National magazine reports on King Day slip of tongue

Cathy Scott

Friday, Feb. 27, 1998 | 10:05 a.m.

Las Vegas has made national news once again, but this time the spotlight is on a racial slur made by the vice president of Metro Police's officers union.

The Feb. 23 issue of Jet magazine features a story about the Las Vegas branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's call for the resignation of Officer Dan Holley, vice president of the Police Protective Association. The magazine has a weekly circulation of 900,000.

The Chicago-based magazine includes an article about Holley's slip of the tongue Jan. 15 when he referred to Martin Luther King Day as "Martin Luther Coon Day."

In the "Newsmakers" section, the headline reads, "Las Vegas NAACP Calls For Resignation of Official Who Made Derogatory Remark About King Day."

The officer later apologized to the sheriff, the cadets and PPA members.

Holley, a full-time official for the PPA which represents the rank and file of Metro , made the remark Jan. 15 while telling 36 cadets at the Clark CountyDetention Center about department benefits. Four cadets were black.

After an Internal Affairs Bureau investigation, Holley received an oral reprimand. He also was ordered to take sensitivity training.

The Rev. James Rogers, president of the local NAACP branch, called the reprimand"unacceptable and as offensive as the original statement."

Also, local black leaders have called for Holley's resignation, as well as some PPA members who signed petitions.

But Holley has publicly refused to resign the PPA post he has held for three years. Before he worked for the PPA, he was a Metro detective.

"Las Vegas' NAACP, joined by the president of the Idaho-Nevada and Utah Tri-State Conference and NAACP National Board Member Jeanetta Williams called for the resignation of Holley," the article says.

The magazine also quotes "USA Today," which wrote about the slur earlier this month.

With the latest call for his resignation, David Crowell, representing the PPA, said, "nothing has changed," and that Holley would remain as vice president.