Vegas Beat Magazine - November/December 2021

I hope this last article of 2021 finds all our members healthy and happy. This has been a tough year for law enforcement, especially for the LVMPD. We lost three of our officers and one sergeant to COVID. I never thought in my 23 years here at LVMPD that we would be losing officers to a deadly disease. As officers, we prepare for dangerous and violent encounters all year long. Read More

The trustees are pleased to announce that future retirees now have more choices in how and when they earn or collect an EBT retiree health benefit. Existing retirees have no change to their benefits. The Employee Benefit Trust (EBT) is a separate and distinct trust fund established years ago to help you as an LVMPD retiree/separated employee from the Department with the reimbursement of your future health care expenses (premiums, copays, deductibles, etc.). Read More

As we wrap up the very uncertain and crazy year that was 2021, I’d like to cover some key takeaways. Throughout the year, from the president of the United States and the federal government to our governor and elected officials in Carson City, political mandates and leadership have left many feeling uncertainty. Dealing with COVID-19 and the unknown as it relates to the virus, vaccines, deaths, lockdowns and everything else that has come with it has taken a toll on all of us. Read More

I woke up at about 0700 hours on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. I was visiting my brother in Northern Virginia. My mom and I had been on the East Coast for a week, visiting family and spending time with her first-born grandson, who was 3 at that time. My mom had recently battled breast cancer and was in remission. Our trip up to this point had been great. Read More

This article will focus on an issue that has been coming up and potentially hurting workers’ compensation claims and, sadly, line-of-duty death benefits. It was not long ago that LVMPD did everything it could to look out for and take care of our workforce. But when it comes to workers’ compensation coverage, if there was a rating, they would probably be near the bottom of agencies across the country. Whether it is a new recruit in the academy, an officer who has a heart or lung issue, or, as we see now, COVID, LVMPD will not help you until forced by a judge. Read More

Many of you who follow me know that I promote training for officers on a regular basis. As a training provider and consultant to police departments across the nation, I also openly advocate that they should allow members to train regularly at work, on duty. By regularly, I mean several times a week, every week. Metro is better than many departments, but even here, the training is inconsistent in frequency and effectiveness, depending on where you serve. Read More

“I would like to introduce myself to the members of the LVPPA. My name is Brian Grammas and I am the newest member of the Executive Board for the LVPPA. I started the Police Academy in August 1996. After finishing field training, I worked two years on Graveyard in William Area, then moved to Swing shift and became an FTO working Victor/Xray for one year. Read More

An issue was brought to the LVPPA’s attention by officers who have passed patrol sergeants not driving Code 3 to STAR de-escalation calls for service as the officers themselves were driving Code 3 to the same STAR call for service. It appears that LVMPD trains sergeants to not drive Code 3 to STAR calls so that they can focus on pre-planning, de-escalation and reading call updates as they are en route to the STAR call. Patrol officers are held to the same pre-planning and de-escalation policy but are also expected to drive Code 3 to the STAR call. Read More