Score one for the Forces of Goodness!!  

 
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police must pay a former Spearmint Rhino dancer $82,500 for false arrest. The incident occurred in 2011, when the dancer was with a friend and planning to meet another friend at the Cosmopolitan Hotel on the Vegas Strip.

Because the vice cops recognized her as a Rhino dancer, and she was standing near the elevators at Cosmopolitan at 2 am, they felt the had sufficient reason to assume she was a prostitute.

The dancer, who now works as a nurse in another state, took Metro to court and the judge agreed with her, admonishing the cops for violating the dancer’s Constitutional rights against illegal detention and illegal search and seizure of her property. (They had confiscated her purse and cell phone.)

The judge is quoted: “… the imprecise nature of Vice’s undercover activity results in a chaotic atmosphere that portends serious constitutional violations in cases where officers fail to appropriately assess the suspicion of their targets, all without appropriate checks on individual officers’ actions. The Constitution requires more.”

The attorney for the dancer, Robert Nersesian, has been a friend of mine for many years, as he is well-known in the world of blackjack card counters, having successfully represented many players in lawsuits against casinos. He said he thought the cops’ explanations were invented after the fact, and is quoted in the Review-Journal: “They just go into these places and sweep everybody they think looks hot.”

The dancer also sued the Cosmopolitan as the Cosmo’s security officers aided Metro vice in detaining the dancer. Cosmo settled with the dancer for an undisclosed amount.

If you ever get into trouble with the law in a Nevada casino, call Bob Nersesian. He has a great track record going up against the establishment.