Chief U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon issued a limited injunction Saturday for Kathleen Cavalaro, prohibiting Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers from using pepperballs against her unless she is being assaultive or poses an immediate public safety threat. The ruling criticized the department's protest tactics during a June 2025 demonstration against the Trump administration's immigration enforcement policies.
"Metro does not appear to adequately recognize the wrongfulness of the officers' conduct," Gordon wrote. The judge detailed that officers shot Cavalaro in the back with a pepperball and dozens more at her feet as she was following commands to leave, pursued her down the sidewalk as she continued walking away, zip-tied her hands behind her back, and arrested her under Metro's policy of ending the protest after a dispersal order regardless of location.
Cavalaro was among thousands who gathered downtown and over 100 protesters arrested. The Las Vegas city attorney's office declined to prosecute 90 of those arrested, including Cavalaro. Since then, several arrestees have sued the department, with Karlin Martinez reaching a $325,000 settlement.
A separate lawsuit filed by another woman who was arrested during the 2025 protest has asked a judge to issue a broader injunction over how Metro issues dispersal orders and uses pepperballs. That case remains pending.
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Original reporting: Las Vegas Review-Journal →
English (US)·