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Nevada agency director faces ethics inquiry

The executive director of the state agency that certifies peace officers faces a state ethics inquiry tied to his prior side work as a paid instructor for police academies.

Nevada police academies are regulated by the state Commission for Peace Officer Standards and Training, and Michael Sherlock taught law-enforcement classes at two police academies while working full time for the agency's audits and compliance supervisor and a training specialist, records show.

The topic of Sherlock's side jobs came up before the POST Commission when he interviewed in July for the executive director job. At the time, he pledged to focus only on his POST job if promoted to director, meeting transcripts show.

Hired in 2010 to work at the POST agency, Sherlock did outside teaching while the audits and compliance supervisor. That work happened before the commission tapped him in July for the executive director job. Disclosure records show he sought permission at the time to do outside teaching.

Boulder City resident Joseph Kranyac III has filed a request with the Nevada Ethics Commission to investigate and make a determination of whether Sherlock had run afoul of state ethics laws.

Kranyac was following the process because former Boulder City Police Chief Tom Finn was another finalist for the job. Finn ultimately withdrew from consideration.

Sherlock didn't respond to requests for comment about the ethics inquiry.

Complaint details

Kranyac filed a complaint on June 2 with the Ethics Commission, pointing to concerns about Sherlock's conflicting roles.

At the time, Sherlock was not yet the agency's director but was responsible for conducting audits and ensuring compliance with Nevada POST regulations.

He was also a paid instructor at two law enforcement academies that were under agency regulatory oversight: the former Las Vegas Law Enforcement Academy and a former law enforcement academy hosted by Western Nevada College, records show.

The complaint asks for an opinion of whether Sherlock violated five parts of the state's ethics laws, including failing to hold the public office as a public trust and failing to avoid conflicts; seeking or accepting an economic opportunity that would improperly influence an official's duties; using a government position for one's own advantage; seeking other employment or contracts through the use of an official position; and failure to disclose a conflict of interest.

A former student of the Las Vegas Law Enforcement Academy has witnessed payment transactions and will state that Sherlock was a paid instructor there, according to the complaint.

The now-defunct Las Vegas Law Enforcement Academy was certified by the Las Vegas Township Constable's Office during the tenure of former Constable John Bonaventura.

Training halted at the academy in 2013 when Bonaventura ended the agency's role in the academy. Clark County commissioners in March 2013 abolished the constable's office, effective when Bonaventura's term ended in January. The Metropolitan Police Department has since taken over the constable's duties.

Ethics Commission response

The Ethics Commission agreed to investigate whether Sherlock has violated three of the concerns being raised, according to its confidential Aug. 4 response obtained by the Review-Journal.

Records show that those areas of ethics laws are: failing to hold a public office as a public trust; failing to avoid conflicts; and seeking or accepting an economic opportunity that would improperly influence an official's duties.

The commission also determined there wasn't enough evidence to investigate other concerns in the request, such as whether Sherlock sought employment or contracts through his official position and whether he failed to disclose a conflict of interest.

Records show the commission later agreed to look into one more aspect of the ethics law, which is whether Sherlock used government time, property or equipment for his personal or financial interest.

The commission doesn't confirm or deny the existence of complaints at this stage, when they're considered confidential.

The procedures for handling a complaint include three steps. After receiving a complaint, the commission will start investigating if it meets a minimum level of reliable evidence to support the allegations, said Yvonne Nevarez-Goodson, executive director of the commission.

If it does, the next step is for an investigation, with an investigatory panel examining the evidence and deciding if the commission should have a hearing and give an opinion. At that stage, it's considered public and goes to the commission for a full hearing.

When Sherlock interviewed with the POST Board on July 23, he said he wasn't planning to do any outside employment as the executive director.

"I want you to be comfortable," he told the board, according to a transcript. "The NRS (state law) is clear. I cannot have outside employment for profit as an executive director without your permission. I will have no outside employment if I'm appointed. And I don't foresee coming to ask you for permission."

"I want to see what this job entails," Sherlock added. "I have no desire anymore to work 20 hours a day. And that's basically it."

Kranyac said it's important for citizens to closely follow the affairs of government.

"You can either spend your time watching 'Dancing with the Stars' or figure out who on your city council is dancing with the devil," he said.

Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904. Find him on Twitter: @BenBotkin1.

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