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Las Vegas police officers punished for ride
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Two on-duty Las Vegas police officers who took the scenic route through northwest Arizona in a department patrol car apparently were headed to a tourist attraction.
The officers were stopped in January by Arizona law enforcement in Dolan Springs while speeding on a road to the Grand Canyon Skywalk, which is about 40 miles northeast of the town.
Metropolitan Police Department Assistant Sheriff Ray Flynn, who didn't know the pair's exact travel destination, said this week that the out-of-jurisdiction jaunt will cost each officer a week's pay.
"It doesn't matter whether it was the Grand Canyon or a mile in Arizona," Flynn said. "They claimed they wanted to take a picture at a tourist attraction."
Officers Brad Gallup and Jake Grunwald, who were placed on paid administrative leave after the incident, will be suspended without pay by June 18, Flynn said. A week's suspension without pay is the department's second-highest form of discipline; termination is the most severe. The officers were being investigated for neglect of duty and abandonment of their post.
On Jan. 19, a Mohave County, Ariz., sheriff's deputy stopped the Las Vegas patrol car after wondering why the officers were about 80 miles outside of their assigned beat. Gallup and Grunwald were assigned to the Enterprise Area Command, near the south end of the Strip.
The two Las Vegas officers faced possible termination, but they ultimately kept their jobs because they had clean records within the department before the Arizona incident, Flynn said.
"They've never been in trouble before, and they owned up to their responsibilities," Flynn said.
Gallup was hired by the department in June 2005. Grunwald joined the force in January 2006. Their salaries were not available Wednesday.
Flynn said the investigation of the incident branched out into the entire Enterprise Area Command to determine whether such behavior was widespread. The investigation found it wasn't.
Mohave County Sheriff Tom Sheahan told the Review-Journal in February that the Las Vegas officers said they were "scouting the area for locations for something to do with K-9 photos."
"We were just concerned that it wasn't a stolen vehicle," Sheahan said.
Sheahan said Mohave County sheriff's deputy Robert Oscar saw the marked Las Vegas patrol car in Dolan Springs, about six miles off U.S. Highway 93, north of Kingman, Ariz.
Sheahan said the car was traveling about 20 miles over the posted speed limit. Oscar asked his dispatcher to contact Las Vegas police to determine whether the vehicle had been stolen.
That is how Las Vegas police learned their officers were out of jurisdiction, Sheahan said.
Gallup and Grunwald stopped voluntarily after seeing that Oscar was following. The sheriff said the deputy accepted their explanation for being in Arizona and didn't issue a speeding citation.
Sheahan said Las Vegas police sometimes go through Kingman because of the city's proximity to Laughlin, which is in the Metropolitan Police Department coverage area. However, it's unusual to see them in Dolan Springs on Pierce Ferry Road, the main route to the Grand Canyon Skywalk.
Gallup and Grunwald had told Las Vegas police dispatchers they were headed to court before they left town.
Las Vegas police do not have GPS tracking systems in patrol cars.
Officers document dispatch calls on in-car computers. The system allows officers to push a button to alert supervisors when they are responding to a call, arriving at a scene or leaving a location. Officers also use the in-car computers to document when they go to court and to report when their court appearance is over.
Former Clark County Sheriff Bill Young said Tuesday that he might know the genesis of the officers' excursion to Arizona.
Young, who served as sheriff from 2003 to 2007, was a patrol officer in the early 1980s. At that time, the department's patrol cars had gas-guzzling V-8 engines. He said the agency then got two fuel-efficient cars, which were unpopular among the patrol officers.
Putting lots of miles on the unpopular new models meant they could be traded in sooner, he said. One sergeant told an officer to do just that.
Young said the officer took it upon himself, while on duty, to drive to Kingman in the fuel-efficient vehicle and take a Polaroid picture at the "Welcome to Kingman" sign. Young said the officer then put the picture above his supervisor's desk.
Young noted that while the sergeant told the officer to crank up the car's mileage, he never told the officer to drive out of town.
"It was funny at the time," Young said. "The picture hung over this one station for years and years and years."
Young speculated that Grunwald and Gallup might have caught wind of the legendary prank.
Young said he didn't know whether the officer who pulled the prank in the early 1980s was ever disciplined.
As for Grunwald and Gallup, Young said the two officers deserve another chance.
"I certainly wouldn't condone it," Young said. "It's a practical joke that I don't think the guys put too much thought into."
Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@review journal.com or 702-383-4638.
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@Batman.superman: "I don't wait around my computer and read comments as they come in." Interesting that you choose to begin with insults, rather than actually discussing the subject matter. You've proved our point on why the public dislikes Metro's actions toward their own. Granted these two are very minor, however, in their decision with Officer Yant and other extreme cases, only proves how Metro is soft on their own. "I believe the truly bad cops are weeded out." The public, has yet to see this happen.
@ACSLATER: I was making the point how you choose to attack those lesser of you, rather than actually engaging in the subject matter.
Netsuai, it's not that I won't reply, but I don't wait around my computer and read comments as they come in. The way officers are punished is the way it is all over the country. I think we are given some leeway do to the nature of our jobs. We are put in some bad situations day in and day out and night in and night out. I've said it before and I'll say it again I thought I knew what it was like to be a cop until I became one. Some will say if you don't like then quit. I've even thought about quitting because this job takes a physical, emotional and psychological toll on me at times. I won't quit because I know I was made for this job. The feeling of actually helping someone and saving lives is the most rewarding part of this job. It makes all the bad stuff worth it. We do actually save lives but most of the time it never makes the news. Only officer behaving badly makes the news. There is much more good than bad, and I've seen both. I believe the truly bad cops are weeded out.
@acslater, you are right the only way any of us heard about these idiots is because the coppers let us know what winners metro has for employees. P.S. I'm not fired yet, but I did ask my boss if I can take my work vehicle to the Grand Canyon to waste company gas and money. He said "what do you think we are? Cops?" Good point.
@Netsuai, you have yet to ask me anything. I just looked at every single comment on here annnnnnnd nothing.
world's greatest....... you are right. i looked it up. i will always remember. i knew this story would have some good to it.
@Worldsgreatest: Thank you for the insight on the Paul Page issue. Here are the most recent updates: Source 1 - 11/25/10 http://www.lvrj.com/news/police-union-head-suspended-110530284.html Source 2 - 02/10/11 Opinion columnist http://www.lvrj.com/news/embezzlement-doesn-t-seem-to-bother-police-supervisors-union-115707194.html "Remember, people will judge you by your actions, not your intentions. You may have a heart of gold - but so does a hard-boiled egg." ~Author Unknown
It's "spelled" the word.
sharon.angle... after reading your post to nh, i now understand why you call yourself sharon.angle. by the way, you had a typo yourself so i guess your not perfect either. just because people speak out against metro doesn't make them stupid. the first admendment says they can think as they wish, just like you. did i mention you incorrectly spelt the word, of all things.... "logical".
BTW, any updates on the Paul Page issue. You know, the lieutenant who took union funds and used to work the fraud detail? Did that die under the carpet, while he retired with his nice hefty salary? Anyone?