WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) attended this year’s State of the Union Address with Las Vegas Metro Police Department (LVMPD) Officer Laura Villicana as her guest. Officer Villicana, a native of East Las Vegas, has been leading the way in strengthening the relationship between the East Las Vegas community and LVMPD by creating the Northeast Area Command’s Hispanic Coalition, which brings stakeholders together to share resources, learn more about the command’s work, and create trust and communication in the community.
KSNV Las Vegas: Rosen Attends State of the Union With Las Vegas Metro Police Officer Laura Villicana
Reporter: Senator Jacky Rosen showing her support for law enforcement, bringing Metro Officer Laura Villicana who’s done significant outreach with the East Las Vegas Latino community.
Rosen: I also want [President Biden] to talk about how we make investments in things like [what] Officer Villicana is doing, in community policing, and those resources that build trust and build up neighborhoods.
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Key Points:
- Villicana, an East Las Vegas native, hosts “Agua Fresca with a Cop,” a “Coffee with a Cop” type program to improve police-community relationships among Latinos in Las Vegas.
- In an interview, Rosen outlined many of the same policy goals that Horsford and the CBC have named, including nationalizing use of force and training standards and starting a police misconduct registry. Like Horsford, she hopes to hear Biden name those reforms as well. But she also wanted to use her guest spot to spotlight an example of someone improving community-police relations.
- “We also need to build community and keep community safe,” Rosen said. “So, I want to show the positive things that are happening – that there are so many officers that are like Officer Villicana, particularly in our community, that can light the path forward.”
KVVU Las Vegas: Rosen Attends State of the Union With Las Vegas Metro Police Officer Laura Villicana
Reporter: Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen’s guest for the speech was a Metro police officer. She’s part of the department’s Community Policing Unit and is being recognized for her work to bring the community and officers together in new innovative ways.
Villicana: Here in North East, we have a heavily hispanic population and for me being a hispanic officer, it’s great to be able to bridge that gap and connect with the community I grew up in.
KLAS Las Vegas: Senator Rosen Announces LVMPD Officer As State of the Union Guest
Reporter: Senator Jacky Rosen announcing her guest to President Biden’s State of the Union Address – Las Vegas native and Metro Police Officer, Laura Villacana…we told you about her in 2021 for an outreach program she did called ‘Agua Fresca with a Cop.’ She’s also created the North East Area Hispanic Coalition.
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