How Ani, Founder of VTP, Views Police

It’s a complicated political situation, to say the least.

I’d like to preface my official statement by saying that it is my philosophy and practice not to preemptively collaborate with police, on principle. I do not wish to cede any unnecessary authority to police for any kind of legally allowed civic duty/activism.

Police authority and powers need to be kept in check in order for our country to claim to be a free one.

Also, for the record I have not personally witnessed any police brutality during any protests I’ve attended.

I don’t wish to highlight the obvious negative experiences that are commonplace between police and protestors. Everyone is already well aware of how ugly it can get when chaotic public displays of passion clash with brute force police tactics.

One time, I witnessed a couple sketchy arrests that I believe are being contested in court, but that’s the extent of truly questionable police behavior at any rallies I’ve attended in Las Vegas. I’ve been attending/organizing on average 1 protest a month since the beginning of 2025.

What I have witnessed a handful of times is local police actively removing potentially dangerous counterprotestors from my group’s vicinity, avoiding potential counterprotest violence

This is very much appreciated and helpful, and I’m more than happy to give credit where it is due. Thank you Metro for helping my groups avoid violent situations with counterprotestors.

I’m not thrilled that our local police department tends to have a very intimidating presence by showing up in extremely large numbers, and even blocking off a public sidewalk where we had a rally planned in what I assume was an attempt to squash it.

But I understand the large presence to a degree as they don’t ever know how many protestors or counterprotestors will show up to an event. I assume their intention is to better be safe than sorry. And hopefully to also prove that they don’t need any outside assistance beyond metro to control any unrest. I didn’t appreciate the blocking of the public sidewalk, however.

The ultimate message I’d like to highlight the most on this page is that I hope that beneath their uniforms and badges, the police see themselves as fellow human beings within our shared community. Human beings, that, like us, want what is objectively best for all people living in our community in order to feel safe and secure.

Is that a lofty ideal? I hope not.

I hope they understand why we rally in public with our signs and chants. We are deeply worried and troubled about the direction our country is headed and want to alert and awaken the community, including them, to the very real and present dangers of our current government that are growing and will continue to grow unless we all collectively demand that our country turn this ship around now.

We want our community members including our police officers to be protectors of the people, defenders of peace and justice. To help create an environment of safety and trust from the bottom up. I want the police to be on our side, not to view us as any kind of opposition. I want the police to understand that fascism comes for everyone eventually.

It starts by othering and dehumanizing a vulnerable group, moves to the next vulnerable group, then the next less vulnerable group–on and on until the entire country is in a toxic chokehold; dying of strangulation and stupidity as the rest of the world watches in horror, as they already are.

It won’t stop at immigrants. It won’t stop at trans people. It won’t stop at disabled people. It won’t stop at POC or non-Christians. It won’t stop until every single person is forced to live a certain very strict and specific way, or be punished. and at that point freedom is dead and may never return. That’s our current trajectory.

Is that a world anyone actually wants to live in? A world ruled by fear, oppression, blackmail, violence, constant surveillance and stifling strict and forced conformity?

With individualism, creativity, hope, compassion, plurality, respect and societal progression stomped into a death spiral of greed, corruption, apathy and despair?

A world ruled by psychopathic drug addict tech overlords that want to spy on your every move to analyze with AI and pollute our environments with data centers that make life ugly and miserable for everyone?

To me, a world like that is devoid of any reason to want to live at all.

I generally respect the police for wanting to keep the peace, and hope they understand what’s currently on the line and act accordingly to help save our country in any ways possible.

A small decision and action today can snowball quickly in the right direction, and courage is contagious.

I also hope the police truly understand why we are active and don’t attempt to impede or intimidate us for doing what we are legally allowed and morally compelled to do. It’s going to take as many of us as possible to have the courage to stand up for the marignalized, stop the crimes against humanity taking place at a mind numbingly fast pace across the country (and the world–for instance, the atrocities we are committing against Venezuela, and other countries), and help build our country into something good, something worth saving…

For all people.