Reno Cop Watch

Reno Cop Watch This page was born out of compassion & empathy 4 impacted families dedicated 2 LEO accountability

Northern Nevada Cop Block is a non-violent, community based organization that is dedicated to protecting the citizens of Northern Nevada by recording police employees during their interactions with the public. We believe that this ensures a level of accountability among the employees of the local police department that is often non existent when cameras are not rolling. Our intention is not to ant

agonize, provoke or interfere with police, rather we believe that a higher level of vigilance will benefit all members of society including the police.

06/18/2026

On 6-22-26 Sparks City Council is voting on Agenda Item agenda items 10.1–10.3, a quiet amendment to the police contracts that expands retiree health‑insurance stipends & locks taxpayers into open ended payments tied to rising insurance premiums.

The deal adds new stipend tiers, one‑time catch‑up payouts, and guarantees extra money anytime premiums increase with no public cost breakdown.

Sparks keeps claiming budget limits, yet keeps expanding long‑term benefits for police leadership behind redlines and technical language. Residents deserve transparency before the City signs off on more lifetime financial commitments.

06/18/2026

Get involved

At our first annual police‑accountability event on June 12, 2018, one sign carried by a Sparks Police officer’s ex‑wife ...
06/18/2026

At our first annual police‑accountability event on June 12, 2018, one sign carried by a Sparks Police officer’s ex‑wife said what so many survivors have been forced to swallow in silence:

“Police brutality doesn’t always start and stop on our streets and jails.”

She wasn’t talking about traffic stops or arrests. She was talking about domestic violence inside police families, the kind that never makes the news, departments bury, and the kind survivors are terrified to report because the man hurting them is the same man the system protects.

When the person abusing you wears a badge, the violence doesn’t begin with a baton or a gun. It begins at home. It begins with power, intimidation, and the knowledge that calling 911 won’t save you it might make things worse.

Her sign was a warning:
Police brutality isn’t just a public‑facing problem. It’s a hidden one, and one that law enforcement has spent decades denying, minimizing, and covering for.

Her message still matters because it exposes a truth most departments refuse to confront
the violence the public sees is often just the final echo of what’s been happening in private for years.

06/16/2026

Sparks City Council will meet on June 22, 2026, and Agenda Item 9.2 asks the Council to approve Amendment Number One to Contract AC‑6073 with Axon for Automated License Plate Recognition products and services. The amendment would lock the city into a five‑year ALPR expansion costing $1,046,000.05. This is a major increase in police surveillance capacity, allowing Sparks PD to collect and store location data on every driver who passes an ALPR camera, not just people suspected of crimes. Axon’s system links to regional and national databases, creating a broad surveillance network with almost no public oversight. Sparks PD has never provided transparent reporting on how ALPR data is used, how long it is retained, or who it is shared with, yet the city continues to prioritize police technology over investments in housing stability, mental health care, non‑police crisis response, and other community resources that actually improve public safety. Residents should speak during public comment and demand full transparency about what data Axon collects, how it is stored, and who has access to it, and should push the Council to halt surveillance expansion until Sparks commits to funding community‑based safety instead of pouring another million dollars into police technology.

06/16/2026

Events this week. Get involved!

06/14/2026

We want to clarify two important facts about the Lyon County jail abuse video now circulating.

1. The victim never had this video. He was told he was the aggressor and had thrown the first punch. Someone visited his cell the next day in a collared shirt and told him they were gonna drop the “assault on a peace officer” charge as a “favor”.

He never saw it, never possessed it, and only learned what was on it two days ago.
His account directly contradicts the narrative being pushed:

• He wasn’t upset about a phone not working
• He was already on the phone when deputies tried to force him to sign paperwork
• They kept opening his door
• The direction they gave him was to come out
• When he followed that direction, the assault began

His words:
“They kept opening my door. The direction they gave me was to come out. Then they proceeded to abuse me.”

This is why body‑cam transparency matters.
A person cannot defend themselves when the evidence is hidden from them for years.

2. Sheriff Pope’s response focused on blaming a political opponent not the violence in the video.

Instead of addressing the egregious physical force used against a young man, Pope publicly claimed that candidate Tim Shaffer was behind the video’s release.

That accusation was made without evidence and is UNTRUE.

Shaffer stated publicly that:
• He did not release the video
• He did not know who released it
• He first saw it only after Reno Cop Watch posted it

The focus should never have been on blaming someone for exposing misconduct.
The focus should have been on what the video shows: a young man being physically abused inside the Lyon County Jail.

RCW’s position remains the same:

We don’t know Shaffer.
We’ve never met him.
We have no contact with him beyond reading his public posts. Our only role is to document the truth, correct misinformation, and hold systems accountable.

The public deserves facts not deflection, not rewritten narratives, and not blame‑shifting when evidence of abuse finally comes to light.

The employees Washoe Sheriff Baby Balaam chooses to feature in his propaganda & promote speaks volumes about the culture...
06/14/2026

The employees Washoe Sheriff Baby Balaam chooses to feature in his propaganda & promote speaks volumes about the culture he maintains at the Washoe County Sheriff's Office. Baby Balaam forgot this deputy was an accused wife beater----Washoe Deputy Levi Smith was sentenced as follows on 12/09/2021 by the dishonorable Judge Shelly T O’Neill.

NRS 484B.2974-INTOXICATED PERSON ON ROAD- 179 days confinement at the Washoe County jail suspended for 2 years with 90 days of electronic monitoring, no drugs or alcohol, obey all laws, 13 weeks of anger management, level 3 substance abuse counseling. NRS 203.010 (Disturbing the Peace) and NRS 8.06.010(b)(2)(Obstructing/resisting officer- both charges have been deferred on the condition Smith obey all laws and writes an apology letter to to arresting Officers Lawton, Baehr, Kendricks, Knox, Manning, Franzwa (one letter that can be address to all cops)

Reno Cop Watch continues receiving anonymous reports about Trooper Saul Bermudez and his daughter Katherine Shampang, an...
06/13/2026

Reno Cop Watch continues receiving anonymous reports about Trooper Saul Bermudez and his daughter Katherine Shampang, and the picture is even worse than what was already known. Multiple sources say Shampang had two on‑duty DUIs one in Esmeralda County with the K‑9 in the truck, and another while working for NHP after showing up drunk to an accident scene, which NHP allegedly buried. She was later fired from ECSO after being caught having s*x with a Nye County deputy inside the Tonopah courthouse. Despite all of this, Dondero never filed a POST revocation, meaning she could still seal her record and return to law enforcement. Reports about Bermudez describe a long pattern of driving drunk around Tonopah, getting handsy with women, starting fights when rejected, and a history of physical abuse toward partners. Locals say he’s been “over .08 by breakfast” for years, yet he’s still wearing a uniform. This is the same cycle Nevada keeps enabling, nepotism, alcohol abuse, buried misconduct, and no POST action, allowing officers with dangerous histories to move from agency to agency without accountability.

06/13/2026

A battery suspect was shot early this morning by Carson City deputies, with the investigation now taken over by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.

"At approximately 12:38 a.m., June 13, 2026 Carson City Deputies responded to a Battery (by knife) in progress at an apartment complex at the 900 block of East Long Street," a statement indiates.

"As Deputies arrived, they were confronted by the Suspect inside the residence. The suspect was shot by officers during the confrontation. Carson City Fire/Paramedics responded to the scene and treated the Suspect and one female victim. The Suspect was later transported to Renown Medical Center by Care Flight.

According to the original reports, the Suspect had stabbed one female victim who had barricaded herself in the bathroom and the Suspect was holding a knife to the throat of a second female victim.

The reporting person informed 911 Operators that the Suspect had said he was going to “kill everyone”.

At 12:43, Deputies engaged the Suspect in the apartment living room where he was shot at least twice during the confrontation.
All persons involved in this incident were related by family.

The Suspect was transported to Renown Medical Center with gunshot wounds, and one family member was transported to Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center with minor knife wounds for treatment.

No other injuries were reported."

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