LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford released the first annual report on statewide use of force data on Tuesday morning.
The report has been expanded in accordance with Senate Bill 212, which was passed in 2021 and mandated that the AG's office review use-of-force data collected by the Nevada Department of Public Safety's Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History and prepare an annual report with findings and recommendations.
According to the report, there were a total of 23 events where force was used by an officer between April 2023 and November 2023 in the entire state of Nevada.
Of all 54 agencies reporting to the Central Repository, eight agencies would log reportable use of force events. These would include:
- Henderson Police Department — 8 incidents logged
- Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department — 5
- Nevada Highway Patrol — 2
- Reno Police Department — 3
- Washoe County Sheriff's Office — 2
- North Las Vegas Police Department — 1
- Storey County Sheriff's Office — 1
- Sparks Police Department — 1
The report also documented public complaints about the use of force, which it also clarifies are "insufficient" to determine whether the complaints coincide with reportable use of force complaints. Overall, the state received 194 complaints but found 46 to be "substantiated" by the data logged by law enforcement.
To break it down by agency, the Henderson Police Department received 18 complaints — 8 of which were found to be substantiated, while the Las Vegas Metro Police Department received 71 complaints, though the report only found 12 complaints to be substantiated.
The Nevada Highway Patrol's Northwestern Command received 30 complaints, of which only 6 were found to be substantiated, while the Southern Command received 36 complaints, but only 11 were substantiated.
Additionally, Nevada Parole and Probation received 28 complaints, of which only 7 were substantiated.
All other organizations reported and received less than five incidents.
The report also notes that a firearm was used in 12 use-of-force events, with the next highest category of weapon used being "Hands, fists, and feet." Nine of the events also resulted in the death of the subject, while 15 events resulted in "serious injuries."
Most of the encounters were a result of police responding to unlawful or suspicious activity, according to the report. Furthermore, the report reveals that many of these unlawful activities were categorized as "crimes against a person" and occurred in "road/parking/camps."
A majority of the subjects involved in these events were also reported to be male (81.8%), white (60%), and aged 25 to 34 years (73%). As for officers, a large majority of those involved were also white, according to the report.
“This first review of the use of force data collected by the central repository allows my office to fully examine what’s happening in our state’s law enforcement agencies,” said AG Ford. “The annual release of our report is key to building community trust with law enforcement and ensuring that no objectionable patterns or practices in Nevada’s law enforcement agencies are overlooked.”
