Balancing his role as Clark County’s top cop and his candidacy in a competitive Republican primary, Joe Lombardo has politicized a number of issues that weaken safety for officers and the communities they serve to protect. Most recently in the spotlight: COVID safety measures at Las Vegas Metro Police Department.
Lombardo has been unclear at best on his vaccine position and politicizes masks on the campaign trail, leading thousands of officers to become infected with COVID and putting the communities they interact with every single day at risk. Lombardo’s lack of leadership has also resulted in Metro being fined thousands in taxpayer dollars for OSHA violations.
Read more about Lombardo’s dangerous leadership below.
Las Vegas Sun: Candidates take swipes at sheriff over lax COVID compliance
Casey Harrison, Jessica Hill
March 17, 2022
Key Points:
- Metro Police are appealing a nearly $4,000 fine after the Occupational Health and Safety Administration determined a manager was hospitalized with COVID-19 after employees failed to wear masks in the office.
- According to Nevada OSHA records, Metro has been the subject of 13 complaints of violating state COVID-19 guidelines. Five complaints are still listed as open, according to the OSHA logs.
- The number of complaints is the most levied against any Nevada law enforcement agency since the onset of the pandemic, according to state OSHA logs.
- “From being wishy-washy on vaccines to instilling doubts about the effectiveness of masks, Lombardo has created a culture at Metro of confusion and disregard for COVID safety measures,” said Mallory Payne, deputy communications director at Nevada Democratic Victory, a group that works to get Democrats in office.
- Lombardo in early February lifted Metro’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate for new hires.
- His opponents in the GOP field for governor suggest Lombardo abandoned the mandate — an unpopular position among many Republican base voters — to score political points, and that he’s already shown his true colors.
Read the full story here.
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