A woman is suing Las Vegas police, alleging that a group of officers tackled and arrested her when someone else taunted them during an anti-ICE protest downtown, according to a complaint filed Monday.

Karlin Martinez was livestreaming a June 11 protest near the Lloyd George U.S. Courthouse. The lawsuit, filed on her behalf by Clear Counsel Law Group, said that as a group of 15 officers walked by, Sgt. Frederick Oliveri mocked her and another streamer, asking, “Don’t you got something better to do?”

The complaint said the other streamer, Cesar Corrales, fired back at Oliveri, “How about honor your oath? Honor your oath, b——.”Corrales has a history of engaging in altercations with police and documenting them for his YouTube channel.

According to the lawsuit, Oliveri ordered the officers who had just walked past to arrest Martinez and Corrales. While being tackled, Oliveri yelled at Martinez, who pleaded that she was “not resisting,” the complaint said.

“Sergeant Oliveri arrested Ms. Martinez because she was standing next to a person who ‘ran his mouth’ and Sergeant Oliveri perceived an association between the two,” the lawsuit read. “Sergeant Oliveri additionally yelled to Ms. Martinez, ‘You enjoy your night? Yeah? You should have shut your mouth, too. You ain’t dealing with no f——— p——.’”

Clear Counsel, alleging that Martinez was wrongfully arrested, said the woman’s words were neither disrespectful nor offensive.

Legal experts have said the arrests appear unconstitutional and retaliatory.

The complaint said that a “vast majority” of the 800 reported protesters were peacefully assembled that night, in contrast to a later Metro news release stating that protesters blocked roadways, threw rocks at officers and vandalized buildings in the area.

Attorneys Jared Richards and Stephen Stubbs of Clear Counsel filed another lawsuit this month related to the protests, on behalf of Kathleen Cavalaro, whom officers allegedly shot with pepper balls after she criticized them.

Livestreamed entirely

At 9 p.m., about an hour after the demonstration began, Metro declared the protests an unlawful assembly and issued a dispersal order. Police ultimately arrested 94 people, but only four were prosecuted, according to the lawsuit. Martinez was not among those prosecuted.

“Ms. Martinez did not see any dispersal order online, nor was she present at the times and locations where LVMPD claims they communicated dispersal orders,” the complaint said. Clear Counsel also said that, except for about two minutes when she had to change equipment or streaming platforms, Martinez’s activities were livestreamed in their entirety, and in that footage, no dispersal order can be heard.

Around 10 p.m., Martinez had “pleasant conversations” with multiple law enforcement officers, and they did not inform her of the dispersal order, according to the lawsuit.

Just before midnight, the complaint said, Martinez reminded her TikTok livestream audience: “Keep it peaceful. Make sure not to throw things at cops. They’re just trying to keep the peace … and you don’t want to go to jail.”

Minutes later, a group of officers was walking past Martinez when Oliveri, in the back, started teasing her, the lawsuit said.

According to the complaint, when officers threw Martinez, who has “major heart issues,” to the ground, Martinez told them that she was going to have a heart attack, but they proceeded to push and handcuff her.

Stubbs confirmed Monday afternoon that Martinez, who was arrested on suspicion of failure to disperse and of provoking a breach of the peace, had to seek medical attention after being detained.

Along with the Metropolitan Police Department and Oliveri, Martinez is suing the arresting officer, Hunter Whiteford, and 10 others who are not identified in the complaint. Clear Counsel said that the defendants violated Martinez’s rights to assemble peacefully, to record police officers performing their official duties in public, and her freedom of speech, among other things.

The lawsuit also alleges that excessive force was used against Martinez and that Metro officers assaulted her. It requests a declaration that her First, Fourth and 14th Amendment rights were violated, that the court direct Metro to “correct erroneous actions and policies,” and award Martinez damages in excess of $15,000 for each of the lawsuit’s nine causes of action, as well as for punitive damages and her attorney fees.

Clear Counsel also requested a jury trial for the case.

Metro did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.