Steve Grammas is a man who calls them like he sees them. Whether it is praising the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department or criticizing Metro, Grammas is not afraid to speak his mind. The President of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association knows his mission is to watch out for the best interest of the police who make up the organization’s membership.
I first spoke with Grammas in October 2017. I was doing a story on the local Las Vegas Valley victims of the Oct. 1, 2017 mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival on the Las Vegas Strip. Grammas gave a tribute, for a story I was writing for the New York Daily News, on off-duty police officer Charleston Hartfield. He was among the 60-plus victims who ultimately died from that attack.
Grammas is the person who will give a voice to fallen, and injured, local law enforcement officers at a time when often the family is too devastated to speak publicly. Sometimes, that means giving continued support to cops who survive their injuries but face a lifetime of challenges. One of those officers is Metro Officer Shay Mikalonis, who was shot and paralyzed on the night of the George Floyd protests in Las Vegas in June 2020. Grammas keeps in touch with Mikalonis and his family, and the LVPPA tries to give them as much support as it can.
After being a Metro police officer himself, as well as the son of a Metro cop, Grammas knows all about the challenges cops face. Grammas says he learned from his father how to be both a protector of the people and compassionate. Even so, Steve Grammas admits today’s police face a kind of danger and disrespect that would be unimaginable in years gone by. Politicians deserve a lot of the blame for the “defund the police” movement. For more on Grammas’ thoughts on that and a wide variety of other topics, please read on for his answers on 20 questions presented to him by Vegas Legal Magazine.
VLM: What does the Las Vegas Police Protective Association do for law enforcement? Can you please explain its mission for our readers?
SG: Our primary function has always revolved around legal defense and contract negotiating for the commissioned officers at LVMPD and the City of Las Vegas. The mission of the LVPPA has always been to “protect those who protect others.” Over time, we have expanded ourselves into community programs through book drives, toy drives, food drives, and sponsorships for non-profit organizations.
VLM: Can you talk about the success the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has had in reducing the use-of-deadly-force incidents?
SG: I am a believer that the use of deadly force is related to the actions of the suspect involved in a call. No officer wants to use deadly force, and we train to do everything possible to avoid those encounters. I believe, statistically, uses of deadly force fluctuate yearly based on the level of commitment by the bad guy.
VLM: In what ways do you think Metro can be a model for other police departments around the country?
SG: I think that LVMPD does a fair job of initial training when our officers are new and in the academy. I think what we teach and how we teach it are second to none. That said, LVMPD backs away from high levels of training after officers leave the academy and more focus is put on clearing out calls over making sure an officer is still practicing good habits through training.
VLM: You said your father was a career cop in New York and, later, at Metro. What did you learn about being a cop from him?
SG: I learned how to be the type of police officer that the community expects me to be. My dad was a model officer in the fact that he was tough, when needed, and compassionate when required. An officer must be able to flip the switch from advocate and counselor to protector when the time calls for it. We deal with some of the most violent individuals on the planet, and we must be ready to meet that level of violence head on to protect ourselves and others from being victimized.
VLM: How would you assess Metro’s handling of the unrest after other cities faced riots following the death of George Floyd in 2020?
SG: I think we did a fairly good job. Early on, I think we were a little under-prepared and allowed the crowds to do a little too much. After Shay was shot, that changed, and we began to step up our activity when it was warranted.
VLM: In the 2023 Nevada Legislature, what issues are you concerned may impact police?
SG: We are just thankful that Gov. (Joe) Lombardo was elected. I know there were several changes that were coming to the legislature if (former Gov. Steve) Sisolak won the election that would have made it hard to do our jobs and make our citizens less safe. With Gov. Lombardo, and his background in law enforcement, I know bills affecting police officer and citizens will not see the light of day.
VLM: How important is Gov. Joe Lombardo’s new task force on reducing crime? What areas do you think it can impact?
SG: I was part of the governor’s task force. I know he wants to combat the narcotics issues and theft issues we have seen. Trafficking levels of narcotics (that can be possessed by a suspect without requiring a mandatory prison sentence) … were raised to an insane number. And, the total amount of stolen goods (that can be taken by an individual without being prosecuted was) raised significantly in past legislative sessions. I know he wants to get a handle on that as well as the fentanyl epidemic.
VLM: How would you like to see fentanyl cases handled in Nevada, in terms of charging and sentencing?
SG: I think the (drug) trafficking (amount) levels, which carry mandatory prison time, should be reduced – (to) even less than what (Democratic Nevada State Senate Majority Leader Nicole) Cannizzaro and (Nevada Attorney General Arron) Ford are requesting. There is not just an issue of legality with regards to possessing fentanyl, but catastrophic deaths have been attributed to even the slightest amounts. This needs to be handled immediately and I know the governor has this at the forefront of his priorities. (Required minimum possession amounts — for mandatory prison sentences — for those) trafficking in fentanyl, should be far lower than (the required minimum possession amounts those for those trafficking) regular narcotics.
VLM: How would you wage this new “war on drugs” while still helping to treat substance abusers?
SG: I worked in Narcotics for almost six years and about 1 and a half years as an undercover detective. I can tell you, while we have issues with theft and other crimes with habitual drug users, our focus was always the supplier. I think we need to offer far more help to get people off narcotics for sure. But we need to hammer the people flooding the streets and creating new users every day. This is a big enterprise as it relates to the dealers and the amounts of money they make. As I referred to the trafficking laws before, we hardly ever had a recreational addict/ user in possession of a half-ounce of narcotics. Those were the dealers that had those amounts and more. By raising the (drug-possession amount) limits (that require mandatory prison sentences) for trafficking — and as now (making) low-, mid-, and high-level “Possession of Controlled Substances”(laws to) take the place of the old trafficking laws — we did nothing to (help) the users. Rather, (we) made it harder to rid our streets of the dealers.
VLM: Can you talk about the current state of Metro’s narcotics busts and how tactics – and challenges – have changed over the years?
SG: In the narcotics section, when I was there, we trained quite frequently in our craft. We worked on bust outs and search warrant entries a lot to achieve a level of competency that those situations became second nature, similar to our SWAT team. I believe more training is being offered in those sections and a focus has been on minimizing injury to the suspects as well as officers.
VLM: As a longtime resident, how has policing changed in the Las Vegas Valley over the years?
SG: When my father was on the job in the early ’80s, and even into the beginning of my career in the late ’90s, people had far more respect for police officers. You did not see people screaming obscenities in the face of an officer, or shoving a cellphone camera into their faces. They treated a police officer with respect. Now, I see politicians telling citizens to feel free to scream at officers and treat them like garbage. Police officers, heck, every citizen, should be treated with dignity and respect. I think society lost that feeling.
VLM: Can you give us an update on Metro Officer Shay Mikalonis, who was tragically shot and paralyzed on the night of the George Floyd protests in Las Vegas in 2020?
SG: Shay will never be the same again. Because of some scumbag, his life has been forever changed. But he is a tough young man and is trying to still live his life. He has been to many public events and refuses to stay shut down inside his home.
VLM: How is it working with new Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill? How does his style — and his goals – differ from former Sheriff (and now-Governor) Joe Lombardo?
SG: Sheriff McMahill and I worked together for years when he was (then-Sheriff Joe)Lombardo’s undersheriff. He and I have always had a good working relationship. I think he has a true passion for making sure the rank-and-file officers enjoy coming into work, and he has made several moves to show his support for the officers who keep our streets safe. I think that Joe and Kevin have similar styles, although Kevin may be a little more approachable. But in my position, Joe and I had a great understanding of each other and I enjoyed most of our time working together.
VLM: How did the nationwide “defund the police” movement affect morale and recruitment at Metro – and at police departments around the Las Vegas Valley?
SG: The defund the police narrative was back breaking to our local police officers. Every day an officer is willing to risk their own lives in service of another, and yet citizens and politicians continued to bang the drum that cops were the problem and not the criminals. Many of my brothers and sisters left this profession over the last three years due to this rhetoric. I know our numbers for recruitment took a stark downward turn as well and it shows how many funded, but unfilled, positions we have at LVMPD.
VLM: What can be done to protect law enforcement from criminals who want to target police?
SG: Politicians need to stop fanning the flames and provoking the criminal element against law enforcement. Right now, criminals feel they have advocates for their behavior in the criminal justice system as well as at the state legislature. If that continues, attacks on police officers will continue.
VLM: During the recent Easter Week – or Holy Week – there was a noticeable increased police presence at local churches. How will police protect potential targets outside of the resort corridor? Are there enough officers?
SG: As I mentioned, we are down many bodies at LVMPD. When fully staffed, it is tough for officers to be everywhere every second of the day. As for the numbers we currently maintain, they are even worse. While there is a focus on the strip, we do our best to still be in the neighborhoods and businesses as frequently as possible, but it is becoming harder and harder to allocate manpower to the citizens of Clark County due to our manpower issues.
VLM: With crime on the rise around the country, what can local law enforcement officials do to prevent the Las Vegas Valley from experiencing the type of crime waves common in places such as Baltimore, New York, Chicago or St. Louis?
SG: I think we do a very good job involving our community in the discussions of law enforcement and how we interact with our community. The sheriff and his executive staff do a great job getting out and talking to the many different groups in our community and assuring them that LVMPD is different from other agencies. Those relationships go a long way in building bridges when an incident occurs.
VLM: If Nevada ever went to a “no-cash bail” system, what would be the deterrent to committing crimes in the Silver State?
SG: We would see a revolving door of criminals at record numbers. If people had no accountability for bail, and knew they would be released immediately with no bail needing to be posted, it would embolden them more than ever.
VLM: On a related note, is bail in Nevada too low? Are sentences too lenient?
SG: As law enforcement, we focus on doing our job in our lane. We enforce the laws on the books and hope that the district attorney’s office will do their jobs as it relates to the follow through. This would be a good question for lawmakers and the DA.
VLM: Do you think there are sufficient resources available to treat mentally-ill offenders – as opposed to incarcerating them?
SG: I do not. One of the issues our officers deal with daily is mental illness. They would prefer to get them help, over taking them to jail. The state needs to do a better job of funding more mental health advocates that could work hand-in-hand with our officers. The goal should not be to defund the police to shift to this model, rather overfund and add more to both the police officers as well as the mental-health professionals.
Valerie Miller is a Las Vegas Valley-based award-winning journalist. She can be reached at (702) 683-3986 or valeriemusicmagic@yahoo.com.
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