Sixth member of Metro review board quits, then learns he was already ousted

By Riley Snyder

Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013 | 6:15 p.m.

Another civilian member of the Metro Police Use of Force Review Board has resigned in protest — or at least tried to.

The hitch is that Metro says Robert Le Piere, who served on the board for six years, was removed months before he submitted his letter of resignation on Wednesday.

Not counting Le Piere, five members have quit since Sheriff Doug Gillespie last week overrode the board’s recommendation to terminate Officer Jacquar Roston, who mistakenly shot an unarmed man in the leg last year.

Additionally, Assistant Sheriff Ted Moody, the board’s chairman, retired from the department Friday.

Metro spokesman Officer Bill Cassel said Le Piere was informed after the board’s April 11 meeting that his term would end April 30 because of a decision to exclude civilian members with prior law enforcement experience.

Le Piere, a former New Jersey sheriff, said he didn’t know he had been removed until after he submitted his letter of resignation. He said he was told that Metro lost his email address.

Le Piere, who worked on about 15 shooting reviews, said he was only informally told at the April meeting that he probably wouldn’t be able to continue on the board.

“I think in their eyes, I’m not a member. But I never had any notification,” Le Piere said.

Le Piere said that whether or not he was a member of the board when he resigned, the point of lending support to other board members was essentially the same. “I’m sure their decision was very difficult,” he said.

The wave of resignations started after Gillespie's decision. Robert Martinez, co-chairman of the board, tendered his resignation in a letter to Gillespie, calling the review process “flawed” because of influence of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, the union representing Metro’s rank-and-file.

“Nothing will change as long as the leadership bows to the (union),” Martinez said Wednesday. “That’s who is running the show.”

Chris Collins, the union’s executive director, disputed claims the union had more sway over the sheriff’s decision’s than civilian input.

“I totally disagree with them,” Collins said. “I think the sheriff and I have a mutual respect for each other ... but we certainly butt heads on certain issues.”

The Critical Incident Review Process consists of two boards — the Use of Force Review Board, which examines actions by department members who used deadly force during an incident, and the Tactical Review Board, which looks at the actions of all department members present during an incident involving deadly force.

The Use of Force Review Board has 18 rotating civilian members. Each case review consists of four civilians and three department members who can cast votes, Martinez said. The co-chairman and chairman do not vote.