Local police officers receive training for New Year’s Eve

Jen Lawson

Monday, Dec. 15, 2003 | 11:10 a.m.

Metro Police Sgt. Clint Nichols remembers the first time he worked New Year's Eve in Las Vegas, 11 years ago.

"I was brand new and had never been in a situation like that before," he said this morning.

"The whole thing struck me as very uncoordinated."

"Now we're doing something about that," he said. "We've come a long way."

In the parking lot of Sam Boyd Stadium this morning, Nichols trained 10 Metro officers and five UNLV officers. They're gearing up for New Year's Eve, so they practiced crowd and riot control techniques as well arrests and rescues within throngs of people.

UNLV officers were involved because they're trained to handle large crowds at sporting events.

Several hundred officers will be on the Strip and downtown December 31 and into the wee hours of Jan. 1, and they all are receiving training similar to this morning's.

New this year is gas mask training -- "just in case we have that kind of incident," Nichols said.

With officers gathered around him, Nichols said they will be probably be outnumbered 12 or 13 to one on New Year's Eve.

He taught the group how to make their way through a crowd and arrest an unruly citizen.

"I got something for you," an officer portraying an unruly partygoer said, taunting an officer.

"Come on, bring a friend."

Ten officers lined up in pairs and moved through the crowd, pushing people in the crowd on their outside shoulder.

The officers' main goal on December 31 will be to prtoect the public, Nichols said.

"We have a responsibility for their safety. We want people to have a good time and drink and gamble, but we don't want to see anyone get hurt," he said.

Last year's New Year's Eve festivities drew 285,000 people to the Strip, authorities said. Tourism officials hope this year's event, dubbed "America's Party: Las Vegas New Year 2004," will attract 300,000.

The Fremont Street Experience expects 25,000 at the downtown New Year's Eve celebration.

Police are used to unusual events occurring during the New Year's celebration.

In 1999, a man climbed a light pole along the Strip and fell to his death.

And last year, a man kidnapped a 7-year-old boy who was walking down the Strip holding his grandfather's hand. The man held a knife to the boy's throat in the parking lot next to the New Frontier for about 20 minutes, police said.

Lt. Larry Spinosa, who was later given a medal of honor for his actions, negotiated with the man. The man finally let the boy go, but the man remained armed with a knife and fought with officers who tried to arrest him. The officers used pepper spray on him and then wrestled him into custody.