I wanted to take the opportunity to educate many of our officers on their rights as it relates to their employment with the LVMPD. The LVPPA has gone to great lengths to enhance the rights of police officers. A large number of these changes may not even be known to your supervision. Below is a list of the rights you have that we added during the 2019 legislative session.

Chapter 289 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a new section to read as follows: If a law enforcement agency suspends a peace officer without pay pending the outcome of a criminal prosecution, the law enforcement agency shall award the peace officer back pay for the duration of the suspension if the charges against the peace officer are dismissed, the peace officer is found not guilty at trial or the peace officer is not subjected to punitive action in connection with the alleged misconduct.

If a peace officer requests representation while being questioned by a superior officer on any matter that the peace officer reasonably believes could result in punitive action, the questioning must cease immediately and the peace officer must be allowed a reasonable opportunity to arrange for the presence and assistance of a representative before the questioning may resume.

The above section is related to a federal case, NLRB v. Weingarten. We attached the same rights to NRS 289 as in Weingarten. The important factor is if the officer, not the supervisor, believes discipline could arise from the questioning, then you are entitled to a representative.

Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, any statement a peace officer is compelled to make pursuant to this chapter shall not be disclosed or used in a civil case against the peace officer without the consent of the peace officer. Such a statement may be used in an administrative hearing or civil case regarding the employment of the peace officer. In a civil case, the court may review the statement in camera to determine whether the statement is inconsistent with the testimony of the peace officer and release any inconsistent statement to the opposing party for purposes of impeachment.

A law enforcement agency shall not conduct an investigation pursuant to this subsection if the activities of the peace officer occurred more than one year from the date of the filing of a complaint or allegation with the law enforcement agency unless the alleged misconduct would be a crime punishable pursuant to state or federal law.

If the law enforcement agency concludes that the peace officer did not violate a statute, policy, rule or regulation, the law enforcement agency shall not reopen the investigation unless the law enforcement agency discovers new material evidence related to the matter.

Except as otherwise provided in subsection 5, a law enforcement agency shall not reassign a peace officer temporarily or permanently without his or her consent during or pursuant to an investigation conducted pursuant to this section or when there is a hearing relating to such an investigation that is pending.

A law enforcement agency may reassign a peace officer temporarily or permanently without his or her consent during or pursuant to an investigation conducted pursuant to this section or when there is a hearing relating to such an investigation that is pending if the law enforcement agency finds, based on specific facts or circumstances, that reassignment of the peace officer is necessary to maintain the efficient operation of the law enforcement agency.

The law enforcement agency conducting the interview, interrogation or hearing shall allow a representative of the peace officer to inspect the following if related to the investigation and in the possession of the law enforcement agency: physical evidence, audio recordings, photographs and video recordings, and statements made by or attributed to the peace officer.

The above rights are straight out of Senate Bill 242 from the 2019 legislative session. These are very important rights, and you should have them somewhere close to you in case you find yourself in a position where you need to exercise these rights.

If you have any questions regarding these rights, please reach out. Stay safe.