‘A really bad look’: Supporters question Henderson police chief’s ouster at meeting

A sometimes boisterous group of several dozen people offered support for embattled Henderson Police Chief Hollie Chadwick at a City Council meeting Tuesday.

Chadwick, who has been chief of the department since 2023, was put on a three-week administrative leave, at the end of which she can either accept a buyout or be fired, a source told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Thursday.

City Council members offered no clarity on why Chadwick was placed on leave at the meeting, though they did encounter a lot of resistance to the decision.

Of the council members, only Councilwoman Carrie Cox offered support for Chadwick, saying she was “disappointed in how this matter was handled.”

As well, an online petition to reinstate Chadwick had more than 1,300 signatures as of Tuesday morning. During the Tuesday evening meeting, several dozen attendees voiced support for Chadwick, some wearing “I stand with Chief Chadwick” shirts.

Jeff Crampton, a former civilian board member of the Henderson Police Association, said that he started the petition on Saturday afternoon because he was concerned about what he saw as a lack of transparency.

“Arguably they don’t have a reason. If they did have a reason, they would’ve put it out there,” Crampton told the Review-Journal on Monday.

During the public comment portion of Tuesday’s meeting, Crampton was one of a dozen attendees who addressed the council in support of Chadwick.

‘No good reason’

Chadwick, who joined the Henderson Police Department in 2002, was appointed chief of police on May 1, 2023, according to the city of Henderson website. Her biography page said that she was the first female commander to oversee a SWAT team in Nevada.

Henderson has said little about the situation. A city spokesperson confirmed on Thursday that Chadwick was on leave and that Deputy Chief Itzhak Henn is the acting head of the police department.

Before Tuesday’s meeting, the city declined to comment about Chadwick or the petition, stating that it was a personnel matter.

During the meeting, council members Jim Seebock, Monica Larson and Dan Stewart joined Mayor Michelle Romero in stating their support for the right of Henderson City Manager Stephanie Garcia-Vause to place Chadwick on leave.

Following the meeting, Cox said she found out about the city manager’s decision on Thursday through the media.

“I really hope the other (council members) ponder what they heard today,” Cox said. “I hope the city manager will reconsider. This is a really bad look. There’s damage that’s going to be done to our department by the officers that will leave with Hollie.”

Chadwick could not be reached for comment.

In Crampton’s opinion, Chadwick was targeted, and the city is getting rid of her “for no good reason.”

He saw the move as one that would decrease trust, both within the police department and throughout the community.

“If the community doesn’t support (the police), their road to success is lessened,” he said.

In addition to the more than 1,300 signatures, the petition also has several comments in support of Chadwick’s qualifications.

“She has more integrity than anyone I know,” one person wrote on the petition.

At the meeting, several former Henderson police officers offered their support for Chadwick, including Danny Navarro, who spent about three decades working for the department. His last day as a department employee was Feb. 14, he said.

“For me, it seems so secretive,” Navarro said. “Chief Chadwick is so right for the position. She’s always concerned about officers and how officers present themselves to the public. I believe this will have a negative impact on the city.”

Crampton, a Henderson resident of 23 years, said that Chadwick had provided stability to a department that had struggled in years prior, with multiple chiefs leaving the department amid controversy — some voluntarily and some not.

Crampton has spoken out at past City Council meetings, including when the union voted no confidence for former police Chief Thedrick Andres during a public comment period at a City Council meeting in November 2022.

In March 2019, Henderson officials asked police Chief LaTesha Watson to voluntarily resign. She was fired when she missed the deadline, the Review-Journal previously reported.

Chadwick faced scrutiny

Chadwick has faced scrutiny during her time as the department’s top boss.

Months into Chadwick’s tenure as chief, the Henderson Police Department came under fire after a detective was accused of hurling a racial slur and urging the killing of Mexicans and Black Lives Matter protesters.

Colleagues accused the police detective, Kevin LaPeer, of using the N-word and calling Black, Latino and LGBTQ people derogatory terms, including “savages” and “garbage,” according to a 123-page investigative report obtained by the Review-Journal.

The department investigated LaPeer and in a memo about the case, Henn found that LaPeer broke department policies a dozen times, including those that ban workplace harassment or discrimination, untruthfulness, and prejudice, the Review-Journal previously reported.

In 2023, Chadwick cleared LaPeer’s disciplinary record after deciding that officers would not face punishment for multiple policy violations that stem from the same incident.

LaPeer, who is white, denied the accusations, the investigation report said. Shortly after the findings of the internal investigation were disseminated, he filed a defamation lawsuit against the city, claiming the investigation was conducted in bad faith and resulted in a “complete assassination” of his character.

Chadwick had publicly said the department does not have racists within its ranks but, in 2023, refused repeated requests by the Review-Journal to discuss LaPeer’s discipline. She fled when a reporter tried to question her at a public event.

In February 2024, a Review-Journal investigation reported that Chadwick reversed recommendations to fire officers who were found to have conspired to cover up a suspected DUI car crash involving an off-duty co-worker, according to police investigative records.

The following December, the Henderson Police Supervisors Association, a union that represents the sergeants and lieutenants of the Henderson Police Department, filed a complaint against Chadwick and the city.

The complaint, which was submitted to the Government Employee-Management Relations Board, alleged that Chadwick had “been engaged in union-busting activities,” such as “arbitrarily” denying the union leave of HPSA members. According to the document, Chadwick singled out and punished the union’s president, Charles Hedrick, because of his involvement with the organization.

The complaint did not call for Chadwick’s resignation or firing but ordered an end to what it referred to as “retaliatory behavior” on behalf of the city and chief.

The HPSA also asked that both parties issue an apology letter for their conduct. Andrew Regenbaum — the executive director of the state police union and the lawyer representing the HPSA in the complaint — said that a decision has yet to be made in the matter.

Accusations of ‘putting on a show’

Regenbaum told the Review-Journal on Tuesday that Chadwick being placed on leave was “not surprising.”

“Chadwick had big potential, but her administrative decisions ended up being repeatedly ill-advised, disappointing, and sometimes even retaliatory,” he said.

In a text message to the Review-Journal following Tuesday’s meeting, Regenbaum said the outpouring of support for Chadwick was “orchestrated” and accused Cox of “putting on a show.”

Before walking out of the City Hall complex Tuesday evening, Cox was asked what she expected to happen next.

“I’m not sure what’s next,” she said. “I sure hope we can recover from this.”

Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ktfutts on X and @katiefutterman.bsky.social. Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X. Review-Journal staff writer Akiya Dillon contributed to this report.