KTNV ABC,Channel 13,Las Vegas,Nevada,News,Weather,Sports,Entertainment,KTNV.com,Action News .:. Contact 13: Cops On Credit Part II

Contact 13: Cops On Credit Part II

Police are entrusted with keeping our streets safe and protecting us from crime, but they are also entrusted with our tax dollars.

How well do they safeguard the taxpayers bottom line? 

Wednesday night Contact 13 looked at Metro's credit card spending.

Chief Investigator Darcy Spears now asks Henderson and North Las Vegas cops to open their books so you can see what they are doing with your money.

The receipts in the story will have to speak for themselves, because Henderson and North Las Vegas Police will not talk to Contact 13 about how they spend your tax dollars when they are buying on credit.

Neither would the city managers or council members they report to.

That is not a good idea according to public policy expert Ken Fernandez.

"When you are talking about a public agency and you are talking about taxpayer money, people do get upset," said Ken Fernandez.

Chief Perkins' dinner receipt from Hank's Fine Steaks and Martinis showed taxpayers treated a small group of public safety officials to a $1,400 gourmet meal that included a $315 appetizer.

They were in town to review and re-accredit the Henderson Police Department.

Carole Vilardo is President of the Nevada Taxpayers Association.

"That can tend to have a chilling effect on how I as a taxpayer view what you are doing with my money," said Carole.

Among the records Contact 13 reviewed, we found taxpayers paid for an officer to attend a beach party at an out of town conference and three cops to tour the Natural Bridge Caverns in San Antonio.

Taxpayers even bought police large bottles of vodka, rum and tequila for what they describe as a DUI training night, complete with chips and salsa.

"They are somewhat militarized and they believe like, look, we are dealing with national security, we are dealing with public safety, we are dealing with this and we are a little bit special," said Ken.

They often want us to take their word for more than $10,000 in business lunches over just 18 months at places like the Desert Pines Golf Club, Macaroni Grill and Carmine's.

Receipts also show there is a lot of official Henderson Police business happening at PT's Pub.

More often than not, the city pays even though police fail to submit itemized receipts, which their policy requires.

"With that type of discretion, it is likely that you are going to see abuses," said Ken. 

To Henderson's credit, they do ask questions.

In fact, the $200 they spent for a seminar in "How to Deal with Unacceptable Employee Behavior" probably came in handy when six staff members spent almost $400 for dinner at Claim Jumper.

When that was flagged in the review process, their captain was notified, they were reprimanded for abuse of privilege and forced to reimburse the city $240 for excessive amounts charged.

In another case of what some may consider questionable judgment, a detective attending an out of town workshop on sexual exploitation decided to dine at Hooters.

The city defends that by saying it was close to the conference and everyone else ate there too.

In the more mundane world of office supplies, Contact 13 found cops routinely paying retail.

Office Depot is making a killing off local taxpayers.

Though they say they get a government discount, over the last year and a half, Henderson Police spent $50,000 there with another $33,000 coming from North Las Vegas cops.

Retail giants Best Buy and Fry's Electronics got $20,000 of our tax dollars in the same time period from those two police departments.

"In many cases, it may not be the most efficient when it comes to spending, but when it comes to time, it may be more efficient," said Ken.

On the whole, taxpayers fared pretty well in North Las Vegas.

Even though Contact 13 did not find much to question there, no one from the police department or the city would talk about what we did find.

He juggles fire, rings and even snow leopards and you paid him $500 to entertain Neighborhood Watch block captains at a $3,000 taxpayer funded party.

North Las Vegas Police have taken giving back to the community to a new level.

If you need a new portable DVD player or a fancy digital picture frame just attend their Senior Crime Prevention Awareness Day where taxpayers bought almost $4,000 worth of door prizes from Wal-Mart.

Can they justify it all?

We may never know.

The city of North Las Vegas does monitor police expenditures and so does the City of Henderson.

In fact, Henderson officials say they have been nationally recognized for fiscal accountability and are constantly reviewing, enhancing and strengthening their financial policies and processes.

Stay tuned to Action News as we monitor developing news around the Valley.