North Las Vegas constable misses certification deadline, could lose job

The state agency that certifies law enforcement officers in Nevada notified Clark County officials this week that North Las Vegas Constable Robert Eliason hasn’t become certified as required by state law, despite getting a six-month extension.

Mike Sherlock, executive director of the Nevada Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, said Eliason was granted a six-month extension to complete the requirements for an elected constable in an urban area to be a certified peace officer.

Constable’s offices have sworn law enforcement officers and generate the majority of their revenue from the collection of fees from evictions and serving court papers.

Eliason was elected in November 2014 and took office on Jan. 4, 2015. Under the law, without an extension, he had until Jan. 4, 2016, to be certified.

With the extension the POST agency board gave him, he had until July 4, which has come and gone without Eliason becoming certified. Certification is a requirement under state law for Eliason’s position.

“Our job here is to make sure standards are met with peace officers,” Sherlock said in an interview. “We have simply notified the county that Mr. Eliason is not certified.”

It’s unclear what happens from here.

Eliason remained on the job as of Friday.

Multiple attempts to reach Eliason and his attorney were unsuccessful. A woman who answered the phone in the constable’s office said Eliason wasn’t in the office and was out in the field.

Sherlock said certification is required, and if “you don’t do it, then the office is forfeited.”

Beyond the letter, the state agency that certifies officers cannot do anything to fix the situation because it doesn’t have any enforcement powers.

“How the county deals with that, we really don’t get involved with that. We don’t have any teeth to go after anything; we’re just letting everybody know,” Sherlock said.

Under state law, when there’s a vacancy in the constable’s office, the County Commission appoints a replacement.

“A person who fails to become certified within the required time shall not exercise any of the powers of a peace officer after the time for becoming certified has expired,” Sherlock wrote in a letter to county officials dated June 29 and in advance of the deadline.

According to county data, Eliason earns a $103,836 annual salary. The county provides his office with two employees and $36,750 for services and supplies.

Eliason wrote to Sherlock Sept. 18, requesting a six-month extension due to treatment for an abdominal tear. Eliason wrote that during the Clark County Juvenile Justice Academy four days earlier, he was able to perform all of the requirements except for situps, and that he hoped he could attend another certification academy in 2016.

Eliason either didn’t enroll or failed to attend a basic training course through county law enforcement academies or through the POST academy, and didn’t notify POST that he had passed the physical fitness test or scheduled his state certification test.

This isn’t the first problem with a constable’s office in Clark County — commissioners in 2013 abolished the Las Vegas constable’s office after multiple issues and complaints about former Constable John Bonaventura and his office.

The Metropolitan Police Department absorbed the constable’s office duties, which include handling evictions, serving court papers and processing abandoned vehicle complaint reports.

County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak said Friday the county is in a “holding pattern” right now. It might come down to a judge weighing in on the matter.

“In the meantime, I don’t know what happens,” Sisolak said. “We’ve had our share of constable issues down here in the past few years. But I don’t know what happens in the interim while they work through this.”

Contact Jamie Munks at jmunks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0340. Find @JamieMunksRJ on Twitter. Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904. Find @BenBotkin on Twitter.