LV youth parole cops want guns

Cathy Scott

Monday, Oct. 20, 1997 | 2:44 a.m.

Because they're not dealing just with runaways and truants anymore, but killers and other violent criminals, some youth parole officers in Las Vegas say they should be allowed to carry guns on the job.

Youth parole officers in Ely -- a small east-central Nevada city that is Mayberry by Las Vegas standards -- are allowed to carry weapons after they challenged in court a longstanding but unwritten Nevada Youth Parole Bureau policy.

It stands to reason that officers in Las Vegas should be afforded the same privilege and protection, says a vocal group of officers in Southern Nevada.

They point to a state law authorizing all peace officers to carry weapons -- the same law Ely officers pointed to in their successful challenge.

The unwritten bureau policy prohibits youth parole officers from arming themselves under any circumstances. And despite what happened in Ely, bureau administrators are not inclined to change the policy.

"We have no way to protect ourselves," said Bill Mills, a Las Vegas youth parole officer. He said he can only speak for himself, but this is the way he sees it. "We are in personal danger because of the type of work we do and the clientele we deal with. If I can't carry a gun and be trusted with it, I shouldn't have the job."

On July 25, a juvenile judge in Ely approved this new, written policy for the officers in that jurisdiction: "A sworn parole officer of the Youth Parole Bureau may carry a firearm while performing the duties of a peace officer."

The policy says the right is conditional, and that permission must be obtained from the local bureau chief on all occasions. Additionally, youth parole officers must attend law enforcement refresher courses.

Youth parole officers are all graduates of the Nevada Law Enforcement Academy.

Mills was the only Southern Nevada youth parole officer who spoke on the record. Other officers interviewed asked that their names not be published.

One officer said the recent murder -- allegedly by teenagers -- of a man at a Carl's Jr. restaurant on Las Vegas Boulevard South "scared the hell out of me."

"You have juveniles out there who are killing people," the officer said. "The ones on parole are the ones who are dangerous."

North Las Vegas Fire Chief Joe Skaarup has taught youth parole officers in the peace officers' academy, where he teaches about arrest laws, evidence and explosives.

"Youth parole officers are put in a position where they're at risk," Skaarup said. "The only way they have to defend themselves is to run like hell.

"They're dealing with some very, very violent juveniles where the potential for violence is there. These guys are at risk. Like any other law enforcement officer, they should be allowed to carry a weapon."

Tim Rogers, a youth parole officer in Henderson, reported that he knocked on the door of one of his parolees earlier this year and "heard the distinct sound from behind the door of a shotgun being cocked," Mills said.

"All he could do was run," Mills said.

Rogers, Mills said, reported diving for cover after seeing a man with a shotgun open the door. Rogers talked his way out of it, Mills said.

"We are working with the worst-of-the-worst kids," another Las Vegas youth parole officer said. "These aren't first offenders. The majority have 10 felonies or more against them before they come to our attention." The officer noted that police with the Clark County School District are "armed to the hilt."

Yet another officer said it's going to take a youth parole counselor getting shot to change the policy.

"The kids outgun the cops right now," the officer said. "If we show up at a house unannounced and they know we're looking to put the kid away, we could get shot. It's not like we're looking to go out and shoot a kid. I just want to arm myself."

Steve Shaw, chief of the Nevada Youth Parole Bureau, has held his position only four weeks. Being new, he said he's reviewing all the division's policies.

He said, however, that, "I'm not inclined to change that policy," referring to the ban on weapons.

Bruce Kennedy, chief of the youth parole unit in Las Vegas, said he has "mixed feelings" about allowing officers to carry guns.

"If you know you're going to go out and arrest a kid and that kid is a known gang member and is known to have a history of weapons, in those instances, yes, I believe an officer should be able to be armed."

Kennedy also said, however, that carrying a weapon could be counterproductive. "I feel that if youths know we're carrying weapons then they're more likely to carry weapons," Kennedy said.

He said officers in his bureau are split on the issue. One fear is that officers could be shot with their own weapons.

That argument doesn't wash with Sheri Rondozzo, who used to run the peace officers academy at the Community College of Southern Nevada and now works in the state attorney general's office. She said forcing the officers to supervise parolees while unarmed is "frightening."

"If an incident arises where they have no other alternative but to use a firearm or to get injured and those are their two alternatives, unfortunately it's the officers who are in jeopardy," Rondozzo said.