UNLV police chief relieved of duties

UNLV's police chief, the target of a protest last month by students, was placed on administrative leave Monday and will be reassigned, university officials said.

David Hollenbeck was relieved of his duties by Robert Ackerman, the vice president for student services. He will be replaced in an interim basis by longtime UNLV police Sgt. Don Drake.

Hollenbeck's department came under fire last month by several hundred students, who staged a protest amid claims that blacks and other minorities have been unfairly targeted by campus police.

The students demanded changes in the department, an independent review board and more access to department records.

A legislative study panel on education followed that protest with a hearing at which UNLV officials promised in efforts to resolve the complaints.

"I give you my guarantee this will be resolved," Rick Bennett, director of government relations for UNLV, told lawmakers last month.

News reports last month also revealed that the university failed to follow a law from 1995 to 1999 that required university campuses to report police actions and allegations of misconduct to lawmakers.

Ackerman said the university would search for a new leader for its campus Public Safety Department to replace Hollenbeck.

archive