Cinnamon King, left, widow of Metro Police Sgt. Douglas King, and Jenn Closi, widow of Metro Police officer Phil Closi, speak during an interview at the law offices of David Churchill Tuesday, June 7, 2022.
Sunday, July 9, 2023 | 2 a.m.
When a Metro officer dies in the line of duty, their photo is hung on walls of honor found in area commands throughout the department’s jurisdiction.
Recently, two years after their deaths, three men were added to the wall.
Sgt. Douglas King and officers Philip Closi and Edward Contreras all died from COVID-19 in 2021. But at the time, they weren’t classified as line-of-duty deaths by then-Sheriff Joe Lombardo, who is now Nevada’s governor.
Officer Philip Closi, left and Sgt. Douglas King.
It was a decision that sparked a yearslong battle from the widows of Closi and King.
But in recent months, changes began taking place slowly, and ultimately the widows said they’ve found the closure they were seeking.
Philip Closi, a 21-year Metro veteran, started feeling ill just before a planned vacation to Florida with his family. As the family drove, his symptoms became worse. Once in Florida, he tested positive for COVID-19. By the end of the week he was checked into a hospital.
The couple had feared Philip would be at risk of contracting COVID because of prior inflammation and scarring in his lungs. The damage was the focus of an ongoing disability claim Philip had with Metro. It was never resolved prior to his death.
Jenn Closi still can’t tell the story of her husband’s last moments without crying. He’d been in the hospital for 11 days.
“I was on the phone asking for an update,” Jenn Closi said. “They were working on him as I was on the phone.”
A nurse told Jenn Closi that if she wanted to see her husband before he died, she’d need to head to the hospital immediately and drive fast.
She could feel the minutes tick by as the medical staff suited her in three layers of protective gear.
Jenn Closi got to the intensive care unit door and was warned that her husband wouldn’t look the same.
“I probably had 10 minutes with him,” Jenn Closi said. “He died in my arms.”
Hours after Philip Closi died, the family was removed from Metro’s health insurance plan, Jenn said, adding that’s how she learned her husband wouldn’t receive line-of-duty pay.
The decision was confusing to Jenn Closi, as Metro Lt. Erik Lloyd and Officer Jason Swanger both had died earlier from COVID-19 and both were classified as line-of-duty deaths by Lombardo.
A Metro spokesman told the Sun in 2022 that the department’s Health and Safety Section investigated the circumstances surrounding the death of every Metro officer, then the sheriff — Lombardo — had the final say whether to classify it as in the line of duty.
Metro’s Health and Safety Section ruled that Phillip Closi likely contracted COVID outside of the workplace. Lombardo concurred.
Lombardo defended his decision to the Sun after then-Gov. Steve Sisolak called it a “grave injustice.”
Lombardo also arrived at his decision after President Joe Biden signed into law the Protecting America’s First Responders Act, which states a public safety officer who dies or is disabled due to COVID-19 is presumed to have contracted the virus in the line of duty, if they were acting in an official capacity. The law extends through Dec. 31 of this year.
The federal law made significant changes to the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits program, which provides death and education benefits to surviving family members of officers who worked at a local, state or federal public safety agency.
“It wasn’t easy and we almost gave up and I’m glad we didn’t,” Jenn said. “It was hard because the person we were fighting was the sheriff.”
In April of this year, Gov . Lombardo signed a proclamation making May 4 Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial Day and listed King, Phillip Closi and Contreras as dying in the line of duty.
All three names were added to peace officer memorial walls in Carson City and Reno. Then their names were added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., but Metro had yet to classify the deaths as in the line of duty.
“We got the fully federal honors before he was given local honors,” Cinnamon King said.
She was on a train in early May heading to see the D.C. memorial when she received a call she’d been waiting on since her husband’s death.
Jenn Closi had spoken with Sheriff Kevin McMahill, who succeeded Lombardo, and he had agreed to reclassify the deaths.
All of the men’s families will receive line-of-duty benefits because of the reclassification, but Jenn and Cinnamon said the fight was about their husbands’ service not being forgotten.
“I want my girls to know —they deserve to know — that their dad was a hero and he worked during COVID,” Cinnamon said. “When everyone stayed home, he was forced to go to work. He saved people’s lives. He was a hero. I am very thankful that he was given the honors.”
More recently, the men’s photos were placed on the walls in area commands.
“He will be up in headquarters with the rest of the fallen officers,” Cinnamon King said. “He is going to be remembered.”
Jenn Closi said the remembrance of their husbands is what the widows and their families wanted all along.
“There is a beautiful plaque that will be there for every police officer to see forever and ever,” Jenn Closi said.
The photo hanging on the honor walls states that Douglas King started with the department Aug. 12, 2004, and his end of watch was Aug. 23, 2021. It notes he was one of the first officers at the Route 91 Harvest festival mass shootingin 2017. It also states he died before receiving a Medal of Honor for his actions during a domestic dispute call.
“King, known for his good-natured disposition, was popular among his peers, and a devoted husband, father and son,” the text accompanying the picture reads. “Family will forever remember him as dedicated, honorable, loyal and beloved.”
Philip Closi’s photo says he started with the department Sept. 13, 2000, and his end of watch was Aug. 11, 2021. It notes his 21 years of service including time as a DARE officer.
“Closi was passionate about helping others and served on the board of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association,” the photo reads. “He was known as a dedicated family man whose life reminded fellow officers that their families come first.”
