Metro officer fired under truthfulness policy

Keith Paul

Thursday, Sept. 13, 2001 | 9:20 a.m.

A Metro Police traffic officer previously accused by six people of misconduct was fired Wednesday after officials said he lied during an unrelated internal investigation.

Officer Glenn Dillard was told Wednesday of Sheriff Jerry Keller's decision to fire him. The internal investigation, launched to determine why he hadn't appeared for a hearing after being subpoenaed, found he lied to detectives, Undersheriff Richard Winget said.

Dillard becomes the second Metro officer fired under the department's enhanced truthfulness policy, enacted Jan. 1.

A pre-termination board and Dillard's supervisors both recommended that he be fired.

Dillard could not be reached for comment and his attorney was out of town Thursday. Police Protective Association officials said Dillard plans to appeal the decision to an arbitrator.

The investigation into his failure to appear at a Department of Motor Vehicles hearing in March was not connected to the six complaints alleging misconduct during traffic or other encounters with Dillard.

Dillard had twice before been disciplined by the department for not showing up to court when subpoenaed, Winget said.

Five of the six complaints were previously dismissed when the people making the allegations no longer wanted to cooperate or internal affairs investigators didn't find enough evidence to sustain them, Winget said.

The allegations have been previously described by Winget as "unprofessional attitude or physical aggression with little provocation."

The complaint that was sustained involved the alleged mistreatment of a woman during a September 2000 traffic stop. Dillard was accused of physically restraining and handcuffing her during the stop. He also was accused of pushing her down on the patrol car, police said.

Dillard was given a "minor suspension" for that finding in accordance with the department discipline guidelines, meaning a suspension of eight to 40 hours without pay, Winget said.

On July 17, after officials sustained the allegation that he lied and his supervisors recommended he be fired, he was put on administrative leave with pay.

Keller sent an order, dated Dec. 13, that read, in part: "Members formally noticed of official investigations conducted by the department who are found to be untruthful during the investigations, or who are found to be untruthful in completing official department documents, will be subject to termination."

The only other officer to lose his job under the truthfulness rule was Detective Frank Hernandez, who was fired in June after investigators said he lied during an internal investigation into a minor off-duty traffic accident.

Hernandez was in a minor accident Nov. 25 on the Strip. He and the other driver pulled into a parking lot, and there was a disagreement over who was responsible. Hernandez's attorney, Kathy Werner, said at the time of his firing that voices were raised by both drivers, but she didn't think the department had convincing evidence that Hernandez lied.

Dillard and the department still face a federal lawsuit, unrelated to the complaints, filed by Lisa Coatney, alleging that she was assaulted and arrested by Dillard in 1999.

Coatney at the time filed an internal affairs complaint, which was not sustained. The case was reopened after she contacted internal affairs investigators, asking her complaint be reviewed after the other complaint against Dillard was sustained.

However, Coatney's complaint was dropped after she filed a motion for a restraining order to prevent internal affairs investigators from contacting her.

Coatney claimed her job as a clerk for the Clark County district attorney's office was threatened during a phone conversation with an internal affairs lieutenant, according to her attorney. Police denied the allegation and said since Coatney no longer would cooperate with investigators, the complaint was dropped.

In her suit, Coatney claims Dillard came to her home after neighbors called police because of an alleged domestic disturbance. Coatney told Dillard she was not injured, he could not come into the house and "if he wanted to enter her home he would need to get a warrant."

Dillard entered the home, arrested her and "repeatedly slammed the plaintiff against the squad car," the suit says.