Cop probed by FBI training to work at Test Site

Jen Lawson

Friday, July 23, 2004 | 11:21 a.m.

A former Metro Police officer who is the subject of an FBI investigation into the fatal shooting of an unarmed man is training to work as a security guard for the Nevada Test Site, officials said.

Last month a Metro internal affairs investigation found that Brian Hartman and other officers engaged in misconduct, including excessive force and lying to investigators, following the February 2003 shooting of felon Orlando Barlow.

Hartman quit his job as a graveyard shift patrol officer in Metro's Southwest Area Command in May.

Kevin Rohrer, spokesman for the Nevada Test Site, said Hartman is employed with Wackenhut of Nevada, which has a contract to provide security at the Test Site.

Hartman is undergoing training at the Test Site, Rohrer said, but he must pass a rigorous background investigation before being granted the assignment.

"We do a very extensive background check coordinated by personnel management and the FBI," Rohrer said. "If an individual is found to be not trustworthy or if he lied or engaged in other misconduct he would not be approved for a security clearance and could not work" at the Test Site.

The security clearance is substantially higher for guards working at the Test Site than it would be for guards assigned to provide security at other places, Rohrer said.

Deputy Chief Mike Ault, who as head of Metro's internal affairs bureau oversaw the investigation into the complaints against Hartman, declined to comment.

"I'm not going to give an opinion as to what they do," he said. "That's their decision based on the information they receive."

Although Hartman quit, he was subsequently terminated so prospective employers would be informed of his history with the department, officials said.

Part of the investigation into the behavior of Hartman and three other officers involves allegations that they had T-shirts made that read "BDRT," which Metro officials said had dual meanings, "Baby's Daddy Removal Team" and "Big Dogs Run Together."

There is speculation that the T-shirts refer to the Barlow shooting, police have said.

Barlow was baby-sitting seven children of a woman he had met about a week earlier when he allegedly began arguing with her and threatening her with a gun. Hartman shot Barlow as he was on his knees surrendering to police.

FBI officials have confirmed they are conducting a separate probe into the circumstances of the shooting but declined to discuss it.

The department recently agreed to pay Barlow's family $300,000 to settle a civil rights suit.

The other officers implicated in the internal affairs investigation face a hearing before the department's pre-termination board. They are facing punishment up to and including termination.

Earlier this week, Sheriff Bill Young said the excessive force complaints against two of the officers, Jeremy Krough and James Vargas, related to inappropriate use of Taser guns against at least one citizen.