Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

National association to recognize Gillespie as Sheriff of the Year

Metro Use of Force Report Press Conference

Leila Navidi

Sheriff Doug Gillespie speaks during a press conference held by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services at the Lloyd George Federal Building in Las Vegas on Thursday, November 15, 2012. The press conference was regarding an eight-month review of Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s use of force policies and practices.

Sheriff Doug Gillespie Interview

Sheriff Doug Gillespie is shown during an interview at his office in Metro Police Headquarters Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014. Launch slideshow »

A year shy of his retirement, Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie has been named the National Sheriffs’ Association’s 2014 Sheriff of the Year, Metro Police announced today.

The association’s Ferris E. Lucas Award for Sheriff of the Year has been given to 18 people since the award was established in 1995. According to Metro, the award is given to recognize the contributions a sheriff has made to improve the sheriff’s office at local, state and national levels, and for the involvement in the community.

Gillespie, a 33-year Metro Police veteran who announced last year he would not seek re-election in 2014, has been sheriff since 2007. During that time, he has been credited with instituting a new use-of-force policy at Metro and a partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice to reduce use-of-force incidents, Metro said.

Under Gillespie, Metro also has become one of only 72 intelligence-gathering “Fusion” centers in the country, Metro said. It has won the Webber Seavey Award, given for quality in law enforcement by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, for an outreach effort to strengthen police relations in the Las Vegas community. Metro also is one of 32 departments to achieve the highest standard of accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc.

Gillespie will be presented with the Lucas Award on June 22 at the 2014 NSA Annual Conference in Fort Worth, Texas.

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