Officer arrested on drug charges

Keith Paul

Friday, March 1, 2002 | 11:02 a.m.

Narcotics detectives arrested a Metro Police officer Thursday on drug-related charges and found additional drugs in his home that could lead to more charges, officials told the Sun.

Detectives arrested Officer Sean P. Curd, 29, a training officer at the police academy, Thursday on eight counts of drug possession and one count of being under the influence of drugs, according to a police report.

Police searched Curd's Henderson home on Jan. 9 and found suspected cocaine, steroids and Ketamine -- an animal sedative dubbed a club drug in recent years. Curd was not arrested until after tests proved the substances were drugs.

When detectives arrested Curd, more drugs and hypodermic needles were found in the house, police said. The detectives then got another search warrant to go through his house again. Police refused to release any additional information this morning about the second search.

Curd is the third Metro officer arrested in the span of about two weeks.

Curd was booked in the Clark County jail at 2 p.m. and released on his own recognizance at 11 p.m. Thursday, police said.

The various suspected drugs found in Curd's home and blood drawn from the officer were analyzed. On Monday the results from the blood tests showed Curd had the chemical components of cocaine in his system, the report states.

Tests showed that the drugs found in Curd's house were steroids and Ketamine, according to the police report.

Police believe Curd hid his drug use while teaching new recruits at the academy. When other officers noticed he had lost a lot of weight, he claimed he had a staph infection. He also wore additional sweatshirts under his uniform to mask his weight loss, a police source said.

But other officers at the academy suspected Curd may be using drugs and told a supervisor of their suspicions, said Lt. Vincent Cannito, a Metro spokesman.

Curd has been on paid leave since the drugs were found in his home in January. An internal investigation is being conducted not only Curd's actions, but also to determine if anyone at the police academy knew of Curd's alleged drug use, but did not notify supervisors.

When police went to Curd's home on Jan. 9, Curd "was observed to be under the influence of a controlled substance and in a potentially harmful condition," according to the police report.

He was taken to University Medical Center for treatment. He was released from UMC about 90 minutes later. Curd then went of a private hospital in Las Vegas receiving treatment.

Police claim Curd received no special treatment when he was not arrested immediately in January.

Cannito said there are many occasions when officers find suspected drugs, but an arrest is not made until after the investigation is completed.

"It is not uncommon, especially when we know the suspect's identity and his location," Cannito said.

The department currently randomly drug tests officers in some specialized units such as narcotics, vice and intelligence along with the command staff, Undersheriff Richard Winget has said.

However Metro officials have previously started a new plan to conduct random drug tests for all officers. The program is expected to be in place by the end of the year, Winget said.

The Police Protective Association, the union for the rank-and-file officers, agreed to the random testing during the last contract negotiation. The Police Managers and Supervisors Association will start negotiating a new contract in July and Winget said allowing random drug tests will be discussed.

The other two Metro officer arrested recently are Detective Jack Brandon, who was arrested and charged Friday with robbery and burglary, and Officer Jason Woodard, who was charged Feb. 12 with sexual assault.