Metro employees picket City Hall

Erin Neff and Jace Radke

Wednesday, Oct. 6, 1999 | 11:25 a.m.

Hundreds of Metro Police employees picketed Las Vegas City Hall this morning to pressure leaders into releasing an internal report on the possible break-up of the department.

The message to City Council members was as loud and clear as the "Keep Metro Together" signs toted by employees forming a gantlet into City Hall and filling many of the seats in the council chambers.

"Everybody keep cool," Mayor Oscar Goodman said just before 9 a.m. as he entered a door to the chambers held open by deputy city marshals.

The protesters kept quiet outside City Hall and were calm as council members passed by.

Even Councilman Michael McDonald, whom many believe is behind the push for deconsolidation, greeted the protesters with a smile.

"Hey, I'm still one of the boys," McDonald told about a dozen police officers.

When one officer asked why he didn't return his phone calls, McDonald said: "I've been busy."

Many Metro employees consider statements like that cavalier in light of the very real possibility that the city will vote to break up the police department. Talk of the deconsolidation was fueled by reports of an internal city report that allegedly found that the city could save $15 million a year by forming its own police department.

"Not one council member has said no to deconsolidation," said Brian Kobrys, an officer assigned to downtown bike patrol duties. "We want them to admit they should drop the whole issue."

Sheriff Jerry Keller arrived for work at 8 a.m. and found some of his agency's 3,700 officers and civilian employees wearing T-shirts and pins and carrying signs all reading "No to deconsolidation."

Las Vegas Police Protective Association president Andy Anderson said members of his union will continue to pressure the council and picket on days the board meets to force a public decision.

"The intent here is to get them to make the decision now," Anderson said. "I don't think anybody's buying the fact that the study isn't ready. We feel this is a stall tactic to put the issue off until we go away."

Almost three weeks have passed since the first news of the city study examining deconsolidation leaked to the press. Neither Metro nor Clark County officials were aware the city was studying the possible break-up of the joint city-county funded police agency.

"How long does it take to put two and two together?" Anderson asked. "This is keeping 3,700 lives in limbo."

Tandi Thompson, a Metro corrections officer, made the protest a family affair. Her 6-year-old son, Steven, and her husband, Steven, who works for American Medical Response, joined her in opposition to deconsolidation.

"Crime's going to go way up if this happens," Tandi Thompson said.

Her husband said his experience as an emergency medical technician dealing with separate city and county fire departments makes him fear the jurisdictional issues that deconsolidating the 23-year-old police department could bring.

"I've had calls on the boundaries where I have to wait for a fire or rescue unit," Steven Thompson said. "It could be devastating, not just to families, but to service."

Metro employees are not alone in their battle to fight possible deconsolidation.

About 20 residents showed up at the police department's downtown area command Tuesday night to hear about Y2K preparedness. But computer issues quickly gave way to the more pressing concern of deconsolidation.

"I moved into Arbor Hill (a downtown area neighborhood) in 1992 when it was run by a drug gang," Jim Lucas told police at the downtown substation Tuesday. "We had nightly gunfire, but Metro swept through and cleaned up our neighborhood, and now we have peace.

"Disconsolidating this department affects all citizens. We have a stake in this."

Deputy Chief Bill Young gave a short history of Metro, and agreed that the citizens should be concerned about the city moving to break up the department.

"The community will be affected by this," Young told the residents at the downtown area command. Metro also held meetings Tuesday at its four other area commands.

"It's one thing when the bureaucrats are all jumbled up, but when people start messing with the police officers in your substation they are messing with your safety," Young said. "I don't think they (the city council) have a mandate from the people to do this."

Young and several residents said calls they've made to the City Council to talk about deconsolidation are not returned.

"I've left 15 messages on (Councilman) Michael McDonald's answering machine with my home number and he hasn't called me back," Young said.