Metro citizens review board draws mixed reaction

Charles Delzotti's voice cracked and weakened as he held up pictures of his dead nephew and described how the New York police officer was gunned down by a bank robber he was chasing.

But Renold Ramoz's soft-spoken demeanor turned to rage when he spoke about how minorities are treated by police officers.

The two Clark County residents represented opposite ends of an emotional debate over whether a Metro Police citizens review board should be assembled to examine alleged misconduct by law enforcement officers.

A two-hour public hearing Tuesday on the establishment of such a board, authorized by the 1997 Legislature, drew a vocal crowd of about 30. But Delzotti, Ramoz and the other interested citizens learned they would have to wait a month before learning the fate of the proposed review board.

Commissioners sent a proposed ordinance creating a police review board back to the 16-member citizens advisory committee that drafted it, asking the members to address several issues, including the confidentiality of officers who are wrongly accused.

They also asked the diverse committee, which included members of the American Civil Liberties Union, Metro and Hispanics in Politics, to re-examine its list of people who cannot be appointed to the board, such as retired police officers.

The commission will consider the ordinance again Feb. 16.

Sen. Joe Neal, D-North Las Vegas, sponsored the state legislation in 1997 after deaths involving Metro officers. One was the drive-by killing of Daniel Mendoza by a police officer and the other was the shooting and knifing death of a vagrant, Henry Rowe, by an officer.

The intent of Neal's legislation was to create an independent board to restore public confidence in Metro's Internal Affairs division. But because the statute is discretionary, Clark County does not have to set up such a board.

Delzotti pushed commissioners to reject the proposed citizens review board, saying more rules guiding police officers will further endanger their lives. He said officers are already scrutinized by the public and the media.

He blamed a New York citizens review board for his nephew's death after it ruled that officers could not draw their weapons until they were threatened. Delzotti's nephew died when a bank robber he was chasing ducked into a doorway, pulled a gun and shot him as he ran by.

"My nephew was shot and killed before he could draw a weapon," Delzotti said. "He left behind a mother and two young daughters."

Commissioners assured opponents that a review board in Clark County would be purely advisory and would not set policy.

"The citizens review board by statute doesn't have the power to discipline anyone," said Franny Forsman, a federal public defender and chairwoman of the advisory committee. "It doesn't even have the power to tell the sheriff what to do."

Residents could take police misconduct cases to the board or ask the board to review decisions by Metro's Internal Affairs division.

The 25-member board, which would be broken down into panels of five, would have 15 days to determine whether it would investigate the case. The panel would then have 90 days to review the case looking at evidence.

Once the board reached its conclusion, the findings would be forwarded to Sheriff Jerry Keller.

Gary Peck, executive director of Southern Nevada's American Civil Liberties Union, said police officers should prefer to be cleared of an allegation by a citizens board over a Metro entity.

"If an innocent officer is exonerated by Internal Affairs, people think it's a sham," Peck said. "If an innocent officer is exonerated by the board, he or she can walk out with their head held high."

Although the citizens review board members would be volunteers, commissioners were concerned about the cost.

The annual cost of review boards across the country range from $400,000 to $2 million, depending on the number of complaints, Forsman said.

According to Metro, its Internal Affairs Division received 1,486 complaints last year -- an average of 124 a month. Undersheriff Dick Winget, a member of the advisory committee, estimated the number of complaints would double with a citizens review board.

Ramoz, a longtime Las Vegan, spoke about how minorities are often the victims of police misconduct and scoffed at the concerns about funding.

"The county spends millions on this and millions on that," he said. "It's OK to spend money, but when it comes down to justice for us, you don't want to spend no more money?"

Forsman said the more controversial sections of the ordinance included the appeal process. While officers are permitted to appeal the board's findings, a citizen is not.

However, she said, when a resident files a complaint with the board, it basically is an appeal of the Internal Affairs' action.

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