Who Will Be Metro's New Top Cop?

There may not be a dazzling "top of the ticket" this year, but that doesn't mean this election isn't important. Far from it, this election will determine the future of our state... And the future of Metro Police.

In recent years, Metro has been facing tough questions on police brutality officer involved shootings. Last August, Metro came under fire for allowing a police helicopter to be used by a Guns N Roses guitarist for his marriage proposal. More recently, Metro has been caught in a bizarre slut shaming incident where a uniformed police officer scared young girls with inaccurate information. And questions still surround Metro's handling of the Cliven Bundy "Range War" in the Bunkerville/Mesquite area. Why has a police department that's become notorious for "quick & decisive action" in the Las Vegas Valley been dragging its feet on #BundyRanch, allowing celebrities to use its equipment for publicity stunts, and engaging in counterproductive slut shaming of young girls in our community?

Last August, incumbent Sheriff Doug Gillespie dropped a political bomb when he announced he won't be running for a third term. It just so happened that his decision to retire was announced shortly after the Clark County Commission rejected the "More Cops" sales tax surcharge. The Commission rejected "More Cops" again in January. And now, Sheriff Gillespie is abandoning the tax proposal after three failed County Commission votes.

Gillespie now says Metro will have to endure painful budget cuts. Metro Police have already stopped responding to non-injury car accidents. Yet even as this is occurring, many members of the public and a few County Commissioners are still asking what Metro is doing with its current funding. And they're asking why Metro leaders are still refusing to hold anyone accountable for officer involved shootings.

Last summer, Ted Moody retired as Assistant Sheriff after Sheriff Gillespie failed to implement the recommendations of the task force he called to address officer involved shootings. He's now running for Sheriff. And in a rare display of solidarity, both Clark County Commissioner (& progressive favorite) Chris Giunchigliani (D) and the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce have endorsed Moody.

Current Assistant Sheriff Joe Lombardo is also running for the top cop position. He's been endorsed by Gillespie, and he's been raising money from The Strip's top casino players.

Former Metro executive lieutenant Larry Burns is also running for Sheriff. He's gained the endorsement of the police unions. And while he's called for better relations with the wider community, neither he nor Lombardo has promised the kind of broad accountability that Moody is now campaigning on.

Six other candidates are also running for Clark County Sheriff, so this is truly a wide open race bursting with possibilities. And this truly is a race that will determine the future of Nevada's largest local law enforcement agency. Metro's new top cop will have to make decisions on how to curb officer involved shootings, whether to pursue the "More Cops" tax again, and simply how to improve troubled relations with the greater community. And we will be the ones deciding who that new top cop will be.

So make sure to vote this month... And choose wisely.

No Mo' "Vegas 911!"?

So it finally happened. After a series of threats, they finally did it. Yesterday, Clark County Commissioners voted unanimously to abolish the Las Vegas Township Constable's Office in 2015.

Barring a legal decision to the contrary, the Las Vegas Township Constable’s Office will be abolished in 2015.

The Clark County Commission, after two hours of discussion at their meeting Tuesday, voted unanimously to abolish the office, effective when the term of the current elected constable, John Bonaventura, expires in January 2015. [...]

The primary job of the office is to enforce evictions and serve civil documents such as subpoenas, property liens, court summonses and wage garnishments filed in Las Vegas Township.

Although commissioners have not determined how the duties of the office would be divided among other agencies, most of them likely will fall to the sheriff's civil process section. [...]

Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani said the decision to abolish the office this time around stems from an effort to provide services more efficiently.

“The office in my mind is no longer necessary. We have a sheriff’s office that can handle it. We have private sector folks that can do it,” she said.

In recent years, the Las Vegas Constable's Office (and especially Constable John Bonaventura himself) has been making news for all the wrong reasons. Sexual harassment allegations, a DUI arrest, meddling in the Steven Brooks scandal, and even a reality TV audition video (??!!) have created some embarrassing headlines. And the Clark County Commission wants no more of it.

However, this story is far from over. Bonaventura is now suing to halt this planned abolition of his office. A hearing has been set for April 30.

And this isn't even the only effort to abolish the Las Vegas Constable's Office. On Monday, State Senate Minority Leader Michael Roberson (R-Attention) dropped SB 294, which abolishes the office and shifts duties to the Sheriff's Office as soon as the bill becomes law. So there's also that.

And something's telling me this melodrama won't be going away any time soon. Bonaventura seems to like his current gig, so he doesn't want it to be pulled away so soon. Yet Clark County Commissioners are tired of the scandalicious headlines, and the recent news has made them question the very necessity of the Constable's Office. Even certain Nevada legislators want to elbow their way into this story.

In the mean time, we're just wondering when we can expect local law enforcement that our communities can trust. Let us know when that happens.

Some 411 on "Vegas 911!"

Back in January, and just as the Steven Brooks scandal began kicking into high gear, a sideshow to the media circus' main event emerged when Las Vegas Township Constable John Bonaventura agreed to "provide security" for Brooks when he first returned to Carson City. But wait, how could do he do that? And why was he injecting himself into the Brooks affair?

Bonaventura claimed he was filling a void in law enforcement. Others, however, claimed that he was just trying to settle a score with political rival and Assembly Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick (D-North Las Vegas). And since then, more questions have arisen on the very necessity of the Constable's Office.

As of late, the Las Vegas Constable's Office has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. We already mentioned the Brooks scandal above. John Bonaventura was arrested on a drunk driving charge last month, though Clark County DA later decided to drop the charge. Last year, Bonaventura faced sexual harassment allegations. And of course, there was the "Reno 911!"-esque reality TV audition in 2011.

Yikes. There's been a whole lot of drama at that office. So what is it actually responsible for? Here's the condensed Wikipedia version of an explanation.

Constables are elected peace officers who have statewide powers similar to sheriffs, marshals and police officers, as per NRS 289.150 , but in practice some constables maintain a relatively low profile in the law enforcement community. Constables and their deputies must be Nevada POST certified category 1 or category 2 within 1 year of being sworn in, in order to keep their peace officer status. [...]

The primary duties of constables are to act as a civil enforcement agency. This includes the service in minor civil cases in the Justice Courts of subpoenas, evictions, summons, vehicle and property liens, and wage garnishments, and also enforcing vehicle registration laws.

This is why Kirkpatrick and other state legislators are considering legislation to clarify the role of constables. Meanwhile, Clark County Commissioners are considering abolishing the Las Vegas Township Constable's Office altogether. After all, why have this office do tasks that Metro and other local law enforcement agencies can easily take on?

Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani proposed the ordinance.

"The ordinance that I plan to bring says that the office is redundant, it's no longer working in the way that we believe it should and therefore we need to abolish it, and in two years, we still have an opportunity to look at that."

That, in turn, has led to this.

Bonaventura filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the commissioners in an attempt to prevent them from taking action to abolish his position. A hearing is scheduled for Monday, one day before the commissioners were set to discuss eliminating his job.

In the lawsuit, Bonaventura is seeking to challenge the constitutionality of the commissioners' attempt to abolish the constable’s office. The lawsuit alleges that his office has been subject to questionable acts, such as the county taking $2 million of the constable funds without public notice, agenda or vote.

And that, in turn, has led to this.

Clark County officials have demanded that Constable John Bonaventura outline why he hired lawyers for more than $30,000 or be held personally liable for the expense.

The letter [...] essentially says Bonaventura may have broken the law, needs to pay up or the district attorney will be involved.

And this is all over a supplementary law enforcement agency best known for serving foreclosure notices... And jumping deep into scandals.

Frankly, I'm still trying to wrap my head around this. How did John Bonaventura win elected office (again)? Does Clark County still need constables for law enforcement? And may it finally be time to overhaul and update our law enforcement framework?

Perhaps John Bonaventura is serving a useful purpose. With his wild antics, he's highlighting this problem. It's become more difficult for County Commissioners and state legislators to just sweep this embarrassing series of incidents under the rug. Something must be done.

So what will be done? That will be up to Clark County Commissioners. They should just know that should they decide to shift current constable duties to local police departments, the police departments must be better trained in constituent services.

When Will Justice Be Served?

I have to give Patrick Coolican credit for this: He's making quite the effort to ensure that the brutal beating of Adam Greene by Henderson PD Sergeant Brett Seekatz doesn't quickly fade from our memories. In fact, he's taking issue with new Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson and his decision not to prosecute Seekatz for kicking Greene in the head in 2010 while Greene was experiencing diabetic shock.

It turns out, [Adam Greene] was innocent and suffering a diabetic episode, and the ugly incident cost the city of Henderson more than $250,000 in a settlement with the man and his wife.

Wolfson decided not to prosecute. I don’t envy him, having to make a tough call less than two weeks into a new job.

But his decision will further erode the community’s already flagging confidence in police agencies while stoking a long-held belief that there are two sets of rules, one for police officers who kick people in the head and another for the rest of us. [...]

Wolfson told Ralston he consulted with “senior lawyers” in the office to make his decision. Let’s not forget, these senior lawyers all recently worked for Wolfson’s predecessor as district attorney, David Roger, who is now the attorney for the Las Vegas Police Protective Association. That’s the police union.

Anyway, just because juries haven’t convicted police officers accused of police brutality, does that mean we’ll never bring charges against an officer ever again? What message does that send?

Also, unlike the other cases, this has video evidence.

Wolfson said he could prove the kicking in the head but not criminal intent. Apparently sometimes there are perfectly valid and legal reasons to kick someone in the head. I learn something new every day.

By the way, here's what Coolican is talking about. Jon Ralston put Wolfson on the hot seat last Thursday.



Wolfson said he initially did a poor job of explaining why he's not prosecuting. He initially claimed statute of limitations (too much time had passed to file charges), but that turned out to only apply to misdemeanor charges that could have applied here. Ralston then asked why he didn't file felony charges, and Wolfson claimed that he believes there isn't a strong enough case to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Seekatz committed a felony level crime.

Wolfson told Ralston that he will prosecute future cases of police brutality. For many, that's not enough. Steve Sebelius wrote a scathing R-J column on this yesterday, and even the Clark County Commission may be having second thoughts on appointing Wolfson as the new DA.

Apparently, Seekatz has a history of complaints from the community. What happens if we see him kick another innocent driver in the head? And what will happen to the other infamous cases of police brutality across Clark County? Will the families of Trevon Cole, Erik Scott, Stanley Gibson, and Deshira Selimaj ever see justice served?

And what happens to our communities? What happens to our relationship with our local police? What happens to our relationship with our local government? Has Steve Wolfson really thought about the message he's sending by not prosecuting Brett Seekatz? And are the Clark County Commission and Henderson City Council ready to make a real effort to curb police brutality and restore public trust in law enforcement?

Sharrontology Supported Domestic Abusers? Actually, It's Even Worse.

Everyone is talking about Harry Reid's latest ad...



So does Sharron Angle really support domestic abusers?

Well, to be fair, that probably wasn't her intention. However, the reality of this is probably just as scary. Sharron Angle has no real understanding of the law... AB 581, as well as The US Constitution.

During the 2001 Nevada Assembly’s debate about the bill, AB 581, Angle asked Deputy Attorney General Nancy Hart whether documents would have to be presented to prove a restraining order, referred to as a “foreign protection order.” “Mrs. Angle requested clarification if there would need to be a document present, in order for the foreign protection order to be enforced,” read the Assembly’s minutes.

Hart, the record shows, explained that the bill’s provisions allow officers to “use discretion when presented with the document of the foreign protection order” and also “[allows] an officer to rely upon the statement alone of the victim, to assess whether there was a protection order in existence to be enforced.” Basically, cops should use their best judgement when responding to a call. Allow me to borrow from the Tea Party when I call this logic “common sense.”

It apparently made no sense to Angle, though: she and eight other Assembly members voted against the bill. Despite their nays, the bill ended up passing with a combined 79% of the Nevada Assembly and Senate’s support.

Clearer heads prevailed, and the law now reads, “[This is] an act relating to orders; making various changes concerning orders for protection against domestic violence; providing that certain orders for protection issued in another state are not subject to certain requirements to be given Full Faith and Credit in this state…” Those words “Full Faith and Credit” are integral to our nation’s unity, yet Angle ignores them completely. She has absolutely no faith in our Founding Fathers’ foresight, which they illustrated in Article IV of the Constitution: “Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State.”

Full faith and credit? Oh yes, that's right!

Full Faith and Credit is, in a nutshell, an honor system between states: if Ohio says someone has a restraining order against John Smith, then Nevada should respect their judgement to protect his intended victim. Angle’s nay vote on AB 581 reveals two faults that should worry voters: first, she distrusts the judgement of Nevada police officers, which explains why more than half-a-dozen Nevada law enforcement unions, including a Republican Sheriff, have endorsed Reid.

The second fault: Angle’s disrespect respect for other states’ judgement. Angle has been so blinded by an elementary understanding of “state sovereignty” that she’s trying to apply black-and-white ideology to a rainbow-colored world.

The Founding Fathers knew there would be tension between states. That’s why they constructed “full faith and credit,” a clause that builds symbolic trust and, as in the case with AB 581, can protect citizens’ well-beings. Angle’s opposition to such a concept erodes the essential camaraderie our nation’s states need to remain United. Ideological extremism should not be put above public safety.

It really comes down to Sharrontology's blind ideological "purity" and severely flawed judgment. For all her talk of "believing in The Constitution", she really has no idea what's actually in it. If Angle really did, she would have realized in 2001 that AB 581 was just the State of Nevada reaffirming the "Full Faith and Credit Clause" clearly found in Article IV, Section 1, of The Constitution, which calls for states to honor legal agreements made in other states. It's what keeps our country as "The UNITED States", and what prevents people from having to reapply for everything from marriage to bank accounts when moving across state lines.

Let's face it, domestic abuse is no laughing matter. And it's nothing to be taken lightly. But when Sharron Angle tried to dismiss AB 581 on Constitutional grounds, it revealed poor judgment. Not only was she willing to put people's safety in jeopardy for the sake of her own extremist ideology, but she also showed complete disregard for the very Constitution she supposedly reveres.

No wonder why Nevada law enforcement were baffled by her then, and are still baffled by her now.





So does Sharrontology support domestic abusers? No, I wouldn't say that. Rather, it looks to me like Obtuse Angle was more than willing to put victims of domestic violence at risk AND disregard The US Constitution's guidelines on state powers just to pay homage to her extreme views.

The Bountiful PD Has a Transgender Officer... And Offers Some Hope for More LGBT Supportive Police

I found a great story in today's Salt Lake Tribune, one I wish I could read in the paper more often.

As a child, Kerry Bell dreamed of growing up to become a policeman -- both a police officer and a man.
Becoming a cop was relatively simple -- Bell joined the Bountiful Police Department 14 years ago. Becoming a man took more time.
Born female, Bell came out as transgender about a year and a half ago and started a transition to a new life as a man. He always had felt male, but did not think switching genders was a viable option until he saw transgender people gaining wider acceptance, along with advances in medical technology.
Surprisingly, the 42-year-old -- working in what many perceive as a super-macho culture -- says he did not fret about telling the police chief or his co-workers to start referring to him as "he," not "she."
"I wasn't worried about coming out at work," says Bell, who has had hormone treatments and surgeries. "I've worked for Bountiful for 14 years. I know everybody I work with."
Although some employees have trouble remembering to use masculine pronouns, Bountiful Police Chief Tom Ross says, "everyone's done a great job of accepting Kerry and staying focused on why we're here in the first place."
Bell, a corporal and SWAT member, is a "well-rounded police officer," Ross adds. "We're glad that he works here."

As we've talked about before, transgender people still face horrible burdens of discrimination. It's worse here in Nevada where our state anti-discrimination laws don't cover gender identity, and even worse in Utah where their state has no anti-LGBT-inclusive discrimination laws whatsoever. So it's really encouraging to see more LGBT police officers come out in Utah and serve proudly.

And honestly, it's good to see more police departments forge good relationships with the community for a change.

That many LGBT officers now serve openly at several Utah law-enforcement agencies speaks volumes to how far society has progressed, says Salt Lake City Capt. Kyle Jones, a founding member of the [LGBT Public Safety Committee].
"Twenty years ago, they wouldn't have been [welcome]," says Jones, who was inspired to get involved with the LGBT community after his son came out as gay. "The current crop of officers, by and large, don't give it a second thought."
Jones, along with other committee members, recruits potential new officers at the annual Utah Pride Festival for the Salt Lake City Police Department.
"Our department has tried for years to recruit from the populations that we represent," Jones says. "Anywhere from 8 to 12 percent of [Salt Lake City] is thought to be LGBT so we should have 8 to 12 percent of our cops who are LGBT."

Long before Stonewall, our LGBT community has had a rocky relationship with the cops at best. One need not look further than the recent Fort Worth bar raids and Newport Beach Police homophobia scandal to see that tensions still exist and many queer folk still think they have good reason not to trust the cops.

Hopefully with more LGBT police officers joining the ranks and police departments becoming more accepting of this, the often antagonistic relationship between the police and the community can change. It needs to if our community is to trust the police to be our public servants and keep us safe as well.