.
More audio is discernible in the bodycam footage than in the bystander video. The officer, Lt. Jason Elfberg, asked the third boy, “You want next? Start walking.” The boy repeatedly said “don’t touch me.” Within seconds, Elfberg wrapped his arms around the teen from behind and took him to the ground, pinning him in the gutter with his knees on the young man’s back.
The officer also shoved a teen who approached and yelled “back the (expletive) up” several times.
Young voices out of frame repeatedly told Elfberg to get off the boy.
“Get your knee off him,” one yelled.
“Shut up and start walking,” he replied.
The incident led to a protest outside district headquarters, critical public comment at a School Board meeting, a town hall with CCSD Police Chief Mike Blackeye and local civil rights organizations, and a special hearing where Blackeye and Superintendent Jesus Jara appeared before state lawmakers to testify on use-of-force practices.
CCSD released video from six officers at the scene Thursday. All minors’ and adults’ faces are blurred.
Thursday’s records release also includes the incident report, the misdemeanor citation issued to one of the boys for resisting an officer and dispatch notes.
“The footage I’ve watched so far absolutely confirms everything our clients told us about the incident and highlights the bald-faced lies that the Clark County School District and its police department have been telling our community about our clients for nearly a year,” ACLU of Nevada Executive Director Athar Haseebullah said in a statement. “Now these teenagers will have to reexperience this traumatic event through the media just for the sake of clearing their good names in the community. This fight is far from over.”
The ACLU sued CCSD in April for the video and other records that CCSD was resistant to release. The civil rights organization said that withholding the records violated the state public records law. The school district cited statutory provisions, case law and district regulations to justify not releasing the records. The district also said the records were part of pending juvenile justice and employment matters.
Judge Danielle “Pieper” Chio said in her December order that the videos and documents relating to minors referred to in court filings as ACLU clients M.W. and J.T. — then ninth-graders at Durango — plus a third unidentified juvenile are public records.
Chio decided that two of the boys were never in the justice system, as they were never arrested or cited. And regardless, J.T.’s parent signed a waiver to release the records, court records show. M.W.’s parent also signed a waiver, and at this point, M.W. does not have a pending case, as prosecutors did not follow up his citation with a delinquency petition, records show. A delinquency petition is the juvenile equivalent of an adult complaint or indictment.
Only the internal affairs report into Elfberg will remain confidential, Chio decided. That is because Elfberg did not receive any punitive discipline from CCSD or CCSDPD for the incident, and as such, under state law, he has not seen the file himself. The ACLU can, however, amend its request to compel the district to turn over the greater investigative file, which could include components like interview transcripts that led to the report.
In his incident report, Elfberg wrote that he “spun (the boy) around and took him down to the ground.” He also mentioned pulling out his pepper spray as other teens approached him. He did not mention kneeling on the boy.
Thursday’s records release does not end the ACLU’s lawsuit. The ACLU’s request for email communications within the district on the incident has not yet been decided on by the judge.
