What to look for from new Sheriff Joe Lombardo

By Ana Ley

Monday, Jan. 5, 2015 | 2:59 p.m.

Vowing to reorganize Metro Police and get money to bolster the agency’s ranks, Joe Lombardo was sworn in this morning as Clark County’s newly minted sheriff.

Lombardo, the former assistant sheriff and self-described policy wonk who beat union favorite Larry Burns with 51 percent of the vote in November, has big plans for the job.

He succeeds Doug Gillespie, who served as sheriff for two terms. Gillespie endorsed Lombardo, who is the agency’s seventh sheriff.

Here are three big themes to look for under Lombardo’s four-year tenure:

• Lombardo, 51, says the first thing on his agenda is replenishing Metro’s budget.

​Metro is facing a structural $35 million deficit, while its jail has a projected $28 million deficit. Most of its revenue comes from Clark County’s general fund.

Lombardo says the agency needs to convince government officials to give the agency more money.

“We have to ensure that the city and the county are funding us at the appropriate level so we don’t have to lay off police officers,” he told the Sun shortly after he was elected.

Part of that effort will include aggressive lobbying for Metro’s contentious More Cops sales tax increase, which aims to raise money to pay for additional officers.

Lombardo’s predecessor failed to convince Clark County commissioners to approve the increase, despite an intensive effort. Opponents of the initiative questioned how the money would be spent and disagreed with Gillespie for not using a reserve fund to fill vacant positions.

• He also wants to reorganize Metro.

Lombardo says he wants to decentralize staff and move people closer to the neighborhoods they serve.

Citing budget constraints, Metro has shut down the front lobbies of half of its eight substations since early 2010.

• Lombardo says concerns about officer use of force will be a priority.

A pair of controversial deaths involving officers in Missouri and New York last year have spurred a wave of anger at police nationwide. Community relations will likely play a big role during Lombardo’s first year as sheriff.

Metro for years has grappled with accusations of racial bias stemming from a series of officer-involved shootings in the 2000s.

In 2011, the U.S. Justice Department stepped in to investigate the department’s use of force and concluded that an overwhelming majority of unarmed suspects shot by police since 2007 were black or Latino.

The agency has since adopted more than 70 recommendations from the department, including a pilot program for officer-worn cameras.

Gillespie told the Sun that Metro has made progress but concedes “we’re not where we need to be.”