{"id":222293,"date":"2022-07-21T08:49:46","date_gmt":"2022-07-21T13:49:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=222293"},"modified":"2022-07-21T12:59:51","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T17:59:51","slug":"las-vegas-naacp-adds-its-voice-in-support-of-embattled-judge-erika-ballou","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/las-vegas-naacp-adds-its-voice-in-support-of-embattled-judge-erika-ballou\/","title":{"rendered":"Las Vegas NAACP Adds Its Voice in Support of Embattled Judge Erika Ballou"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Las Vegas chapter of the NAACP has joined the chorus of supporters defending a local judge who was asked to resign. The local police union made the demand after Judge Erika Ballou stated comments to a defendant the officers viewed as anti-police.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_222297\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-222297\" data-style=\"width: 730px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-222297 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/ballou123-1-e1658424129815.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"730\" height=\"520\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/ballou123-1-e1658424129815.jpg 730w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/ballou123-1-e1658424129815-430x306.jpg 430w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px\" \/><figcaption  id=\"caption-attachment-222297\"class=\"text-description\">Las Vegas Judge Erika Ballou, pictured above. The Las Vegas NAACP joined the growing chorus of supporters for the judge after the local police union demanded that she step down. (Image: Twitter)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In a statement released this week, the NAACP said the judge\u2019s words \u201creflect the grim reality for African Americans\u201d in Clark County and elsewhere in the US, the <em>Las Vegas Review-Journal<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"main-blockquote\"><p><strong>Her statements reflect not only her truths but also the community\u2019s truth,\u201d <\/strong>the NAACP said in its response. <strong>\u201cPeople of color and African Americans in particular are disproportionally killed by police.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Between 2017 and 2021, some 31% of the individuals shot by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police (LVMPD) officers were Black, <em>KTNV<\/em>, a local TV station, reported. Blacks make up roughly 10% of the population in Nevada, the 2020 census revealed. Nevada state government statistics for 2021 claim Blacks committed 52.7% of violent crimes.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Nothing in Judge Ballou\u2019s statements were untrue, and the LVPPA\u2019s position on this issue reflects its defensiveness based partly on the fact that the truth hurts,\u201d the NAACP said.<\/p>\n<p>But last week, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/las-vegas-police-union-calls-for-removal-of-local-judge-for-anti-cops-statements\/\">Las Vegas Police Protective Association<\/a> (LVPPA) said the judge\u2019s comments were \u201cunethical and irresponsible.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Ballou Court Statement Leads to Controversy<\/h2>\n<p>During a recent hearing, Ballou told a man to avoid being near police.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"main-blockquote\"><p>You\u2019re a Black man in America, you know you don\u2019t want to be nowhere where cops are,\u201d Ballou said during the hearing. \u201cYou listen to me, you know you don\u2019t want to be nowhere where cops are. Because I know I don\u2019t, and I\u2019m a middle-aged, middle-class Black woman. I don\u2019t want to be around where the cops are because I don\u2019t know if I\u2019m going to walk away alive or not.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The unnamed defendant allegedly committed battery against a police officer, according to official reports. Before this hearing, he had been placed on probation. Prosecutors were trying to end the probationary period.<\/p>\n<p>After reports of Ballou&#8217;s comments, the police union posted on Twitter that the judge &#8220;imposed an adequate sentence&#8221; on the defendant and called for the judge to resign.<\/p>\n<p>The NAACP rejected the police union\u2019s demand that Ballou is to be scrutinized by a judicial ethics investigation.<\/p>\n<p>Ballou also rejected the LVPPA&#8217;s allegation.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"main-blockquote\"><p><strong>I support proper law enforcement,&#8221;<\/strong> Ballou told <em>Casino.org.<\/em> in a statement last week.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;What the record shows is that I communicate with those who appear before me in a manner that is straightforward and understandable,\u201d Ballou continued.<\/p>\n<h2>Social Media Shows Support<\/h2>\n<p>Similar support for Ballou came from posters on <em>Casino.org<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;She isn\u2019t telling any lies,\u201d Ed posted on the site. \u201cPolice unions should be held financially responsible for the settlements cities pay out for police misdeeds.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"main-blockquote\"><p><strong>I applaud this judge and any other judge trying to make a difference in how the police use their weapons,\u201d <\/strong>Chris Wood posted on <em>Casino.org<\/em> <strong>\u201c&#8230;im not black but have treated \u2026 recklessly by the police without giving them reason&#8230;thanks judge Ballou!\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The ACLU of Nevada and the Clark County Black Caucus released other statements supporting the judge recently.<\/p>\n<p>The police union did not respond to requests for additional comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Las Vegas chapter of the NAACP has joined the chorus of supporters defending a local judge who was asked to resign. The local police union made the demand after Judge Erika Ballou stated comments to a defendant the officers viewed as anti-police. In a statement released this week, the NAACP said the judge\u2019s words [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":222297,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[23,81928,81927],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Las Vegas NAACP Adds Its Voice in Support of Judge Erika Ballou<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Las Vegas NAACP backs a local judge who was asked by cops to resign. 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The local police union said Erika Ballou made anti-police comments.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/las-vegas-naacp-adds-its-voice-in-support-of-embattled-judge-erika-ballou\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-21T13:49:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-07-21T17:59:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/ballou123-1-e1658424129815.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"730\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"520\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ed Silverstein\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgedsilv\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ed Silverstein\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/las-vegas-naacp-adds-its-voice-in-support-of-embattled-judge-erika-ballou\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/las-vegas-naacp-adds-its-voice-in-support-of-embattled-judge-erika-ballou\/\",\"name\":\"Las Vegas NAACP Adds Its Voice in Support of Judge Erika Ballou\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/las-vegas-naacp-adds-its-voice-in-support-of-embattled-judge-erika-ballou\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/las-vegas-naacp-adds-its-voice-in-support-of-embattled-judge-erika-ballou\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/ballou123-1-e1658424129815.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-21T13:49:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-21T17:59:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b3771b02527bcbda9af984b9b1ff098e\"},\"description\":\"The Las Vegas NAACP backs a local judge who was asked by cops to resign. 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