Las Vegas police union opposes use-of-force bill

The president of the union representing Las Vegas Metropolitan Police testified Friday against a measure that would require police to use de-escalation techniques before resorting to a higher level of force.

Steve Grammas told lawmakers he opposes the reform measure, Senate Bill 212. Grammas says Metro became “the gold standard of police reform” following intervention from the Department of Justice in 2011.

Standardization of use of force policy should be left to police, he told members of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, even though the measure largely reflects Metro’s policies.

“You said this is the policy that you preach. The concern here is not the preach, but the practice,” observed Assemblywoman Shondra Summers-Armstrong. “If LVMPD is the gold standard and there has been an effort by those involved to codify it to make it consistent across the state, which we know is not the case, what is your concern and what is your opposition?”

Read more: https://www.nevadacurrent.com/2021/04/23/lv-police-union-opposes-use-of-force-bill/