LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -
Just four days after the Department of Justice handed down its report and recommendations on officer-involved shootings, the union has responded to its findings.
"What's in the report, I'd say 95 percent we concur with," said Detective Chris Collins, the executive director of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association.
Last week, ACLU spokesman Dane Claussen said the report didn't go far enough in regards to how Metro should handle officer-involved shootings. The report contains 75 recommendations and findings.
Among those recommendations is more uniform training for officers, better policies with the use of shotguns, rifles and other firearms, as well as less lethal weapons such as Tasers, batons and sprays.
"We support training for our officers; anything that allows them to do their jobs better and safer we're in support of," said Clark
As for claims that the union would resist changes, Clark said, "The cries from NAACP and ACLU and others has been that we shoot unarmed people. The report indicates that 87.6 percent of the people we shoot have some type of weapon."
The report also concluded that the police union advised its members not to cooperate with officer-involved shooting investigations. Collins disagrees. He said the union membership was told when giving statements they should invoke "Garrity Rights," meaning what an officer says can't be used again him or her in a court of law.
Last Thursday, Sheriff Doug Gillespie said his department will study the report for about 30 days before responding to the findings. He did acknowledge that about half the recommendations and findings have already been addressed.
Copyright 2012 KVVU (KVVU Broadcasting Corporation). All rights reserved.
