A nurse volunteering her time at the 2022 Burning Man festival in northern Nevada is alleging in a lawsuit that she was unlawfully detained while trying to help a festival attendee.
When Hannah Hoekstra, a registered nurse, was paged to help a woman who was requesting help after what the lawsuit described as “a discomforting encounter” with a male festival-goer in his private tent, Hoekstra ultimately found herself placed in handcuffs by deputies from the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office, according to the lawsuit, which was filed on Aug. 31.
“There’s just no excuse for something like this to happen, and while it would be fortunate to believe that this is a rarity, it is in fact all too common,” said Nathan Lawrence, Hoekstra’s attorney.
Hoekstra, a forensic nurse who had previously collaborated with the sheriff’s office, was a seasoned volunteer at the festival, according to the lawsuit. As a volunteer nurse, she wore a yellow shirt with the words “EMERGENCY SERVICES” on it.
Deputy told to handcuff her, lawsuit says
On Aug. 31, 2022, Hoekstra was speaking privately with a woman who had asked for help when a plain-clothed deputy from the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office named Donna Robinson requested to come into the tent where the pair were speaking, the lawsuit said.
When the woman indicated to Hoekstra that she didn’t wish to speak with Deputy Robinson, Hoekstra left the tent to explain the situation to Robinson.
The lawsuit said that Robinson told Hoekstra that if the patient did not want to speak with law enforcement, she would have to “tell me that herself on my [bodyworn] camera.”
Robinson then told Hoekstra that if she and the patient didn’t tell her what was “going on right now,” Hoekstra would be “arrested for obstruction of my investigation,” according to the lawsuit.
When Hoekstra requested to speak with her own supervisor, Robinson instructed another deputy, only named as Deputy Boyer in the lawsuit, to detain and handcuff her.
As Hoekstra was being “dragged away,” the patient she had been helping reportedly called out “What are you doing? That woman was helping me!”
A Bureau of Land Management officer identified in the lawsuit only as Ranger P. Zoltovetz reportedly assisted in detaining Hoekstra. Bystanders filming the event were allegedly told by officers, according to the lawsuit, that the sheriff’s office would need the video for Hoekstra’s “prosecution.”
After nearly 40 minutes, Hoekstra was eventually released without any criminal charges or citations, the lawsuit said.
Constitutional rights ‘disregarded’
“Violation of a constitutional right is not a small thing,” Lawrence said, “particularly when, as a society, we are compelled to put our trust into law enforcement for our protection and for protection of our civil rights.”
According to Lawrence and the lawsuit, since the incident, Hoekstra has been diagnosed and treated for PTSD.
While still working as a nurse, Hoekstra no longer works in forensic nursing because of the “mental anguish and emotional distress” from the alleged unlawful detention.
Changing the scope of her work to exclude forensic nursing “detrimentally affected her career trajectory,” the lawsuit said.
Lawrence said that rather than supporting a fellow first responder, officers from the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Land Management “completely disregarded” Hoekstra’s constitutional rights in an “entirely unnecessary event.”
There was no probable cause or reasonable suspicion existing that would have allowed officers to detain Hoekstra, Lawrence said. Neither the sheriff’s office nor BLM responded to requests for comment.
“At least anecdotally, there is evidence of this type of behavior increasing somewhat, particularly in the state of Nevada, across a variety of law enforcement agencies,” Lawrence said.
In Southern Nevada, Metropolitan Police Department Sgt. Kevin Menon was arrested Aug. 30 on suspicion of a “pattern of unlawful detentions,” according to an arrest report.
Lawrence said that unlawful detention not only harms the individual victim, but “it’s a harm to society, and that’s a big part of what we’re trying to resolve.”
Contact Estelle Atkinson at eatkinson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @estellelilym on X and @estelleatkinsonreports on Instagram.
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — A string of deadly crashes in and around Pahrump has prompted Nye County Sheriff Joe McGill to push for more safety measures along dark, sidewalk-free roads.
“The worst penalty is death, if you consider that,” McGill said.
The recent deaths include a single-vehicle rollover on State Route 160 during the morning hours of the last Wednesday in January that killed one person and injured another.
Then, into February, two pedestrians were killed in less than three days.
The first was a 7 p.m. crash on Quarter Horse Avenue. Investigators believe a 2006 Jeep Liberty was driving on the street when it hit a pedestrian, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
A few days later, this last Saturday, state troopers responded to a crash just after sundown at Charleston Park Avenue. A sedan hit a pedestrian, who was also pronounced dead at the scene.
Nevada State Police investigators are still investigating both pedestrian cases before more details are released.
McGill said the recent crashes were enough to spur action.
“When the third one came out, I was sitting at home and watching TV. I looked at my wife and I said, ‘We got to do something about this,’” McGill said.
McGill is responding with a reflective vest giveaway, pointing to limited infrastructure as a possible factor. He noted a lack of street lights off State Route 160 and no sidewalks inside the community.
“The only light that you have is the ambient light from houses and cars so it is really dark,” McGill said.
John Treanor of AAA Nevada said poor visibility can quickly turn dangerous for both drivers and pedestrians.
“It is very easy to be confronted with a situation that you cannot see coming because the visibility might be bad,” Treanor said.
Treanor encouraged pedestrians to carry lights and drivers to be prepared if they end up outside their vehicles in dark conditions.
“Having lights on you. Even carrying a flashlight allows something where a driver can see it,” Treanor said. “If you are a driver, make sure you have the right stuff in your car, in case you do get in a situation where you are on the side of the road and now you are in dark. Make sure you have a kit with some reflectors, some lights. Anything the trunk of your car in case you need it.”
McGill said vigilance is important even in daylight.
“Any time of the day, you have got to be vigilant. You have to keep aware of your surroundings if you are a walker or on a bicycle or if you are the driver,” he said.
Authorities also urged caution as more people may pull off roads in rocky areas along the route toward Death Valley National Park during springtime blooms, increasing the need for drivers and pedestrians to stay alert.
A waterfront mansion on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe just sold for $46 million, less than three weeks after hitting the market.
The speedy deal marks a departure from the typical U.S. market.
Nationwide, homes took a median 78 days to land a buyer in January, five more than the same time last year and the 22nd straight month of homes taking longer to sell on a year-over-year basis, according to data from Realtor.com.
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The lavish log cabin-like residence, in Incline Village, listed on Jan. 24 for $47.5 million. It sold 20 days later, on Feb. 13, listing records show.
The more than 7,000-square-foot residence was built in 2014, and has double-height living spaces, walls of windows, beamed ceilings, fireplaces, and plenty of rustic exposed stone and wood, listing images show.
There’s also a gym, a wet bar, a spa, a wine room, an office, two separate game rooms, seven bedrooms and dramatic Lake Tahoe views. Outside, there’s a private sandy beach, multiple decks, a heated driveway and two exterior fireplaces, according to listing information.
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The seller and the buyer are both limited liability companies, according to property records. Both parties were represented by Jeff Brown of Tahoe Mountain Realty, who declined to comment on the deal.
The median home price in Incline Village was $1.595 million as of December, a fall of 3.3% from a year earlier, according to data from Realtor.com. Listings, meanwhile, spent an average of 130 days on the market.
Updated February 26, 2026 – 8:28 pm
click to expand photos
Green Valley’s softball team claimed an 8-6 win at Liberty on Thursday on the first day of high school spring sports competition in Nevada.
Green Valley next hosts Silverado at 3 p.m. Friday. Liberty plays at Bishop Gorman at 3 p.m. Friday.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
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