Bill to criminalize false complaints against police draws fire, praise

Monday, March 8, 1999 | 10:47 a.m.

The bill's opponents said AB304 will stifle complaints because people will fear being found criminally liable for what might turn out to be an honest mistake.

"We have found, from time to time, that people will make false statements to either influence a case in court or to be vindictive. But we do have people who come in and make false statements unknowingly," Nile Carson, deputy Reno police chief, told the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

He added that the proposed law would criminalize what is essentially an administrative procedure.

"This bill as written goes too far, making a false statement into a criminal act," Carson said.

But a fellow law enforcement officer said he has seen too many officers temporarily kept off the streets because of pending investigations of misconduct that turn out to be based on bogus complaints.

"There has to be some mechanism to where the filing of false complaints against police officers has to stop," said Mike Hood, chief of the Nevada Highway Patrol.

"We do not want to discourage the public to file complaints against the police. That is how we rate and judge our organizations. But there needs to be some balance here," he added.