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LETTERS
Police unions serve an important function
Tools
To the editor:
In response to your Tuesday editorial on Las Vegas police:
As a fairly new resident of Nevada, I find your paper's bias against the Las Vegas Police Protective Association without merit. As a former police union president, I can perhaps provide a rational explanation of the union's position that even your editorial staff can understand.
It is the union's job to protect its members. Internal Affairs investigators have one purpose: provide enough information to "indict" those investigated. They are a management tool. Once someone is "indicted," the union representative is tasked with defending that person to the best of his ability. A common criminal is entitled to a defense. Surely those who protect our communities, risking their lives, deserve the same.
Law enforcement agencies are political entities. They will sacrifice someone's career for political expediency. Police unions are the only means of checks and balances against management malfeasance in the workplace. Your citizen's commission appointed to examine management and line officer actions are controlled by management through information presentation or denial.
Metro has its problems -- many that have already been addressed by larger, more progressive law enforcement agencies such as the one I retired from. But those changes should all be reviewed and discussed with police unions who provide protections and prevent law enforcement management from having dictatorial control over their personnel. We all know what dictators are capable of.
John Stites
Henderson
Grant money
To the editor:
County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani's defense or explanation -- or whatever it was -- related to the county's financial involvement with the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth was perfectly revealing (Tuesday letter to the editor).
In order to justify her choice of grant recipient, the commissioner amazingly states, "Since there are no longer year-round schools, there has been an increase in juvenile crime." If you dig into this comment just a tiny bit you'd find out that by moving away from year-round schools, the school district saved the taxpayers several million dollars a year. It was a smart maneuver from a lot of different angles.
But, almost comically, the commissioner leaves out any statistics to demonstrate how juvenile crime has increased. I think the reason for this is that she'd have to present some data that showed how armed robberies and assaults by first-graders had increased. Or, maybe, how incidents of kindergartner flash mobs heinously pillaging unsuspecting convenience stores had increased. The commissioner either didn't understand that the year-round schedules only applied to elementary schools, or she chose to ignore that fact to further whatever she was trying to accomplish.
We have managed to make government too busy to capably function, and its leadership continues to be either increasingly ignorant or dishonest related to their varying quests to continue to move the taxpayers in the direction of "busier government."
Paul Parrish
Henderson
Union side
To the editor:
I recently discovered in my mailbox a mailer in which Station Casinos levels a grave accusation against the Culinary union: that the union is deterring performers from coming to Las Vegas. That, however, is very misleading, if not patently false.
I'm neither a member nor an employee of the Culinary union. I'm just a concerned Nevadan who stands with the working families of our state.
All the Culinary union does is alert performers, clients and potential clients of Station Casinos that the company has a number of potential labor law violations pending before the National Labor Relations Board -- and suggest that they consider a change of venue.
Performers and patrons have the right to know about Station Casinos' abusive and unfair employment practices. I myself stopped patronizing Station Casinos once I found out about their actions against workers.
The truth is that Station employees just want to have the economic security, decent wages and health and retirement benefits enjoyed by their unionized counterparts at nearly every other casino in Las Vegas.
But Station Casinos doesn't want this.
Contrary to its propaganda, Station Casinos doesn't care about its employees. Station employees have not had a wage increase since 2007, the year that a handful of casino insiders took out over half a billion dollars in cash payments for themselves. And now, instead of improving working conditions for its workers, Station is launching this expensive attack against the Culinary union to undermine their employees' right to organize.
Station Casinos may have millions of dollars to suppress their employees' efforts to gain union representation. But the truth and the will of the workers will ultimately prevail.
Oscar Peralta
Las Vegas
Beaten up
To the editor:
It sickened me to watch the video of the man beaten by Henderson police officers (Wednesday Review-Journal). He didn't resist, but was held down by four or five officers and then kicked in the face multiple times and kneed in the ribs (breaking them) by another sadistic officer. When it's over, you can hear one of these tough guys laughing.
This was totally inexcusable, yet only one officer was allegedly disciplined. Wow.
Donald Hart
Las Vegas
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Because of the heavy handed bullying tactics of the Culinary Union which we have personally witnessed, my wife and I now exclusively frequent the Station, Fiesta, & Wildfire Casinos. I have personally asked employees of these wonderful establishments about thier views, and they overwhelmingly echo the messages in the powerful ads you now see on TV. Enough is enough already...Station Casinos are beautiful, clean, exciting, and the players benefits are second to none. This great service is the result of the dedicated, thoughtful and smiling employees of every race, creed, and background...which is the heart of this very successful business!
@rwsdao- That is another job I would never have. My dad was a teacher and I have 4 siblings who are teachers, it is one of the toughest jobs to have. I have great empathy for teachers and wish, we as a society, valued them more.
drowsyangel: I know plenty of people who became cops. They left teaching for the school district to get shot at, spit on, yelled at, disrespected and overworked for a public who blames the police when they themselves break the law. Says a lot about the Clark County School District. Watch "Las Vegas Jailhouse" one officer getting shot at, spit at, yelled at quit being a teacher to work for metro. Went from a job with a college degree to a job that pays double with a high school diploma. The Clark County School District consistently ends up on the top of the list of the worst employers in the United States. They cannot attract good teachers.
The NPMSRP uses media reports detailing both alleged and confirmed cases of police misconduct from all available media sources in the US. It is a worthless site with absolutely no validity.
"Police unions serve an important function"
Sure--if you're a cop who wants carte blanc protection to act without oversight from his employer, his supervisors or the law.
The union is a disgrace. The only function it provides is muscle for those that have shown disregard for the people they serve.
The union is a protection racket.
drowsyangel....Now this is were the truth is on my side. Since you stated , never have I done anything you accuse me of. "never have I done anything you accuse me of" I will provide proof that you are either delusional or a liar.
I assert that you claim others post "half-truths" without offering anything to back up those assertions. Here's one example:
At 12:10 PM today you wrote, "...why should preachersdaughter be bothered with facts? Her posts are always biased, tainted half truths with conclusions based on conjecture."
That is clearly you claiming her posts contain "half-truths." And as just as I stated this is not "validated with anything to support your aspersions."
I could back up my claims over and over, but I think one more should suffice.
I claim "I have yet to see you post anything to disprove these statements you claim are false."
On January 25, 2012 03:05 PM, in response to the stats I posted regardng the rate of sex crimes among LE, you stated the stats I "cited [are] clearly bogus," but here it is nearly three weeks later and you still have yet to "post anything to disprove these statements you claim are false."
There is no arguing with what is right in front of your face. I have in fact proven that you have, in fact, done precisely what I accused you of.
pd-your conclusions are always based on conjecture. Your made up scenarios belong elsewhere, it is hard to have any sort of discussion with twisted words and played out imagined incidents. I believe in accountable but I also believe in due process.
bghs-Your world is one fraught with fantasy, never have I done anything you accuse me of. Reading you posts are like falling through the rabbit hole but with no ending in sight.
@drowsyangel...I don't try to present my personal opinion as anything other than my own ideas and sentiments about a subject. Sometimes I will offer FACTUAL information to lend support to my beliefs but I don't confuse the two. You have decided the facts I present are "half-truths" because you don't like them. But you don't provide any evidence to disprove my information. Your claim of not having a personal agenda is so phony it is comical. Do you believe an objective citizen would claim that cops are "shot at, spit on, yelled at, disrespected and overworked for a public who blames the police when they themselves break the law"? An unbiased person does not view police officers as victims of an ungrateful public. Many of your fellow citizens share my OPINION that police officers should be held to AT LEAST the same standard as the public who fund them. Sadly, the days when NOBLE cops held themselves to a HIGHER standard then the public, are gone. The contempt you have for those who point out police misconduct is misplaced. Why not resent the police officers who abuse their authority? But, wait, you don't believe that to even be possible, do you?
@drowsyangel.....You ending quotation is a beacon of hope. They say the first step is admitting your problem. Good luck with you journey.
What i find most amusing is your concern with others bias, as if your posts bend over backwards to excuse even the most egregious behavior. Your claims that those of us who favor accountability post "half truths" are, as usual never validated with anything to support your aspersions, I have yet to see you post anything to disprove these statements you claim are false. I welcome anyone who can provide me with evidence disproving the facts I post, since any position built on lies is no better than a house built on sand.
I know there are far more good cops out there than there are Collings, Yants, Peases's, Littles, or Seekatzs, but sadly we don't hear from them. Why aren't the 95% making their voices heard by demanding their department and their union stop condoning and defending the 5% that sully their good works?
I can respect your anti-accountability position, even if I can't understand it. I welcome the moment when one of the many copologists or submitizens explain what the benefit is of ignoring the actions of incompetent and violent officers.