PROBLEM SOLVER 
EXPLORE HOW JERRY AIROLA
WILL CORRECT METRO'S LAW ENFORCEMENT TROUBLES.
BY DAVID HIMMEL

If you took a kindergarten class from any understaffed, overcrowded classroom of the Clark County School District and asked each kid what he or she wanted to be once grown up, you might get a few who shout, "Policeman!"

There has always been a fascination with being a police officer. The role is one linked to being a hero - nabbing bad guys, protecting the innocent.

But in reality, the job is mundane and hardly glamorous at all. There are mountains of paperwork, routine traffic stops and endless hours working public events.

"Law enforcement is not self-serving," Clark County Sheriff candidate Jerry Airola said. "It's not an ego thing that makes you feel good because you're wearing a badge. You got into this job because it's public service."

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has operated in some form or another for a little more than 100 years. In its time, it has seen its share of successes, tragedies and scandals. One of the first came in 1918 when Sheriff "Big" Sam Gay refused to arrest one of his deputies named Joe Keat after Keat was found in contempt of court and threatened a judge. Gay was fired for not following protocol. The County Commissioners then appointed a manager with no law experience from Western Union to be sheriff. After a few short months, W.B. Mundy resigned, finding the job too risky. The Commission again hired someone from outside of the police force, an agent for the Ford Motor Company, J. Warren Woodward. He held the position until 1926. 

And if history is a guide to anything, that it does indeed repeat itself, Airola sees himself fit as the new sheriff in town. Because when things got bad on the inside, an outsider was the best solution to the problem. 

Unlike outsiders from nearly a century ago, the multi-millionaire and successful businessman does have law experience. He served as a police officer and deputy in California. He may not be a cop right now, but through his business, Silver State Helicopters, Airola has maintained a working relationship with several law enforcement agencies by loaning his helicopters out for crime fighting purposes, including search and rescue missions.

And looking at the current state of Metro as a businessman, Airola is certain their plan isn't working.

In 2002, when current Sheriff Bill Young and Undersheriff Doug Gillespie took office in City Hall, they had some promises to keep. They were going to lower gang violence and limit drug trafficking amongst other important protective civil duties.

But yet, Airola said, "All of things they promised the public, not only couldn't they deliver, they couldn't keep the promises under control. I don't think it's because they're malicious. I think that when you take somebody who is a cop, and put him into a management position like this, an administrative role, you set him up for failure."

Gillespie is running against Airola for the coveted seat of Sheriff based on his 26 years with Metro. His campaign echoes that of an incumbent in any other political race and especially the Bush administration. And that's to "Stay the course." 

"Doug Gillespie has been in Metro since he was a kid. Right out of school, he went to Metro. He doesn't know anything but Metro," Airola said. "It's like religion. You can't take a Catholic, Buddhist, Muslim or a Jew and tell them their beliefs are wrong. He only knows what he has been taught and he's been taught that what they've been doing is the right thing. And at the time, it was fine. But now we've lost control of it and he's still saying, 'It's OK and we're doing a good job.'" 

One of the speaking points the two candidates have debated on is the overcrowding of jails. They both think a Tent City is a fantastic idea, similar to the one in Maricopa County in Arizona, which opened in 1993. A Tent City would save taxpayers millions by cutting back on amenities like coffee and feeding the inmates bologna sandwiches. Some say that a Tent City is cruel and unusual punishment, but it's not much different than the living conditions of soldiers in the Middle East.

So if both candidates think a Tent City is a fine idea, why hasn't Gillespie's police force instituted it? Well, another option to the overcrowding, Gillespie said, is to slap an ankle bracelet on a non-violent offender and submit him or her to house arrest. 

"House arrest is not incarceration," Airola said. "Don't tell me to go to my room where all the toys are. I don't feel protected having a child molester running around my neighborhood."

Airola said the current state of Metro is as if cops know the offender is a bad guy, but since they didn't plan well, the courts are forced to give a weakened sentence because there's just no more room. Maricopa County has the lowest rate of return to jail.

"Tent City is a proven deterrent to crime," Airola said. "The current administration says we can build another jail. Well, we built a new court building, which took seven years to build and it was way over budget. Why should we go back to the public and charge them much more than it would cost for a Tent City?"

Even if another jail is built, and it's twice the size of the current jails, it would be outdated rather quickly based on the growth of the population in Las Vegas. 

In 2004, Las Vegas was ranked the 8th most violent city in the nation. That ranking was awarded smack dab in the middle of Gillespie's term as Undersheriff.

Look at it this way: In 2002, Metro reported 10 officer involved killings. There were nine in 2003 and by July of this year, there have been eight. These numbers make Airola look around and ask who's responsible for this, how much worse is it going to get, and how much more is the public willing to take. He said the citizens have no faith in the department and part of that is because cops don't understand that their job is too keep the perception of safety a reality. And that problem could be systemic.

David Figler is a Las Vegas criminal defense attorney. He represents people who more often feel like cops are more the villains than they are for the crimes of which they're accused. Maybe they're right, and it's Figler's job to prove just that. But he's in the trenches with the people who deal with the police on a daily basis.

"Lately, because of the police involved shootings, there's more of a negative feeling," Figler said.

Some deaths-by-officer were a result of tasers, which are championed as a non-lethal alternative to guns. There have been a slew of arguments surrounding the use of tasers nationwide. Airola considers a stricter protocol for the use of tasers. If someone is drunk or stoned and a trained officer is ready to arrest with his mace or nightstick and he calls for back up, he already has an advantage over the suspect. Should the suspect then brandish a knife or a bat, the taser would likely be appropriate. Only when there is a clear escalation of force should the taser be drawn.

If the public ever had an outcry, if they for a moment turned away from the fashion-forward goofballs on Channel 3 and actually demanded an explanation, maybe the Sheriff would have to come up with better answers than excuses. 

Defenders of the police, including themselves, will offer reasons like, "We risk our lives everyday" or "It's dangerous out there." Maybe so, but each and every police officer chooses to wear a badge and wake everyday to deal with the city. But even when mishap occur such as death, they still receive a pretty fair break.

After each death at an officer's hands, a coroner's inquest is held, usually 30 days after the death took place. In government's further efforts to protect itself, the District Attorney - who routinely works with police to apprehend and prosecute criminals - holds fact-finding hearings instead of actual trials. There is no cross examination and victim representation is limited to questions written by family members and other advocates. And even those are filtered out by the hearing master. 

To add more self protection, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Citizens Review Board asked to issue subpoenas. The Nevada Supreme Court granted the request, but the Las Vegas Police Protective Association tried to stop it.

Nevada ACLU Executive Director Gary Peck has not been quiet about the inquest procedure. "I think it is a shame and an embarrassment. It deserves everyone - the public, the family and friends of the deceased and even the police officer who may deserve to be exonerated when they resort to deadly force."

There have been about 150 inquests over the last 30 years and only one has been found criminal. The rest were excused or justified.

In 2003, three police officers were sued for killing a man. The medical examiner testified the man suffocated because of the way he was detained. But a coroner's inquest found that the police were within their rights.

Peck agrees with Figler that a significant segment of the public has lost faith and has become concerned about the number of officer-involved deaths. 

Also on the rise, contrary to the promise to halt it from the Young administration, is gang violence. There has been between a 45- and 48-percent rise in gang violence since January.

"There are many factors that come into play," said Captain Al Salinas, Bureau Commander for the Gang Crimes Bureau for Metro. "One is the increase in population which includes those with criminal history who come in from Southern California.

"We're not going to arrest ourselves out of this issue," Salinas said. 

The gang crime rate may be up, but so is the number of arrests. And juveniles are being punished as adults. If the population increase is a main player in a gang violence spike, Airola will then look to our neighbors north.

"North Las Vegas is the third fastest growing city in the nation," Airola said. "But they just celebrated 30-percent reduction in their crime rate. They anticipated the growth, embraced it and created community policing programs around it. I say, that's what we need to do."

Salinas said that Metro works closely with North Las Vegas and that some of the dangerous North Las Vegas areas border Metro's jurisdiction. 

Salinas and Airola agree that education can correct the gang problem. 

"We need to educate and divert the children," Salinas said. "Gangs are out there actively seeking members and kids need to know they have an option."

Salinas added that enforcement and diversion comes down to dollars and cents. There's no secret it costs money to bust the bad guys and Gillespie has pledged to increase more detectives for the gang unit. But where has he been the last four years? Did he just have this idea now and if not, why didn't he say something to Sheriff Young? And if he did, why didn't Sheriff Young do something about it?

While Salinas seems to be leading a team dedicated to stopping gang activity, the question persists - where is the active administrative leadership?

One gang-involved shooting at Berkley Square on Memorial Day on the West side near Lake Mead and D Street left three dead and four wounded. Sure, the cops know who did it, but they can't provide proof because witnesses won't come forward. 

Airola attributes that to the witnesses being afraid of police. Salinas said it's because they're afraid of ratting out the gangs. Either way, the criminals need to be caught. And a fresh idea man behind the Sheriff's desk might not hurt. 

"I think it is a professionally run operation," Peck said. "The majority do the best they can to conduct themselves in a professional manner. The problems are systematic problems."

Metro might just need what Airola is pitching: an operations and an administrative guy. Airola hails from a police and business background. He knows how to manage. He said that he'll have officer vote for their undersheriff, someone they all trust to lead them. He will provide them with the tools they need to get ahead of the crime rate, not just pace it as it grows as Young and Gillespie have done. 

As an outsider, Airola would welcome any scrutiny. "It would be nice for the sheriff to be held accountable." LW