‘Every day we miss him:’ Statue of late Las Vegas police officer unveiled

A cop but also a human.

That’s how the late Lt. Erik Lloyd’s family wanted him portrayed in sculpture. That’s why he’s in uniform but also holding a small child, forever immortalized in bronze.

Lloyd’s widow, Minddie, was joined by family, friends, fellow officers and community members to unveil a towering statue in honor of her husband, a longtime Las Vegas police officer who died in July 2020 from complications due to COVID-19. He was 53.

“He loved children. He did. And it was so fitting,” Minddie Lloyd said.

It was her idea to have her husband holding a child in the sculpture, the artist who created the piece, Brian Hanlon, said.

In addition to his longtime work with the Metropolitan Police Department, Erik Lloyd was especially known for his work as president of the Injured Police Officers Fund, which offers financial assistance to injured police officers and their families, and the families of officers who have died in the line of duty, said current fund president Chelsea Stuenkle, who is a lieutenant with the Nevada State Police.

“Through his work, he really expanded the nonprofit. It’s been around since 1982, just doing this great work,” Stuenkle said. “But when Erik took over, and again, led all of these members, which is a lot of work to gets cops out of their day jobs to volunteer and really fundraise and get out in the community and spread this important message. He did that, and he had such a passion for it. He was such a natural leader.”

Standing 7 feet tall and looming over the front of the YMCA at the Centennial Hills Community Center at 6601 North Buffalo Drive, the placement of the statue is significant, supporters said.

“It will stand here in Ward 6 so that those visiting this community center know who Erik was and what he stood for,” said Ward 6 Councilwoman Michele Fiore. “It’s really important to know why it’s here at the YMCA. Erik grew up in the YMCA. And then when he became an adult, he helped so many kids get into the YMCA. It was a big, big part of his childhood.”

Hanlon, the sculptor, also has created several other statues that pay tribute to community figures living and dead, including the statue of former Mayor Oscar Goodman that was unveiled in downtown Las Vegas on Tuesday and the statue of legendary UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian.

Other late Las Vegas police officers sculpted by Hanlon include Alyn Beck and a yet-to-be-unveiled statue of his partner, Igor Soldo, who were shot and killed inside a Cici’s Pizza restaurant in 2014.

A longtime friend and colleague of Erik Lloyd’s, Assistant Sheriff Laz Chavez, who knew him since 1989, was touched by the turnout for Tuesday night’s commemoration. Hundreds of people crowded the community center’s front entrance area to witness the unveiling.

“It’s overwhelming, it really is, to see the community come out and support Erik and support the Injured Police Officers Fund, and all of law enforcement. It’s an overwhelming feeling of love, and I can’t thank everybody enough,” Chavez said. “Every day we miss him and all the wonderful things that he did.”

Contact Brett Clarkson at bclarkson@reviewjournal.com or 561-324-6421. Follow @BrettClarkson_ on Twitter.