Young, Oaks trade verbal punches in sheriff debate

Erin Neff

Friday, Oct. 18, 2002 | 10:09 a.m.

The accusations flew between Metro Police Deputy Chief Bill Young and Metro Capt. Randy Oaks during a televised debate Thursday.

The main issue was Oaks' assertion that the current administration -- of which Young is among the top seven in command -- isn't doing a good job. Young charged back arguing that Oaks has not tried to improve the system from within.

"I've heard it for 11 1/2 months," Young said. "The only thing he can do is attack the current sheriff and the current department."

Twice during the hourlong debate on Las Vegas ONE, Young reminded voters that Sheriff Jerry Keller isn't in the race.

Oaks, who oversees Metro's General Services Department -- a civilian operation -- said he thought his law enforcement career was impacted by his past run against Keller for sheriff.

"I suspect my career would have gone differently had I not run against Jerry Keller," Oaks said.

Oaks, whose entire campaign is about changing Metro from within, said: "I do not sit up in the sheriff's briefing room for an hour each day."

Young, who oversees special operations for Metro, insisted he has a "completely different personality than Jerry Keller."

The two squabbled over police endorsements, with Oaks saying Young was misrepresenting the facts by claiming he has all major law enforcement endorsements. Oaks has endorsements from the Fraternal Order of Police in Las Vegas and the Clark County School District Police.

Young insisted he did have all major endorsements, saying he didn't consider school police to be major and saying the FOP has never bargained for contracts with Metro.

In discussion of two separate issues -- problems with Metro's dispatch center and a dearth of Spanish-speaking officers -- Oaks placed some blame on the current administration.

Oaks said Metro should have hired more Spanish-speaking officers. "It's not something that snuck up on us that a third of our population is Hispanic," Oaks said. "We should have reacted."

Young said he would be different from Keller and discussed solutions to the dispatch center problems and growing gang violence.

"There needs to be more community involvement," Young said. "I'm going to put some emphasis on the community, somewhat forcefully."

Young said he thought the community needed to take more responsibility for the problem, adding: "There certainly can't be a cop in every living room."

Oaks vowed to implement a more service-oriented department, in which people whose cars are stolen, for example, actually get to meet with an officer.

"We don't have anything to sell," Oaks said. "We're a service."

Young bristled at a question from Oaks about Metro's terrorism planning, gripping the lectern, leaning toward Oaks and saying: "Randy, you're totally misrepresenting the facts."

Oaks said Metro should have an internal plan detailing where officers and civilian employees should report in the event of a terrorist attack. Young is Metro's director of homeland security.

Young was trying to rebut Oaks' rebuttal to his answer, when moderator Deborah Levy told him it was his time to ask a question.

Young rapidly flipped pages in his yellow notebook before asking Oaks a question about what improvements Oaks has suggested in the past three years.

Oaks said he had improved things in his area of supervision, including improving the way Metro buys vehicles.

Young said he asked the sheriff -- "who you find so inept" -- how many times Oaks had offered to change anything from within.

"He said 'zero,' " Young said. "Not one time have you suggested one thing to him."