Las Vegas NowPark Police at Odds with County

Park Police at Odds with County

Park police say a plot to eliminate them could put Clark County families at risk.

Southern Nevada Law Enforcement unveiled e-mails they say show the county parks and rec director, Leonard Cash, moving park police officers to two parks over Memorial Day weekend and leaving Metro officers to patrol the rest.

"It is also apparent that these actions have placed our residents and visitors in harms way, and as such, because of this dereliction of duty, we are asking for the removal of personnel who played an active role in trying to eliminate the Clark County Park Police Department," said Don Ruiz with the Clark County Police Officers Association.

The county says it disputes the officers allegations and takes its responsibility to protect citizens seriously.

Phil Rosenquist, Assistant Director County Manager over Dept. of Parks and Recreation with clark county issued a statement saying, "The county takes its responsibility to protect citizens visiting our parks very seriously. The highest priority of the Park Police is to patrol the parks. There is currently no plan to do away with our Park Police. With 18 patrol personnel in place, our resources are stretched thin. We have explored assigning them to areas that would be more efficient and effective to reduce the amount of drive time and increase their presence. Metros role in this is as it has always been; they assist us in dealing with serious crimes."