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Accident is a lesson for Las Vegas police officer
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JASON BEAN/REVIEW-JOURNAL
Las Vegas police officer David Nesheiwat talks about his recovery after last year's patrol car wreck that killed his partner, Milburn "Millie" Beitel. » Buy this photo
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Updated: Dec. 20, 2010 | 7:44 a.m.
He lost his partner.
He endured a year of physical and mental rehab.
He faced the chance he could never be a cop again.
And when he walked back into a police substation Nov. 2 to work a patrol shift again, it was like starting all over again.
"It felt like my first day on the street," Las Vegas police officer David Nesheiwat said .
The 26-year-old is back at work patrolling downtown, continuing the job he said he never considered quitting even after the October 2009 wreck that killed his partner, Milburn "Millie" Beitel.
That crash was one of three fatal accidents in six months for the Metropolitan Police Department. The rash of driving deaths prompted Sheriff Doug Gillespie in December 2009 to revamp his agency's driving policy and to put a new emphasis on wearing seat belts and slowing down.
A year later, the policy and an internal safe-driving campaign seem to be working.
"Speed is down. Seat belt usage is up. That tells me we're sending a good message," Gillespie said.
Overall, police crashes are down 4 percent from a year ago, according to department figures covering everything from fender benders to serious wrecks.
Officers were found to have been wearing seat belts in every one of the roughly 460 crashes scrutinized by the Accident Review Board through September, the sheriff said. The speeds involved in those crashes have fallen.
"Everything is trending in the right direction," Gillespie said.
That was his goal when he changed the driving policy 12 months ago.
In two of the fatal cases, the officers were speeding and not wearing seat belts when they crashed.
In June 2009, officer James Manor's patrol car was going more than 100 mph as he responded to a domestic violence call when a truck turned left into his path. His car did not have lights or sirens on.
Four months later, Beitel was killed after losing control of his speeding patrol car. He wasn't wearing a seat belt. Nor was Nesheiwat, who was thrown from the car when it rolled.
The new policy reinforced a requirement that seat belts must be worn unless the officer is approaching a scene at low speeds. It also allows officers to drive no faster than 20 mph over the speed limit except in vehicle pursuits.
The sheriff also required more driver training for newer officers.
The Metropolitan Police Department followed the policy change in July with a safe-driving campaign that includes videos, posters and signs reminding officers to buckle up and drive safely.
Gillespie said he can't remember the last time he saw an officer not wearing a seat belt, but he still hears complaints about police cars driving too fast.
"I'm not naive enough to think everybody is driving appropriately," he said. "Police officers tend to push the envelope a little bit. When I was out there, I won't say I wasn't doing that either."
Gillespie intends to keep pushing the message to keep his officers from growing complacent.
Chris Collins, head of the Police Protective Association, which represents about 2,500 rank-and-file officers, called the policy changes a "knee-jerk reaction" to an "anomaly."
Yet he acknowledged that officers are safer in the long run if they regularly wear seat belts.
"I think it's here to stay, and I think it will be helpful," Collins said.
Nesheiwat has done his part, formally and informally, to remind fellow officers about the importance of wearing their seat belts.
He has spoken to police academy recruits, and he said he would pull an officer aside if he saw that officer not buckling up.
He wants them to learn from the mistakes he and his partner made.
"If me getting hurt saves people in the long run, then I'm good with that," Nesheiwat said.
And he sets the example every day when he clicks in behind the wheel.
"Pretty religiously," he said.
Contact reporter Brian Haynes at bhaynes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0281.
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@z_white_knight...Then why doesn't Dougie say so? There is nothing stopping him from coming out against the PPA. It might lessen his chances of reelection, but if he was more worried about keeping his job than doing what's right, then is he really blameless. And I may be wrong, but isn't the PPA holding his pension for all the years he served as a cop before election?
I have a friend.. that knows a friend... that knows a cop... that knows Superman. Truth, Justice, and the American way...
MG .... my friend who is a Reno cop just received a ticket from NHP last week for speeding 12 over... so u r wrong...like most of the haters on these blogs....... and ExChaos.... wawawaaaahhh...wipe your tears
Is his call sign Porky?
I've actually had my license since I was 14 years old! Yeah, that was a LONG time ago! BUT, in my 40 years of driving I have NEVER had an accident. PLUS, I drive 12-hours a day which is 4 hours a day LONGER than a cop drives! My BIGGEST pet peave is the Koval/Reno speed trap! Cops drive that 25mph area at LEAST 40mph ALL THE TIME!!!
Officer Nesheiwat: do you expect a pat on the back for coming back to work after you've wasted taxpayer money (workman's comp, rehab, etc.)for a whole year because of your ignorance and blatant disregard for the law? Here's a bright idea for you: Try living by the same laws that you make everyone else live by, moron! What we, the employers of you, should do is sue you for all of the wasted taxpaying money that you lived off of for this whole year, and then FIRE you because you didn't obey the law!
" I've been (legally) driving since I turned 21 and have had one accident in 32 years"
Redhawk9, that is great driving, however, I would guess that you don't put in nearly the hours behind the wheel that cops do, not nearly as many miles a year. Remember that cops are out there driving 24/7, rain or shine. In Metro's jurisdiction (All of Clark County) I would estimate there are more than 100 police vehicles on the road at any one time. Average milage daily 100+ per vehicle, thats about 10,000 miles a day officers drive per shift. That is about 30,000 miles a day, that is nearly 11 million miles a year and ONLY 460 accidents? Wish the rest of society could have statistics like that.
"I wonder if the police officers who were not wearing their seat belts were cited for not wearing them?"
Milt, yes officers who are in an accident DO get citations, if an officer is at fault in an accident, a trsffic supervisor will issue a citation, and they must go to court like everyone else.
The seatbelt law is rarely enforced because of the type of law it is. It is a secondary offense, which means you cannon be stopped for breaking the law. You have to be committing a separate offense in order for the police to stop you.This has created a pseudo understanding by the state that the law is not important. People scream for the police to belt up or give each other a ticket, when the cops can't stop anyone for violating the same law.....
Part of every street patrolman's job is to respond to the scene of sometimes gruesome traffic accidents. These cops get an up close look at what can happen to the human body as a result of not wearing a seat belt. You would think, therefore, that cops would be the LAST people who have to be told that they MUST buckle up. I can't believe we have cops that don't do it. That's mind-boggling to me.
This has been a beef of mine for years - cops refusing to wear their seatbelts while on duty. There is no excuse for it. None.
Yet, cops continued to do it over and over. Why? Nobody was going to ticket them and the Sheriff never gave a rat's ass about it. Until something like this happened.
And just to be clear, I personally appealed to THE Sheriff about this, and each of his two predecessors. I also have called numerous times to complain about officers not wearing seatbelts, giving complete info each time such as patrol car number, location, time, etc. Nothing ever seems to change. Hopefully now, it has.
There is no excuse for cops not to follow the law. None.
Cops who refuse to follow the law should be summarily fired - and fined - just like the rest of us.