DeCastro's Civil Rights Complaint Fails, Federal Jury Renders Verdict In Favor of LVMPD

Leo Clark, Senior Reporter

Feb 13, 2026, 9:00:00 PM

On February 9, 2026, a federal jury was impaneled to decide Jose "Chille" DeCastro's civil rights complaint filed against LVMPD. The trial spanned 5 days, during which testimony from several officers was heard. Officer Torrey testified he had been a sergeant for 2 and a half years, and cited his detective work in counterterrorism. He mentioned discussions with several officers already on scene and focused on his responsibility to make sure constitutional policies were followed, including whether LVMPD had probable cause to arrest Mr. DeCastro. "I told [DeCastro] he was getting arrested for obstruction because DeCastro didn't back up," Torrey explained, "if there was any backing up it was less than a foot. [DeCastro] said if we don't let him out of handcuffs, he will sue." "[DeCastro] was irrational from the beginning. I've never seen anyone ... when an officer tells someone to back up and they immediately become irrational. A rational person obeys police," Officer Sandoval testified, "consequences to his arm and sight was ... a consequence of him not being rational." Mr. DeCastro's attorney Michael Mee asked, "Obey cops even if it doesn't make sense to you, just obey?" "Yes," Sandoval responded. "[Officer] Burque needed backup," Officer Dingle testified, "it took me less than 5 minutes, I was pretty close. Mr. DeCastro was resistant and non-compliant. At the scene ... I had no idea who he was but then he said he had over a million followers." LVMPD's Assistant General Counsel Michael Dickerson asked, "they get treated the same despite them saying they are First Amendment auditors?" "Correct," Dingle answered. Body worn camera footage depicted an exchange between Mr. DeCastro and Officer Dingle. DeCastro: "I sue lots of cops, you gonna get sued. I don't have weapons on me, get your fucking hands off me!" Officer Dingle: "He was a First Amendment auditor, he was filming Metro in the Walmart parking [lot] ... and that's when I put two and two together ... that he was the same subject. I've seen non-excessive force being used on DeCastro." DeCastro: "Let go of my cuffs! I'm not a threat, I don't have any firearms." Mr. Mee asked, "no weapons were discovered?" To which Officer Dingle responded, "correct. We heard Mr. DeCastro complaining about his arm." Mr. Dickerson prompted, "based on what you observed that day, was DeCastro hit in [his] privates?" "My observation, no," responded Officer Dingle. Officer Sorenson testified, "I'm observing an individual who is non-compliant. I did not physically intervene. He adjusted his feet and looked around multiple times." In discussing LVMPD's duty to intervene, Sorenson explained, "to make sure a good person doesn't do a bad thing. Police are trained to deescalate situations. My stern talk ... hopefully deescalates situations. You can get someone to comply by applying some pain." When Mr. Mee asked "why did you believe DeCastro might spit in your face?" Sorenson responded, "[DeCastro was] calling us derogatory terms." Mr. DeCastro personally took the stand. "We have too many laws," he testified, "I grew up in Alaska with 2000 people from [ages] 5 to 18. On June 19, 2020, I started my YouTube channel. I taught constitutional law on my channel. When I see police stop someone over I stop and record. It's very important to identify yourself to the police right away. I walk up and I say I'm a member of the press, I film any government official in their official capacity. First Amendment auditing is a gigantic business, I had more views than Jake Paul! I don't work for state funded media, I work independently. As soon as I decide to work on something ... I'm a member of the press. On my first video on June 19, 2020, I had 1 million views. I don't think defense counsel is non-profit, neither am I. January 2023 I opened an office in Las Vegas Charleston. I was doing shopping at Target when I saw a woman getting pulled over. I was getting supplies for the office, my dog was with me. I researched if it was okay to speak to the driver, there is no statute that says that. She had a wide-eyed look on her face. I asked if she was okay. The insinuation that I was hurting my dog by leaving him in the car is preposterous. My dog is a mini-celebrity. Insinuations that I would hurt my dog are sick. He told me to back up so I backed up. Turner v. Driver, I already knew I backed up ten feet, and then four more, at that point I had to do my job. I did comply and it wasn't enough. The wind was blowing hard and I wanted to hear what the cop was saying to the victim. I'm backing up more because his face is all red, I realized he was going to charge at me. [Officer] Burque got triggered and he lost his shit, as soon as I called him a 'little doggie' he arrested me. At this point I want to test Burque and challenge him, apply some pressure, he failed my First Amendment test. It's my right to use free speech anytime I want. You're supposed to uphold the rights of people even if you don't like them. You could see he wanted to put his hands on me. When is America going to realize a camera is not a threat? [Burque] believes he is giving me lawful orders, I believe he is giving me illegal directives. Sooner or later America is going to expect that holding a camera is not an officer safety issue. Maybe it's this case, maybe not ... but my rights were being violated here. Ego ruled that day. I hate being bullied. He took my glasses off of me to show he has total dominion over me. I have horrible dreams about this dude who tortured me, I'm going through it, I'm angry." At one point, Mr. DeCastro began tearing up, "my family saw me in jail in an orange [jump]suit. I'll never forget the look in my mother's eyes. I'm traumatized from this experience and I won't stop until I get justice!" While many of the issues were litigated in prior criminal proceedings, the question before the federal court was whether or not the defendants violated Mr. DeCastro's civil and Constitutional rights. Ultimately, the jury declined to find the police department had used excessive force or committed a false arrest and returned a verdict in favor of the defense on February 13, 2026.

City of Las Vegas Voluntarily Dismisses Charges Against DeCastro

Alex Falconi, Founding Director

Aug 13, 2024, 1:30:00 PM

Assistant City Attorney Carlene Helbert filed a notice of dismissal without prejudice, voluntarily clearing Jose "Chille" DeCastro of charges accusing him of providing false information to the authorities.

State Answers DeCastro's Appeal, Christopher Oram Replies

Alex Falconi, Founding Director

Jun 18, 2024, 9:00:00 AM

Chief Deputy District Attorney Alexander Chen filed an answer brief, dismissing the notion that the appeal was centered on whether Jose "Chille" DeCastro could film police officers, and redirecting the Court via a 2-page stack of federal authority limiting First Amendment rights to reasonable times, places, and manners. Defense Attorney Christopher Oram systematically replied Mr. Chen's authorities, noting the State's abandonment of its reliance on the "21-foot rule" that became the focus of the trial court below.

DeCastro Files Opening Brief Asserting First And Sixth Amendment Violations

Alex Falconi, Founding Director

May 6, 2024, 9:00:00 AM

Defense Attorney Christopher Oram, on behalf of Jose "Chille" DeCastro, filed an opening brief asserting several errors occurred; namely, that the laws relied upon were unconstitutionally vague and violated he First Amendment, that Justice of the Peace Ann Zimmerman was biased, First Amendment violations, vagueness, and that Defense Attorney Michael Mee's incompetence implicated Sixth Amendment violations.

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