Mark Alan Miles faces a felony charge of oppression under color of office
It is good to know that the North Las Vegas Police Department takes officer misconduct seriously. Although the two accused officers deserve the presumption of innocence just like anyone else should, it is refreshing to see police supervisors react and actually do something when they see what they believe to be misconduct. Congratulations to the honest North Las Vegas Police supervisors who saw this incident and took action, instead of ignoring it or trying to cover it up, as Metro and the Nevada Gaming Control Board routinely do when faced with officer or agent misconduct and/or criminal behavior.
There are several points to note:
Since the incident took place inside the security holding area, the use of audio recording is lawful. Elsewhere in a casino it would only be video and there would be little to counter the claims of verbal threats and swearing.
Quite frankly the man may indeed have been drunk and pissed off the bartender or perhaps failed to tip the bartender. It sounds like the initial incident was more an exuberant response to some Video Poker result. From the descriptions of the arrestee’s physical and verbal responses while in the holding cell, it would appear he may not have been drunk at all.
A curse word addressed to the bartender should bring a stern warning or an escort out of the casino depending upon the volume and the circumstances and whether females are present. A curse word addressed to the video poker terminal should not bring an excessive response, merely a verbal warning. A stern warning. And if women are present, a very stern warning indeed, but an emotional utterance directed to a video poker screen should not be cause to bring out the handcuffs.
Once there was the formal arrest and removal to a holding cell, perhaps the casino patron really was drunk, then the Police Officers arrive and they start their fun.
Well, I think the Chamber of Commerce may have realized that casinos in North Las Vegas bring in revenue and that means the police department needs some serious house-cleaning.