ANOTHER SOMBER DAY: Fourth officer in short span dies - News

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Nov. 22, 2009
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

ANOTHER SOMBER DAY: Fourth officer in short span dies

Police van, trailer collide near Searchlight

By ANTONIO PLANAS
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

A police motorcade on U.S. Highway 95 northbound near Harmon Avenue accompanies the body of corrections officer Daniel Leach, 49, who died Saturday in a crash.
Courtesy of Bret Anderson Photography

Daniel Leach
Killed in collision

Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie on Saturday had trouble finding the words for his latest fallen comrade, a corrections officer who died hours earlier in a collision on U.S. Highway 95 near Searchlight.

"In circumstances like this ... I just can't put it into words," a somber Gillespie said. "This organization is strong and we will prevail."

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Gillespie spoke following the death of Daniel Leach, 49, a 25-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department who died at the scene of a 5:45 a.m. crash. The department van he was driving south clipped the second of two trailers being hauled by a 10-wheel dump truck that had just made a left turn onto northbound 95.

Leach's death came two days after Gillespie addressed the media at another news conference to discuss the slaying of officer Trevor Nettleton, shot during what police called a botched robbery Thursday morning at his home in North Las Vegas.

In just more than six months, four Metropolitan Police Department officers have died violent deaths. The other two involved patrol car crashes.

Gillespie said Saturday that Leach was the only occupant in the van, which was about a mile north of Searchlight, about 60 miles south of Las Vegas. There were two people in the dump truck, department spokesman Bill Cassell said. The dump truck's occupants are cooperating with investigators.

Police did not say how fast Leach was driving or whether he was wearing his seat belt. They didn't say who was at fault in the crash. The investigation is ongoing.

The stretch of highway where the accident occurred has four lanes -- two in each direction -- separated by a median.

Gillespie said Leach was on his way to the Tucker Holding Facility in Laughlin before the crash. He picked up the van from the Clark County Detention Center and his assignment for the day was to return any inmates who needed to be transferred from the Laughlin facility to the Clark County jail.

Leach was the third officer to die on duty while driving this year. On Oct. 7, officer Milburn "Millie" Beitel, 30, was killed in a crash on Nellis Boulevard near Washington Avenue. Beitel was driving the patrol car 71 mph in the 45 mph zone.

Police said Beitel swerved to avoid a vehicle making a left turn onto eastbound Washington from southbound Nellis. Beitel did not have his emergency lights or sirens on. He was not wearing a seat belt.

His passenger, 25-year-old officer David Nesheiwat, survived the crash. He too was not wearing a seat belt.

Exactly six months earlier, 28-year-old officer James Manor died while responding to a domestic dispute call. He was driving 109 mph without lights and sirens on Flamingo Road when a pickup turned into his path. He was not wearing a seat belt and died a short time later.

After Manor's crash, Gillespie ordered the department to complete a review of its driving policies.

Gillespie said the department will be implementing changes in December.

"I simply do not feel today is the appropriate time to discuss those changes," Gillespie said Saturday.

Last year, 44 officers in the United States died in traffic crashes, five more than the 39 who died from gunshot wounds, according to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund, which tracks officer deaths.

Leach's death came on the heels of Nettleton's slaying. He was shot 12:18 a.m. Thursday at his home on Emerald Stone Avenue, near Lone Mountain Road and Bruce Street.

North Las Vegas police said Nettleton, 30, was approached by several suspects in his open garage. Nettleton died after an exchange of gunfire.

North Las Vegas police arrested three suspects: Saul Williams Jr., 20; Prentice Marshall, 18; and a 17-year-old whose identity has not been released.

Gillespie said though the week has been a hard one for the Metropolitan Police Department family, his department will not lose focus on its mission of protecting the community.

Police said Leach was born in Willoughby, Ohio, east of Cleveland. He is survived by his wife, Laura. He also has a son, Christopher, and daughter, Alexandra.

Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.

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Please enter your name Name: Please enter your email Email: Please enter a comment COMMENTS : (word count limit is 300) You have reached the maximum number of words allowed Current Word Count: Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background. C u there wrote on November 25, 2009 04:55 AM: Sheriff w. Bush gillespie going after his lieutenant and sergeants that tell him the officers out in the field need help we are below the national average. Instead adolf trumps up phoney charges agaisnt senior Lt for a year .... We retire and he has folks scared to question him about his guestopo slave driving tactics GED+ pond scum= gillespie Job opening wrote on November 25, 2009 04:50 AM: Any one buy the current Jake wrote on November 24, 2009 04:08 PM: @ Mike No Mike...you are wrong. The "Shoot First and Ask Questions Later" Metro Cops shoot at citizens in the back that they (the cops) stop at routine traffic stops (recently the Metro Keystone Cop missed)...and not the other way around. Plus the Metro "Super" Cops arrive in very expensive cop cars (the best money can buy) with no required cop lights on, no required cop sirens on, no required seat belts locked and excessive speeds to get to the scene. And no regard for the law...the Blue Curtain you know, they are Metro "Super" Cops!!! ...Heroes!!! Don't believe me, just read the Metro Sheriff's comments in the Las Vegas Review Journal newspaper. Jake Kvon wrote on November 24, 2009 09:45 AM: That's one way of cutting the budget. Maybe this is God's Christmas gift to the black community? mike wrote on November 23, 2009 03:34 PM: "A janitor risks his life every day when he goes to work." That is one of the dumbest comments I have ever read. Accidents happen at work. When a cop is shot on a traffic stop, it isnt an accident. AMW wrote on November 23, 2009 12:30 PM: To Taxes: Sales tax and property tax. Homeowners and business owners know what I mean. Cops would be more loved and more respected if they themselves love and respect. Some individuals do, but too many in the force do not. Taxes? wrote on November 23, 2009 10:41 AM: Am I the only one in Nevada that DOESN'T pay state tax??? What tax money are you people talking about going toward a funeral? Is it federal taxes? If so, then everyone is paying for it, including people in other states.... Or, is it sales taxes? Please, let me know cause I'm confused. bullmoose556 wrote on November 22, 2009 10:23 PM: What a bunch of sniveling whiners you cop haters are[and yes, Ive had runins with cops, myself. I'm no cop lover]. When the crap hits the fan, who do you call? The cops,right? My entire working career was as a hardrock miner, when any one of us met our death by accident or whatever, a nice big funeral and wake was in order,to show respect. Cops are no different, they care for their own, in all circumstances. I salute the cops for caring for their fellow members, whether great or small.So you cop knockers stop your sniveling,you are just jealous that they care for one another. Larry wrote on November 22, 2009 09:56 PM: Also: Heroes don't need to continually tell everyone that they are heroes and further...continually receive special entitlements, awards, citations, speeches, plaques, etc. The heroes in World War II didn't walk around telling everyone they were heroes...they just let their deed do the talking. Think about that...you Metro Cops!!! Larry wrote on November 22, 2009 09:49 PM: I am very sorry to learn that a man died during a home invasion in his garage the other night. It is truly sad for his family and coworkers, as it is sad when a construction worker (while on duty), with a family, dies when a concrete wall caves in upon him at City Center. But boy...you Metro guys need to quickly come off your "High Hero Complex Horse". You Metro cops are no more important than many, many other employees in other various occupations here in this valley. You think you are so special and above the laws: No required police lights, no required seat belts clicked, 109 mph in a 45 mph zone, no required police sirens, Sheriff approved body escorts, Sheriff approved state funerals, Sheriff approved life time benefits for events while off duty, etc, etc, etc. Did you ("The One Who Answers The Call For Help" a/k/a a self proclaimed Hero and other "Metro cops" a/k/a as self proclaimed Heroes) read my post at 7:45 PM where Metro would not assist me after my house break-in??? Plus...you think you Union Metro Cops are so much smarter than the Clark County citizens. NO...not even close!!! Read All Comments