GUEST
Mike Blasky, Police Reporter, Las Vegas Review-Journal
BY ERIK HELLING -- Stanley Gibson was an Iraq war veteran who was shot and killed during a stand-off in the parking lot of an apartment complex. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has admitted that procedures were not followed and that those failures led to Gibson's death. The officer who fired, Jesus Arevalo, is now facing unrelated criminal charges.
Mike Blasky, crime reporter for the Review Journal, describes Arevalo’s charges as misdemeanors of assault and disturbing the peace. Arevalo was allegedly confronting his ex-wife and her boyfriend in the parking lot of Canyon Ridge Church.
“Everything that could go wrong in a marriage went wrong in this marriage. It must have weighed on him pretty heavily at work, and I think that’s why he’s getting into trouble,” said Blasky.
This crime has elicited charges against Arevalo, which were approved in June.
Blasky says Arevalo is seen as a “disgrace” in the police community. Stanley Gibson’s death aside, Arevalo had received many citizen complaints. Some of the complaints included not dealing well with the public and showing up late to scheduled appearances.
In regards to Arevalo’s future, Blasky is unsure if he will return to the police force. With both criminal charges against him, Blasky is certain the police department will try to get rid of him.
“I’m not sure if he’ll want to be a cop, even if he gets through these termination procedures. I’m not sure if he’d want to be one in Las Vegas anymore, after all of this.”