Sheriff candidates proclaim no fear of being drug-tested

Jen Lawson

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2002 | 11:06 a.m.

Sheriff candidates Randy Oaks and Bill Young both agreed to submit to a drug test if asked Wednesday night in response to a question during a sheriff's candidate forum.

"I'd be happy to take one, any time, any place," said Young, who is currently deputy chief for Metro Police. "I'd be the first one to stand in line."

Oaks, a captain who oversees Metro's General Services Department, said he has volunteered to be drug tested in the past, and he'd "do it again tomorrow."

The issue of drug testing officers came up during a debate Wednesday night. The Police Protective Association, the union for the rank and file officers, agreed to random drug testing earlier this year. A new contract for police supervisors is under negotiation and drug testing is expected to be part of the new pact.

Under the random drug testing policy, officers caught with illegal drugs in their system will not be fired for their first offense. They are required to participate in a rehabilitation program and will be subjected to scheduled drug testing for a year.

In a campaign marked by verbal punches, Young and Oaks agreed on most issues at the debate organized by the Charleston Neighborhood Preservation Society and held at Sahara West Library.

About 50 people attended, many wearing either Oaks or Young campaign T-shirts.

The questions, which were submitted in writing by audience members, steered clear of many of the controversial issues that have caused the candidates to squabble during past debates.

A citizen asked about the differences between the two candidates, and Young emphasized his education -- he graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and attended the FBI Academy -- and his experience as a cop.

As Oaks saw it, the main difference was that he spent 10 percent of what Young did on his campaign, and it shows that citizens and police officers support the changes he wants to make within the department.

"I've never been appointed and I've never been anointed," Oaks said. "We need internal policies to get officers motivated again, because their morale is as low as it can be."

Some audience members applauded.

Both candidates said good programs are already in place to address officer-involved shootings. Three such shootings happened last week.

Young said Las Vegas has one of the lowest rates per capita of officer-involved shootings, and "99.9 percent" of them are ruled as being justified, because Metro's officers are well-trained.

Coroner's inquests, which are held whenever an officer-involved shooting ends in death, have found an officer at fault only once since 1976.

Good training is the key, Oaks agreed, adding that Metro has technology such as a shooting simulators that "shoot little balls that sting like heck."

In response to a question about the lack of Asian officers, Young said he wants to aggressively recruit Asians, and he'd like to see Asians to make up 6 to 7 percent of Metro's force. Currently, 3 percent are Asian.

Oaks said the racial makeup of the police force should reflect that of the community, and the department is trying to do that.

"You can't twist peoples' arms and say, 'You really need to come to Las Vegas and be a police officer with Metro,"' he said. "We're doing the best job we possibly can with recruitment."

A citizen wanted to know if the candidates would agree to devote a part of Metro's budget to education, saying there are more prison workers in Nevada than teachers.

"That's an interesting statistic," Oaks said, adding that his daughter is a teacher. "The reason why we have so many workers in our prison system is because we do such a good job at arresting people."

Young agreed that more money needs to be spent on education, but Las Vegas also needs more police officers on the street. Currently, there are 1.75 officers per 1,000 residents. The national average is 2.75 officers per 1,000, he said.