Sheriff’s debate focuses on change

Erin Neff

Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2002 | 9:22 a.m.

Metro Police Capt. Randy Oaks used two department policies Monday to highlight his bid to be an agent of change and cast his opponent for sheriff as part of the current administration.

During the first debate between Oaks and Metro Deputy Chief Bill Young at the Las Vegas Performing Arts Academy downtown, Oaks highlighted what he calls the current administration's indifference to employees.

Oaks said he thought the department's internal drug testing was flawed because it is conducted by Metro's own lab and employees who test positive are given a pass.

Young answered that "our employees are human beings, we can never lose sight of that."

An employee, he said, taking prescription drugs for a back injury isn't worth firing.

"I'm not willing to flush that employee down the toilet," Young said.

In response to the very next question -- about the current administration's truthfulness policy -- Young said he would instantly fire a cop who "lies, misleads or twists the truth."

"I refuse to give in to that," Young said. "If he or she is lying, I'm done with them."

Oaks seized the opportunity by discussing how he believes the truthfulness policy hurts employees. Oaks said an officer's perception is often different from those at the scene, and he cautioned, a witness who sees something different than a police officer is commonplace.

"My opponent, who's willing to take a chance on an employee who's committing a felony and taking drugs has nothing to do with someone whose perception may be different," Oaks said during his answer.

The debate, sponsored by Southern Nevada law enforcement organizations, didn't present Young a chance to rebut, and he stood at his lectern with shrugged shoulders when Oaks made his remarks.

Earlier in the debate, Young had countered Oaks' criticism of his stance on Question 9, the marijuana legalization initiative.

Oaks had tried to cast Young as flip-flopping on the issue, although Young has consistently said he was against it. Young said Oaks was taking him out of context when he suggested Young approved adult use of the drug in private settings.

Young, who supervises the narcotics division and worked vice and narcotics for seven years, said his remark was simply that of law enforcement practice, saying officers "don't break down doors with search warrants" for adults using marijuana.

Both men highlighted concerns about the department's 911 emergency call center, calling it inexcusable that people who need emergency help are sometimes put on hold due to a lack of dispatchers.

Oaks said it was attributable to budget cuts by current Sheriff Jerry Keller's administration, of which Young is higher in the hierarchy. Young said simply that the "wash-out rate" in dispatch positions is high and that the department cannot quickly train replacements.

Young scored his best in the largely law enforcement crowd by discussing his role heading Metro's homeland security department.

"My intelligence unit has been working on that investigation 24-7 since that started," Young said, referring to the visit to Las Vegas by several of the Sept. 11 terrorists just before the attacks.

And, he warned, Las Vegas is at a greater risk for future attacks because the fun Las Vegas offers is anathema to a terrorist's beliefs.

"This is an optional place to visit," he warned. "If the Strip goes south, everyone in this room could lose their jobs. We don't make anything in this community, we sell a good time."

Oaks said his view of homeland security is to protect Las Vegas citizens, and he scoffed at Young's homeland security plan by saying he doesn't know anything about it, wasn't paged on Sept. 11, 2001, and didn't know the country had elevated its risk alert on Sept. 11, 2002, from his own department.

Young opened the debate detailing the pride he has had working for Metro since 1979, and later said: "I've never applied for another job, I've never wanted another job," a veiled reference to Oaks' reported job seeking in other law enforcement positions.

Oaks said that as a 29-year veteran of the force, he is saddened to see a "gap widening between the administration and employees."

"It's getting harder to go to work, and I'm not alone in that feeling," Oaks said.

Young countered: "Unlike Randy, I think the Metropolitan Police Department is the finest police department in the United States, and I want to make the finest even better."