Chief Elique has dramatically changed operations of police on UNLV campus

Kris Hill

Monday, Nov. 13, 2000 | 11:20 a.m.

Gone are the motorcycles, and in their place are repainted squad cars and a golf cart with flashing lights.

UNLV Police Chief Jose Elique has been making a lot of changes -- the vehicles among the most visible -- in the university's 22-member police force since he took the helm June 1. The changes are all aimed at one important shift: in the image of the university cops.

Elique was hired after complaints filed against UNLV police by members of the university community resulted in the reassignment of his predecessor. His orders were to overhaul the department to reflect a community policing philosophy.

In 5 1/2 months, he has begun a metamorphosis of the force, Sgt. Scott Lewandowski said.

"Almost everybody has a different take on what's happening around here," Lewandowski said. "Some guys hate it and are resisting change, and others are embracing it.

"If you ask me again in six months, this department is going to look completely different."

At least one officer will be gone before that six months is up. Ron Cuzze, the department's union representative and outspoken critic of some of the changes the department has gone through, has been on sick leave for more than a month. He also recently submitted notice that he will retire as of Jan. 2.

Some of the changes aren't popular with all the officers.

Lewandowski, a bicycle officer and squad supervisor, was sad to see the motorcycles go. They were a useful policing tool, he said.

But those who appear unhappy these days, Lewandowski said, are officers who used to patrol the campus on one of the department's two motorcycles and now work on foot or use a new golf cart. The cart -- which runs on six car batteries -- is clearly marked and has flashing lights on its roof.

That may be the most stark change among those meant to bring a new emphasis on community policing, an emphasis that came after students, faculty and campus visitors accused some officers of abuse and brutality.

Lewandowski thinks that there was some melodrama mixed in with the reports of problems, and that the stories were blown out of proportion. Changes needed to be made, he said, but perhaps not as dramatically as they have occurred.

He also faults the university's administration for how it handled the press during a well-publicized dormitory drug raid earlier this year and other complaints.

But -- with the exception of the motorcycles -- he supports the changes Elique has made.

Elique's moves also get good reviews from Alina Shell, one of four students on the university's public safety advisory board.

"So far what Elique has done has been quite a good beginning," Shell, a 21-year-old sociology major, said.

More changes are in the offing, many of them in attitude.

Elique's philosophy of community policing stresses accessibility of officers, as well as approachability, the chief said.

It is important that campus cops are more visible and less intimidating, he said.

The golf cart is helping that happen, said Joe Demonte, one of the officers who uses the golf cart as well as a bicycle for his patrolling.

"The cart offers the ability to put other people on it," Demonte said. For example, he has given rides to students who were having a hard time getting around on campus. It's useful, and it makes the cop driving it more accessible, he said.

Elique has told officers to spend more time away from their vehicles. That step is a concerted effort to repair the mistrust that has developed between the department and the community.

The chief said he needs more money to continue changing the department. He asked the university to double the department's budget and said he has been told that the police will receive at least two-thirds of the requested funds.

Elique hopes to use the extra money to hire more cops, gather input from the community, rewrite the department's policy manual, lobby for a new building or an expansion of the current one and improve training for his supervising officers.

The steps that Elique has taken so far garner the praise of Gary Peck, a passionate and vocal critic of the UNLV police department.

Peck, executive director of state American Civil Liberties Union chapter, has been personally involved in many of the complaints against campus cops that occurred prior to Elique's arrival.

He is cautiously optimistic about Elique and the changing department. All of the changes have been positive developments, Peck said.

But he is still concerned about the department. He feels that there should be an independent review of the complaint process and formal evaluations of every police officer.

However, an independent review board of citizen complaints -- a process that Peck strongly advocates -- is not in the cards, Elique said.

The chief said he would like to use a new complaint process he recently instituted before changing directions and trying Peck's suggestion. Now complaints against university officers will reviewed personally by Elique or Deputy Chief Michael Murray.

Lewandowski will be happy to see more officers hired, but he also has a suggestion: Put the police under a state authority rather than having the campus cops accountable only to the university.

Lewandowski sees many benefits for the officers, including more structure, better pay, and answering to other cops and not university administrators.

But Elique thinks that his department should remain under the auspices of the university and doesn't think that kind of change will happen.

And though there is not complete agreement on how to make positive changes, all agree that the department is moving forward.

"I want to move forward and no longer be mired in the mud of the past," Elique said.

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