LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — For several weeks, Channel 13 has been investigating Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers using an end-to-end encrypted messaging app called Signal, known for its disappearing messages function.
We first learned about the app and Metro officers using it for business use through our coverage of the case of suspended Metro Sergeant Kevin Menon.
Menon was indicted in October for charges of oppression, subornation of perjury, and battery on a protected person. He’s accused of setting up bogus arrests on the Las Vegas Strip and targeting mostly people of color.
WATCH: Man arrested on the Strip and 'shoulder checked' by suspended Metro sergeant speaks out
Grand jury evidence from Menon’s case includes several screenshots from the Signal group chat, which reveal officers were communicating about arrest tactics.
About a dozen officers who testified to a grand jury in October said they were in the group chat and used Signal to communicate about work.
“We used to use an app called Signal,” said Officer Justin Candolesas, according to grand jury testimony.
Officer Stephen Cosaro told the grand jury the Signal conversations are not used in his reports.
“To my knowledge, the Signal app has an automatic delete after,” Cosaro said.
Menon’s superior, Lieutenant McMurtry, also admitted to the grand jury he was in the group chat with Menon.
“The only one that I remember seeing was the 425 fraudulent activity and I thought that was the reason for the stop,” McMurtry said.
Another officer Abbygail Armijo told the grand jury she was afraid to come forward about Menon to superiors.
“The lieutenant was involved in the group chat as well as out with us most of these nights,” Armijo said. “It was a little bit uncomfortable for us to go to the lieutenant and the captain about this.”
Officer Erik Sanchez said he took the screenshots of the texts on his phone in case he ever needed them, which is how we were able to obtain them and show them to you.
"That's my screenshot from my phone, yes," Sanchez said. "I just wanted to have it if I ever went to Internal Affairs or to once open a case to have my evidence."
We went all the way to the top to get answers about why officers were using this app.
After multiple attempts to speak with Sheriff McMahill were denied or unanswered, we went to the Oct. 31 Metro Fiscal Affairs Committee meeting and asked Sheriff Kevin McMahill about the app and why officers are using it.
Sheriff McMahill said he did not know officers in his department were using Signal.
"It's against our policy," McMahill told Channel 13.
The Sheriff also told Channel 13 he is committed to transparency.
"I think it's pretty clear I'm holding Mr. Menon accountable in a lot of different ways," McMahill said.
But the Sheriff didn't elaborate on how he plans to hold other officers in the department accountable.
We wanted to know if Menon and other officers using the Signal app were using the disappearing messages function. If so, they would be breaking Nevada's open records act.
According to state law, removing, injuring, or concealing public records or documents is a category C felony.
One reason why public records are so important is those records must be preserved in case they're needed as evidence in court.
"Government agencies and police officers love to try to circumvent the public records laws," said Las Vegas-based First Amendment attorney Mark Randazza.
Randazza explained why public officials would use an app like Signal.
"They use it because their messages to one another are presumptively public records," Randazza said.
"So when the public, reporters or other government agencies want to see those records, they'd like to be able to speak to each other in complete privacy. The problem with that desire is they don't get to have that level of privacy."
According to Signal's website, "each and every disappearing message will have a timer countdown icon that is visible at the bottom of the message bubble."
So we tried downloading the Signal app and tried both deactivating and activating the disappearing messages function. We noticed the timer countdown icon is only available when the disappearing messages setting is on.
We then went back to the grand jury evidence of the selected screenshots from the Signal group text chain and noticed all the text bubbles have the timer countdown icon in the bottom corner.
"They can be purged within a minute of sending them, 10 minutes, an hour, a day, whatever it is," Randazza said. "That's a very attractive function because once the message is gone, it's gone forever because it's encrypted."
If it's gone forever, so is the public record.
We spoke to Freddy Martinez, a director at Lucy Parsons Lab, a transparency and police accountability organization based in Chicago.
Martinez said officers' use of encrypted messaging apps is concerning to the public.
"When you think about that in the context of police officers who can just download their own apps and delete messages on their own, it really kind of shows how limited the public is in even enforcing the public records laws that we do have," Martinez said.
Elected officials and police officers using apps like Signal, Telegram, and WhatsApp, aren't new. The issue has come to light in cities all across the country including Phoenix.
Our sister station ABC15 in Arizona did a series of investigations on elected officials and police officers using the Signal app there.
"The very use of one of these apps makes it seem like they're trying to keep information away from the public," said ABC15 Senior Investigative Reporter Melissa Blasius.
Blasius said their reports found multiple city officials were using Signal or WhatsApp in their official business.
"The case that involved police officers involved in a shooting here, the question was, what exactly were the officers talking about during their investigation of a crime leading up to the shooting?" Blasius said. "Shouldn't that be important information to be later shared with the courts, prosecutors and the jury?"
As a result of their reporting, Blasius said specific rules were issued about encrypted messaging apps, and public officials are now required to retain those messages.
In Nevada, the state requires law enforcement agencies to adopt a written policy concerning the use of mobile devices and certain mobile apps by law enforcement.
Channel 13 filed a public records request to get Metro's policy.
The department sent us an administrative notice which was addressed to all personnel the very same day we went to the Metro Fiscal Affairs Committee meeting and talked to Sheriff McMahill.
It states, "Department personnel are reminded that all business-related communication must comply" with Nevada law.
You can see the notice also lists all approved mobile applications and Signal isn't one of them.
As of now, Menon is the only Metro officer within the Signal group chat facing charges.
Channel 13 is working to learn if any other officers involved will face disciplinary action.
