LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — A federal judge has issued a partial preliminary injunction barring the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department from firing pepperballs at a local demonstrator after reviewing video evidence showing an officer shooting her in the back as she walked away.
A judge ruled Saturday that protester Kathleen Cavalaro demonstrated a strong likelihood of success on her claims of excessive force and retaliation following her arrest during demonstrations in downtown Las Vegas in June 2025.
“I have reviewed the videotape, and I find she is likely to succeed in showing that the shot was intentional, retaliatory, and excessive,” the judge wrote in the order filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.
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The ruling stems from a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Cavalaro against the department, commonly known as Metro. According to court records, thousands had gathered near the Fremont Street Experience and South Las Vegas Boulevard on June 11, 2025, to protest federal immigration enforcement policies. Police declared an unlawful assembly and issued five dispersal orders between 8:34 p.m. and 9:07 p.m. before deploying SWAT units and moving into “mass arrest mode.”
Court documents state Cavalaro arrived after 10 p.m. carrying a protest sign. When an officer instructed her to leave, Cavalaro turned and retreated while filming on her phone and shouting insults. Police body camera footage reviewed by the court showed officers firing pepperballs into her back as she retreated. Officers then tackled her and took her into custody on charges of failure to disperse and provoking a breach of the peace.
Attorneys representing Cavalaro alleged in the complaint that police fabricated details within the official arrest report to justify the use of force, conflicting with what was captured on officer body-worn camera video.
Under the terms of the injunction, Metro officers and personnel are prohibited from deploying pepperballs as kinetic energy projectiles against protesters unless they present an immediate threat to public safety or engage in assaultive conduct. The department is also enjoined from deploying pepperballs at the individual in any manner inconsistent with Metro’s 2026 Protest Policy.
The judge denied a broader request by Cavalaro’s legal team seeking to bar Metro from enforcing dispersal orders outside designated zones once demonstrators comply, finding the request overly broad and an improper micromanagement of police discretion.
The court found Cavalaro met the threshold for injunctive relief due to the ongoing chilling effect on her First Amendment rights during future public demonstrations.
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