Proving over and over just how little he respects his own officers, Joe Lombardo is still refusing to designate two officers who passed from COVID-19 as line of duty deaths, denying them honors and benefits they deserve. Despite many requests, the families have yet to receive an explanation from Lombardo. And this past weekend, he couldn’t even bother to show up at the memorial for one of the officers. While Lombardo touts his “leadership” and support for law enforcement on the campaign trail, his record shows this is anything but true.

Read more about Lombardo’s disregard for his officers below.

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Las Vegas officer who died of COVID-19 remembered as hero, loving father

Sabrina Schnur

June 6, 2022

Key Points:

• Closi, a father of two, worked for Metro for 21 years until his death on Aug. 11 at 48. He had been fighting for medical retirement for four years because of severe asthma, but continual appeals filed by Metro delayed the case even after his death.

• The funeral ended with a 21-gun salute, bagpipes and the Metropolitan Police Department Honor Guard folding and presenting the flag. None of Metro’s executive staff was present at the ceremony, so the flag was given to Gov. Steve Sisolak, who presented it to Jenn Closi.

• Closi was one of at least three Metro officers who died while on active duty but were not considered line-of-duty deaths. In a statement last month to the Review-Journal, Metro said contact tracing indicated Closi did not get COVID-19 while at work, and Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo made the decision not to rule his death in the line of duty.

• Jenn Closi disagreed, arguing her family contracted the virus from her husband, and Metro did not take precautions to protect her immunocompromised husband from the virus that could be deadly for him.

• Because Closi’s death was not considered a line-of-duty death, the family lost their health insurance the night he died, Closi’s casket was not escorted by any Metro vehicles, the department did not announce his “end of watch call” over the radio, planes did not fly overhead Saturday, and his name will not go up at Metro headquarters, Police Memorial Park or in Washington, D.C.

• After the service, Sisolak said he has urged Lombardo to reconsider this decision.

• “I wish he would be honored in the appropriate way as a line-of-duty death,” Sisolak said. “I would ask the sheriff to reconsider his decision. It would show some real leadership to admit sometimes when you get some new information that things should change. The family clearly deserves it as well as the other officers who died with COVID. The family has suffered tremendously and to have your name on the wall in Carson City would mean a lot to this family.”

Read the full story here. 

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