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David Kihara

Saturday, April 1, 2006 | 7:29 a.m.

Metro Police's Internal Affairs detail is investigating three officers for allegedly violating Metro policy by helping out family or friends in custody-related disputes while on the job.

The complaints against the officers stem from two separate February incidents. In the first, two Metro officers in Overton, Ken Marshall and Patrick Geary, were accused of tipping off an unidentified Nevada Highway Patrol trooper that he was about to be served with an out-of-state custody order, according to Metro's Citizen Review Board.

The second case centers on K-9 Metro officer Robert Johnson, who allegedly helped his cousin in a custody dispute in early February, the review board reported.

"You're not supposed to get involved in a personal matter," said Andrea Beckman, the board's executive director.

Metro officers are barred from working on disputes, arrests or investigations involving their family members or friends. While there are clear exceptions, such as when a family member is involved in a felony in progress, these two cases do not qualify, Beckman said.

"If there is a robbery in progress, you get involved," Beckman said. Johnson got a call from his cousin "and he was supposed to bow out."

The officers involved did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Lt. Richard Collins of the Internal Affairs detail said he wouldn't comment on the cases because Internal Affairs is currently investigating them.

But incidents of police officers allegedly interfering or getting involved in their family cases are generally not an issue in the 5,000-plus Metro police force, he said.

"It's not a trend and ... it's not an everyday thing," he said. Collins estimated that during the past year, he had seen two such cases.

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