Demotion of UNR cop over bomb threats is upheld

Wednesday, May 26, 2004 | 9:33 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A state hearing officer has upheld the demotion of a police lieutenant at the University of Nevada, Reno for failing to take safety precautions to guard against bomb threats at December graduation ceremonies.

Hearing Officer Patrick Dolan said Marc S. Conley was "not fit" to be a lieutenant and he upheld the university's decision to demote him to sergeant.

Conley, who has been a police officer at the university since 1996, failed to attend a meeting at which security and other measures were planned for the commencement exercise. He was notified that he was to obtain a bomb-sniffing dog to go through the Lawlor Events Center before the ceremonies.

Conley, who was on vacation at the time of the graduation, never arranged for the dog. On that day, Dec. 6, there were four bomb threats and one of them was specifically aimed at the Lawlor Events Center.

The center had to be evacuated and the regional bomb squad was called in to conduct a search with two trained dogs. This disrupted the ceremony and some families had to leave to catch planes before seeing their relatives graduate.

The university said that had Conley arranged for the sweep of the center before the ceremonies, it would have been easier to decide whether to evacuate the building. The evacuation cost the university $1,300 in overtime.

Conley, when he returned from vacation, said he forgot and admitted he "dropped the ball," Dolan said.

At the appeal hearing, Conley said a sweep of the building by a bomb-sniffing dog on the morning of the commencement would have been useless since an explosive device could later have been brought into the events center. He also said he did not attend the planning meeting because he felt he could get the information later.

Conley also alleged the university did not follow the correct procedure in dealing with the bomb threat. He said the building should not have been evacuated until a search was conducted and a suspicious item found.

The hearing officer, in a decision released Monday, said Conley's defense that a prior bomb sweep would be useless "shows a lack of character and sense of duty that one would expect of a dedicated peace officer in the supervisory position."

The decision of the hearing officer also noted that Conley had received a one-day suspension in 2001, when he was found to be drinking beer in the campus police station. He received a written reprimand in June 2003 for failing to give proper orders to a subordinate and he was directed to undergo counseling to make sure he attended planning meetings to handle special events.