Editorial: Ruling on ex-officers reasonable

Tuesday, Dec. 9, 1997 | 9:54 a.m.

THE Nevada Supreme Court's ruling that three former Metro officers be released from jail and placed on house arrest was the right thing to do.

In October, the three had entered a plea of no contest for beating a coin thief at the Fremont hotel-casino. District Judge Lee Gates, ignoring a plea bargain agreement, sentenced former Sgt. James Campbell and former Officer Brian Nicholson to nine months in the Clark County Detention Center for gross misdemeanors, and former Officer Robert Phelan to six months in jail for a misdemeanor.

The sentencing shocked supporters of the ex-officers because it was their first offense and their crime was not a felony.

Although the officers' actions appeared to be reprehensible, house arrest is not unreasonable in this case. It's unlikely that a non-police officer accused of the same crime would be jailed if it was a first offense and a misdemeanor. The jail is overcrowded, and it's not unusual to release inmates who committed lesser crimes, to make room for those who have committed felonies and/or violent crimes.

The court's ruling also noted that Gates lacked jurisdiction to control the sentence. Gates' amended sentencing order stated "no house arrest."

Since the sentencing, supporters and opponents have flooded the talk-radio circuit and letters to the editor in newspapers. The families and friends of the former officers have castigated Gates for trying to make the three pay for perceived past Metro sins. Others praised Gates for his "courageous" decision to give them jail time.

In the midst of the heated debate, the NAACP tried to make it a racial issue. Gates is black; the former officers and the beating victim were white.

This is unfortunate because race has nothing to do with this case. Also, raising such a claim trivializes cases where race is indeed a factor.

The Supreme Court, which will hear an appeal of the ex-officers' convictions in February, acted swiftly -- and rightly -- to release them to house arrest.