Watch this. He asks one question and gets taken down for it. Yo. >> At this point you're being placed under arrest. For what? Why are you STOP PUSHING ME? YO, NEIGHBORS, HELP ME. YO. STOP. THIS STARTS AS a routine stop in Las Vegas, but it doesn't stay routine for long. And what happens next doesn't come with any explanation. Just before 11:00 p.m., a marshal stops a driver in a residential neighborhood. Not at a park, not at a city building, and that detail is going to matter. The driver is now represented by the ACLU. It's April 29th, 2023, just before 11:00 p.m. Marshall Sergio Guzman is not at a city park, a city building, or the Fremont Street Experience. He's stopping a car in a residential neighborhood in West Las Vegas. >> 467 Simmons and Holly. Near Lake Mead Boulevard. We represent an individual client in this specific case who was very much harmed by what happened on the date in question. >> Put your HANDS BEHIND YOUR BACK. >> But here's where everything changes. Even the department says marshals have limited jurisdiction. They typically focus on city property, but this stop didn't happen there. It happened in a gated residential community. >> ACLU Executive Director Athar Haseebullah. >> I'm not exactly sure why they have marshals doing traffic enforcement, why they would even allow that to happen. >> As 13 Investigates has reported, state law, city policy, this legal opinion from the marshal's own union, a Supreme Court brief filed by the city attorney, and city police chief Jason Potts >> We are a limited jurisdiction department. >> all describe the jurisdiction and authority of the Las Vegas City Marshals as limited to real property owned, leased, or controlled by the city. >> We have limited jurisdiction, so we typically just focus in on our parks and our facilities and and our, [music] you know, And you are >> We are done recording. >> But in multiple cases we've covered, that hasn't stopped Marshall Guzman. Watch how this starts. I'm going to be on at Alante Avenue. Going to be in a gated community. Uh, he just got to stop. >> Instead of approaching the driver, Guzman begins the encounter by yelling at him. Hey, turn off the car. Turn the car off. >> No reason is given. Then it escalates. Then he gives instructions without explanations. >> I want you to roll down the four windows for me. For what? >> Cuz I'm telling you to do so. Why? Then it escalates. Want me to pull you out the car? I'll pull you out the car. >> The driver, Lansdownes Covington, opens the door holding his keys and puts his hands up as Guzman continues shouting commands. >> Don't put the window up when I'm telling you. Let me see YOUR HANDS. RIGHT NOW. Walk to the front of my car. You're not listening to me. Covington goes to the police car and puts his hands on the hood. >> Face forward. I'm not playing this game with you. >> This is not a game. I got the right to look at you. I need to see you, too. As Covington tries to calm things down, Guzman keeps escalating, all the while never explaining why he pulled Covington over or what he suspected of doing wrong. >> That's a question most people would expect an answer to. What? For what? >> Put your hands behind your back. You're getting detained. Even after compliance. All right. AND NOW YOU'RE DOING THIS. >> LOOK WHERE MY NOW YOU PUT IT BACK. STOP TENSING UP. WHAT IS WRONG with you, dude? Do you realize this Yo. >> At this point you're being placed under arrest. >> For what? And then this happens. The marshal claims resistance. Why are you stop pushing me? YO, NEIGHBORS, HELP ME. YO. STOP. YO, HELP ME. A NEIGHBOR stops and promises to be a witness. I know you live here. I know you. I got you. Okay, sure. I have one in custody. Guzman calls dispatch to report he's got someone in custody claiming he was resisting. >> I gave you one command. That's all you had to do. SON, YOU CAME OUT MAD AGGRESSIVE. DO YOU Do you realize I'm a Keep doing it, SO STOP. >> DO YOU REALIZE I'M SERGIO COVINGTON LIAISON? Do you realize that? DO YOU REALIZE THAT? Cedric Crear was the Ward 5 City Councilman at the time. Lansdownes Covington was and still is a City of Las Vegas employee, now holding the title of Senior Management Analyst with the City Clerk's Office. You talk to people with respect. I DID NOT DISRESPECT YOU. I DID NOT DISRESPECT YOU. You got out your car mad aggressive. When I let you off back there, I you supposed to stop, not smoke all that >> off the road. You have I turned off the road. I turned off the road. >> We'll talk in a sec. We'll talk in a sec. Right. Let your supervisor get here. While waiting for backup, Guzman holds Covington on the ground. At this point, he's already restrained. So what happens next doesn't really add up. He's asking for relief. If you could please get your knee off my neck, please. It's not on your knee. No, I'm I'm asking you respectfully. >> It's not on your knee. >> That's all I'm asking. >> It's not on you. >> It's causing me discomfort. That's all I'm asking. Thank you. But it doesn't stop there. Seven units for one driver. Soon at least seven city marshal vehicles arrive on the scene. Hold on. Whoa. Whoa, relax. We spoke to the ACLU about that when we first broke this story in April 2025. Seven squad cars for one person who allegedly didn't stop at a stop sign? How do you make sense of that? Well, look, the the reality is that when you have uh offices, especially law enforcement agencies, that act [music] in a way that avoids all levels of accountability, like in this instance with the city marshals, um it it sort of is on brand. >> And now the story starts to split. The justification becomes a delayed stop. But here's the part that stands out. Training emphasizes professionalism, respect, and de-escalation. Compare that to what you just saw. 13 Investigates obtained city records showing the in-service training required for marshals to keep their peace officer certification includes a class that focuses on conducting traffic stops professionally and respectfully. >> Now, we stop acting like you didn't get out the car and come aggressive. You didn't stop when I you saw my lights. I rolled off the street, and because I left here, I came in. In this June 2025 memo to City Department of Public Safety employees, Chief Potts describes their police to peace initiative emphasizing problem-solving and conflict resolution over arrest and enforcement. Also, their procedural justice training documents instruct focusing on fairness, transparency, neutrality of voice, and respect in every encounter. Where do you work at? City Clerk. City working is in a really tense up and fight with me. Okay. Okay. Okay. >> There's no indication in any of Guzman's body camera footage that Covington tried [music] to fight him. Hey, uh no one else talk to him. And here's how it ends. No criminal charges, hospital, then release. Settlement, $20,000. And it's not the only one. Another case cost $150,000. After Covington was taken to jail that night, he was transferred to UMC due to pain, then cited and released from custody while at the hospital. >> There was no criminal case that ended up moving forward. >> His lawsuit accuses the city of encouraging unconstitutional policing and instructing marshals to exceed their authority and jurisdiction by conducting traffic stops on city roadways. On April 1st, the case was settled costing taxpayers $20,000. In a statement, the city said it is pleased to reach a resolution to litigation, and in this case, no portion of the settlement was for lost wages, injuries, damages, or an admission of liability. >> The underlying legality, though, of what we're discussing within this case, specifically the marshal's authority to engage in effectively law enforcement activity beyond its own boundaries, beyond public property within the city of Las Vegas or parks, things of that nature, uh remains unsettled. Last December, a case of mistaken identity at the Fremont Street Experience cost taxpayers six figures. I don't know who did it. Hey, I didn't change the number. Y'all don't know who did it. Y'all don't know. It doesn't matter because you detained him. You don't know who did it. Okay. He's still going to jail, regardless. >> Oh, because he's a black man. And he was just the first one you saw, huh? >> Okay. It could have been me. It could have been anybody. That's all you guys do. You play the race card. IT'S NOT ABOUT THAT. Then what IS IT ABOUT? WHAT CRIME did he do? Committed a crime. >> What crime did he do? It's about the The city settled the lawsuit resulting from that November 2023 incident out of court for 150 grand. Sergio Guzman and other city marshals were sued for false arrest, racial profiling, and excessive force. I think it raises questions, right, when you have back-to-back scenarios that involve the same types of conduct, [music] and there's probably more that have happened historically and others that'll end up coming forward. It really does raise questions about [music] what they're doing. Mayor Shelly Berkley told our Steve Sebelius in a previous interview that the city marshals have her full support. >> I'm very keenly aware of these lawsuits. I think they are frivolous and I hope they are dismissed because I think our marshals do a great job. >> agree with the mayor's positions on the use of the marshals. I would think she's also savvy enough to recognize this is a losing issue for her and for the city and it would be best for them to stay out of enforcement of this nature. A third lawsuit we've reported on against Guzman and the city marshals is currently pending in federal court. That case filed by motorist Derek Myers claims Guzman illegally arrested him on the US 95 Freeway. His attorney is seeking class action status. The ACLU says the case may hold the key to getting a court ruling on marshal jurisdiction. Unless and until that happens >> I'm hoping the city gets its own practices together [music] before it results in more litigation later on. Lance Downs Covington still works for the city of Las Vegas. One of the conditions of his settlement is that the city is not allowed to retaliate against him in any way in connection to his lawsuit. 13 Investigates learned Sergio Guzman was placed on desk duty. That was after the mistaken identity case on Fremont Street and though the city would not confirm Guzman's current assignment, they did confirm that he is still a deputy city marshal. A stop outside typical jurisdiction that escalates into force leads to no charges but multiple lawsuits and a question that still hasn't been answered. Because if this stop wasn't supposed to happen, then everything that followed becomes a very different question. Thin blue lies, baby.