Jeff German: Bell, local police union boss sparring over cop beating case

Tuesday, June 18, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

POLICE UNION BOSS Andy Anderson is turning up the heat on District Attorney Stewart Bell.

And Bell, who has long enjoyed a good reputation among cops, doesn't appreciate it.

Bell is irate over what he considers an underhanded attempt by the union leader to make him look bad in stalled talks to allow three Metro cops convicted of felonies to plead to lesser charges.

Negotiations, encouraged by District Judge Lee Gates, fell apart last week on the eve of a hearing on a defense motion to dismiss the felonies because of alleged juror misconduct.

Gates has promised a ruling Wednesday that could result in a new trial for the three fired officers. James Campbell, Robert Phelan and Brian Nicholson were convicted of roughing up a petty thief at the Fremont hotel-casino.

The judge has been hoping to avoid sticking taxpayers with the hefty cost of retrying the case should the charges be tossed out.

Last week, the ex-cops rejected the DA's offer, which calls for each to plead to one gross misdemeanor and two misdemeanors.

The defendants, according to Anderson, president of the 1,800-member Las Vegas Police Protective Association, want to settle for misdemeanors only.

But Anderson says Bell's "ego" won't let him agree to that.

"They've already destroyed the future of these cops," Anderson says. "Now they want to humiliate them and take away their dignity."

But Bell counters: "We couldn't have been more reasonable. He knows I did my best to try to bring about a resolution to this case."

Anderson, meanwhile, acknowledges he has told Bell the legal battle is draining the union's resources. The PPA, he says, so far has paid nearly $250,000 in legal fees for the three former officers.

Last week, Anderson, upset at the stalled negotiations, sent a letter to Bell, accusing him of making derogatory statements about the PPA. He wrote that Bell even suggested he was willing to spend "unlimited tax dollars" to retry the cops if necessary.

Anderson also suggested the DA's office deliberately withheld the criminal past of the juror accused of misconduct.

This week, to Bell's amazement, the letter wound up in the hands of the media without a response from Bell.

Bell describes Anderson's accusations as "silly" and "a bunch of junk."

"He came and asked me to bend a little bit, and then he puts this stuff in the letter that's a total lie," Bell says.

Bell insists his office found nothing in the juror's record to indicate the juror had a criminal problem.

As for the deadlocked plea negotiations, Bell says, "We've been extremely flexible. But I can't make them do something they don't want to do. The ball's in their court."

Anderson disagrees.

He says the public doesn't support "letting these cops get hammered."

"The cops made a mistake, and they've already been punished," Anderson says. "End of story."

Anderson adds that Sheriff Jerry Keller, who fired the officers, "has no problem" allowing them to plead to misdemeanors.

Keller, however, doesn't make the final call.

If Bell's response to Anderson is any barometer, the DA doesn't seem willing to give up more ground.

* UNLV President Carol Harter, though facing sporadic faculty unrest, is making a strong effort to end her first year on an up beat.

Harter outlines her accomplishments in an effective letter to community leaders this week.

High on Harter's list of achievements is her prolific fund-raising.

She writes that private donations this year total $23 million, more than double last year's figure.

Harter also talks about her ambitious plans for constructing the new high-tech library on campus and converting the current one into a law school.

Assuming all the funding is obtained, she expects the law school could open its doors at a temporary facility in the fall of 1998.

Harter shows her savvy in the letter by praising her popular predecessor, former interim UNLV President Kenny Guinn.

She says she enjoyed presenting Guinn with the first President's Medal for outstanding service to the university.

Guinn, the early front-runner for governor in 1998, is likely to be a valuable ally for Harter at the Legislature.

After one year in office, Harter appears to be learning the value of making allies at UNLV.

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