LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — After footage went viral last year of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, who ended up dying, protests flared up across the country.
There have been concerns that could occur again at the end of Chauvin’s murder trial and Las Vegas Metropolitan Department Sheriff Joe Lombardo addressed the issue during his Morning Cup of Joe segment on Good Day Las Vegas.
“You know, even if there is an indictment, people may not be happy with the level of indictment so that’s an important thing to consider,” he said.
Lombardo said his department is prepared to deal with any demonstrations but more importantly the department has been very proactive in communicating with the community on a regular basis.
“I think it’s very important to talk about this and not keep our fingers crossed and hope it doesn’t happen,” he said. “We hope for the best moving forward and what I mean by hoping for the best is that the community is holding hands and they’re together and they’re talking about it verses causing destruction as a result of it.”
Lombardo said the use of deadly force is a major issue for his department and he is proud of the policies and procedures that Metro has put in place in recent years.
“We’ve been very proactive in this space,” he said. “It’s because we have warts upon us in the past.”
