Commentary: Taking a Comprehensive View to Reducing Officer‐Involved Deaths

• Author: Elizabeth N. Fretwell,Joseph Lombardo
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12750
• Published date: 01 March 2017
• Date: 01 March 2017

226 Public Administration Review • March | April 2017

Joseph Lombardo began his law

enforcement career in 1988 as a police

officer with the Las Vegas Metropolitan

Police Department. After 26 years,

Lombardo retired as a commissioned officer

and was elected as sheriff of Clark County.

In 2006, he completed his master of science

degree at the University of Nevada and the

227th Session of the FBI National Academy.

He is a 2013 graduate of the Major

Cities Chiefs Association Police Executive

Leadership Development Program and

member of three nonprofit boards.

Elizabeth N. Fretwell oversees

a dynamic organization of more than

3,000 employees and a budget of $1.2

billion as city manager of Las Vegas. She

serves as executive director of the Las

Vegas Redevelopment Agency, which is

charged with the economic revitalization

of downtown Las Vegas. Some major

accomplishments under her leadership

include achieving a 4-STAR community

sustainability ranking, converting all city

facilities to 100 percent renewable energy

sources, improving the equality index score

to 100, and ranking fifth in the Digital

Cities Survey.

E-mail: efretwell@lasvegasnevada.gov

Commentary

Jay T. Jennings and Meghan E. Rubado have

written an intriguing article that offers insight

on certain policies that police agencies may

consider when developing approaches to reduce the

rate of officer-involved gun deaths. Reducing officer-

involved deaths is paramount, and sound policies can

help achieve this goal. On the basis of our experience

with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department

(LVMPD), however, effective implementation of a

wider range of reforms in areas such as leadership,

training, technology, and transparency can also be

important factors contributing to a reduction in

officer-related deaths.

The LVMPD recognized that it had to address

use of deadly force in 2010, when the number of

officer-involved shootings began to increase. Since

that time, the LVMPD has worked to gain a greater

understanding of why police shootings occur and how

the agency can work to reduce them. The cumulative

effects of a comprehensive approach have led to a

reduction of officer-related deaths since 2010 in the

Las Vegas Valley.

The LVMPD led the creation of the Critical Incident

Review Team, which provides timely feedback on the

use of deadly force and high-risk critical incidents in

order to identify training needs, minimize risks, and

maximize safety during police operations. The Office

of Internal Oversight was created by the LVMPD

in 2012. The LVMPD became the first agency to

volunteer to be part of the Collaborative Reform

Process, in which the U.S. Department of Justice

reviewed all aspects of policing touching on the use of

force in the agency and provided recommendations

for improvement.

In 2013, the LVMPD implemented a policy that

ensures transparency for the community. This policy

includes media briefings, publication of documents,

and extensive timely public briefings after a shooting.

Additionally, the LVMPD changed the way it

trains its officers by requiring extensive training in

deescalation, reality-based training, and procedural

justice through nonbiased policing. Technology is also

an integral component of the agency ’ s efforts. The

use of body cameras, now mandated for all LVMPD

officers, is still very new but can help reduce use-of-

force incidents.

The authors had four thought-provoking hypotheses

about policies that could reduce officer-involved

deaths: mandating written reports by officers who

display firearms, changing the cultural makeup of the

police force, providing community policing training,

and assigning officers to regular beats. While the

Elizabeth N. Fretwell

City of Las Vegas

Joseph Lombardo

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department

Taking a Comprehensive View to Reducing

Officer-Involved Deaths

Public Administration Review,

Vol. 77, Iss. 2, pp. 226–227. © 2017 by

The American Society for Public Administration.

DOI: 10.1111/puar.12750.