PHOTO/DENNIS MYERS
Democratic leader Harry Reid’s last big political play may be a really negative one.
RPD probed Some locals are putting their hopes in the Washoe County Sheriff’s office, which has been charged with investigating a violent early morning incident on May 5 involving the Reno Police Department. In that incident, two men—22-year-old Jacob Finn and 23-year-old Andres Meza—were involved in a dispute with Reno police officers in the Holcomb/Ryland neighborhood. Police said they responded to reports of burglary and assault and learned that a 58-year-old man had been beaten. They arrested Finn, and Meza was hospitalized in intensive care. Police claimed the two resisted arrest and Meza was reported by police to be holding a hammer. A Tazer and nightstick were used against Meza. It is not known whether he will be arrested following his hospitalization. Some advocates for the two men have objected to the version of the incident released by police. This version was posted on Facebook: “Shawn Palomares: Last night the cops broke into my old home most people know as ‘Fort Ryland’, and assaulted my friends Nick Meza and Jacob Finn. They were suspicious about Jacob, so they broke in and beat him with a club. Nick pulled out his phone and tried to record Jacob being beaten. The police didn’t like that Nick was videotaping them. They used their clubs and hit Nick in the face and broke his nose. When my friend Valentine tried to reason with them, one police officer pulled out their gun and pointed it at him. They ARRIVALS AT FINN-MEZA FUNDRAISER arrested both my friends Nick and Jacob. Nick only videotaped what happened and was beaten and arrested. Jacob is in jail, Nick is in the ICU’- Nathan Lachner.” It is not apparent from this text whether the person who wrote it was physically present or is repeating events described to him. At a May 7 fundraiser for the two men, organizers and attendees declined to describe what happened on May 5. Drummer Jordan of the band ADHDOD said he knew nothing of the incident and that his group had merely been engaged for the fundraiser. Kristin Rodriguez has been busy on social media urging people who were present to contact sheriff’s investigators, resulting in online dialogue like this: Michael Maxwell: “Valentine and Sosa are the only ones who were there other than nick and tarzan.” Kristin Rodriguez: “I wasn’t able to get ahold of valentine but idk sosa or dani so plz feel free to pass the info along if they don’t already have it!” Michael Maxwell: “They’re all in direct contact with the detective from what I know.” Kristin Rodriguez: “OK, good! Just wanted to make sure everyone had the resources they need since I know a couple people reached out to the news outlets & they’re usually useless.” A video of the incident has been posted, but it is so shrouded in darkness it is difficult to say whether it supports one side or the other. No hammer appears to be in the footage. Attempts to learn if the officers had a warrant before entering the building and how many people have contacted the sheriff’s department with information so far were unsuccessful. Anyone with information to offer can contact the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office detective division at 328-3320 or Secret Witness at 322-4900.
—Dennis Myers
8 | RN&R |
MAY 12, 2016
Will Reid do it again? Nevada senator warms up his Romney tactics for Trump U.S. Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada last week held conference calls with national political reporters for the ostensible by purpose of discussing the Supreme Dennis Myers Court nomination of Merrick Garland. Once on the phone with them, however, he unloaded on Donald Trump, prompting a round of headlines like these: “Reid spoiling for a fight with Trump.” “Reid: Trump ‘Was Born On Third And Thinks He Hit A Triple’.” “Harry Reid starts the scorchedearth campaign against Donald Trump.”
“Trump is the GOP’s Frankenstein monster.” U.S. Sen. Harry Reid Democratic floor leader
“Harry Reid Delights In GOP Senators Squirming Over Trump As Nominee.” One media outlet that was underwhelmed by Reid’s blitz was the New York Times, which ran only a 168-word blog item with the sneering headline, “Harry Reid Assails Donald Trump With Adjectives.” Reid, who is retiring from the Senate in January, appeared to be planning a role for himself against Trump in the general election
campaign, freeing up the Democratic presidential and an as-yet-unnamed vice presidential nominees to take higher roads. In 2012, many Democrats felt Reid went past lines of good sense and reasonable conduct—even for politics—when, without proof, the senator made wild charges about Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s taxes. Few leading Democrats came to Reid’s aid as negative publicity from left and right inundated the Nevadan (“Harry Reid’s hit on Romney,” RN&R, Sept. 6, 2012). The whole incident gave him a reputation as a rough partisan attack dog. After Romney released his 2010 return and an abstract of his 2011 return, Reid—who has not released his tax returns since his first, unsuccessful U.S. Senate race in 1974—demanded that Romney release additional years and claimed, “He didn’t pay taxes for 10 years.” When reporters and civil libertarians pointed out that Reid had not provided any proof, he said Romney should disprove the Reid statements, a stance that prompted numerous journalists to call Reid a McCarthyite. Even Human Events, a McCarthyite publication, used the term against Reid. The 2016 campaign is already expected to be a notably negative one. Both presidential nominees have high negatives before even achieving their parties’ nominations, something
that has never been true before. Both are also extremely well known. In most campaigns, such as 2000 when George W. Bush was a new national figure or 2008 when Barack Obama emerged from the back ranks of the Senate to defeat Hillary Clinton, there are usually relative unknowns in the race. This year, that is not the case and neither candidate can use the time-tested strategy of trying to define an opponent before she or he can do it themselves. Clinton and Trump are already highly defined, and not particularly favorably. They are widely expected to tear each other up. In the conference call, Reid called Trump a racist, anti-woman, anti-Muslim, anti-Latino, anti-immigrant, anti-worker and anti-Obama, and attacked Republican leaders for now looking for ways to kowtow to the billionaire instead of declaring their independence of him. “It is a sad day for Republicans when they decide to bow to Trump,” Reid said. If a U.S. senator wanted to retire as a beloved figure, this seems like an odd way to do it. But political analyst Fred Lokken said, “At this point, I think he sees it as a high point. He doesn’t see it as demeaning at all.” Lokken said a role in a “Stop Trump Movement” for Reid could “spark interest in Democrats” after they failed to turn out at the polls in 2014. Reid and his fellow Democratic leaders could be faulted for the current state of Republican elective dominance. The lethargy of rank-andfile Democratic voters in 2014 led to terrible party turnout that swept Republicans into offices they had not held for decades. In Nevada, the GOP sweep was the greatest since 1890. “I can’t think of anyone who has been such a dyed-in-thewool, committed, pit bull for the Democratic Party that [Reid’s] been,” Lokken said. “He’s been the dominant force in the Nevada Democratic Party.” Meaning, if there is another failure of Democratic turnout, it likely won’t be Reid’s fault. So far, Reid has only touched lightly on the issue of Trump’s tax returns, though he may step it up later. The tougher shots at Trump on his taxes have come from, of all people, Mitt Romney—the same Reid target who received sympathy from left and right for Reid’s unsubstantiated charges. “We have good reason to believe that there’s a bombshell in Donald
