Kuykendall, former chief of Las Vegas Police, dies at 89

When a socialite was murdered in her home in affluent Rancho Circle in the early 1960s, Las Vegas Police Chief Leo Kuykendall knew right away the pressure would be on his small department to solve the high-profile case.

"I was in charge of (the) intelligence (detail) at the time, but Leo told me to go out there and help the homicide detectives," retired Metro Police Officer Nage Palmer said. "He said, 'I don't care if homicide is out there, you go out on it too -- I want involvement by everyone on this one.' "

That concentrated effort led to the arrest of the woman's husband on charges he set her ablaze in a scheme to inherit her money. He was convicted -- one of a number of feathers in the cap of Kuykendall, who served as police chief from 1960-64.

Leo E. Kuykendall, a longtime FBI agent and former Oklahoma City police officer, died April 29 in Oklahoma City. He was 89. Services and burial were Monday in Oklahoma.

"He was a no-nonsense guy and a disciplinarian, but all he ever asked of his men was to do their job," said Palmer, 76, who headed up the Secret Witness program in its formative years before retiring from the force in 1987. "He was tough but fair.

"Being a police officer was a lot different back then. The town was small and we didn't have to wear bullet-proof vests. It was nothing like it is now."

However, the years when the LVPD and the Clark County Sheriff's Department were separate forces also was a time of great pressure on the police chief.

Kuykendall, as with the chiefs before and after him, had to walk a political tightrope and risk losing his job if he fell out of favor with the mayor and then-city commissioners. Kuykendall resigned under such circumstances in 1964.

Nine years after Kuykendall stepped down, the two local police departments merged to form the Metropolitan Police Department on July 1, 1973. The county sheriff, an elected official as opposed to the appointed city police chief, became the boss.

Born Aug. 5, 1909, in Oklahoma, Kuykendall graduated from Capitol Hill High School and attended Oklahoma College of Law.

In the early 1930s, he joined the Oklahoma City Police Department, where he served for six years before becoming an FBI agent in 1939.

Kuykendall spent 21 years with the FBI, the last eight in Las Vegas as senior resident agent. He also had served two years as an instructor at the FBI Academy.

Kuykendall retired from the FBI to accept the chief of police appointment on Nov. 28, 1960.

With Kuykendall's death, there are now seven surviving local police chiefs and sheriffs. The surviving chiefs are George Allen Jr. (1953, '55 and '60), Ray Sheffer (1956-60), Lorin Bunker (1964-68) and Pete Witcher (1968-72). The surviving sheriffs are Ralph Lamb (1961-78), John McCarthy (1978-82) and current Sheriff Jerry Keller.

Kuykendall was a member of the Masons and Shriners in both Oklahoma City and Las Vegas and a member of the Ex-FBI Agents Society, International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Boy Scouts.

In the early 1960s, he served on the advisory board of the local Salvation Army and on the United Fund -- now United Way -- Board.

Kuykendall is survived by his wife, Frances Kuykendall of Oklahoma City; a son, Jim Kuykendall of North Carolina; a daughter, Nancy Lynn Lutz of Oklahoma; stepsons, Bob and John Butler, stepdaughter V.J. Renfrow; 10 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

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