LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — "Morale Killer."
Those are the words the Las Vegas Police Protective Association used to describe Captain Landon Reyes.
Now, Reyes has filed a federal lawsuit against Metro's second in command, the department itself, and the union, claiming he was defamed, threatened and silenced when he tried to defend himself.
WATCH | Darcy Spears breaks down the allegations:
The police union rolled out a mobile billboard last summer in a move LVPPA President Steve Grammas defended when we spoke to him in July.
"This isn't a slander piece," he said at the time. "This is: someone has to do something fairly outlandish that will result in change."
Slander is exactly what it is, according to Reyes' lawsuit, which he and his wife, Metro Sgt. Alejandra Zambrano, filed in federal court on Friday. The lawsuit says Metro leadership "enabled and contributed to the attack on Captain Reyes ... prohibiting (the couple) from publicly responding to the smear campaign."
The lawsuit says the billboard was retaliation after Reyes reported sexual misconduct involving another officer. The union apparently began tracking Reyes because he sent an email to his South Central Area Command "making everyone aware that the unprofessional sexual misconduct comments would not be tolerated, and if anyone had been offended, to see him."
Grammas claimed in our July interview that the union received multiple complaints against Reyes and that he'd spoken badly about the association.
" ... he was going in and talking about the PPA specifically, making references to the lawsuit that our officers won for the overtime pay which was $19 million, and alluding to 'where's the money?' We're waiting on the department to sign that agreement, so we have no control of where the money is."
Instead of going through the normal internal grievance process, attorneys for Reyes claim the union took the "outlandish" step of getting the mobile billboard to humiliate him, placing it at the South Central Area Command, next to the employee gate.
When Reyes left the Area Command and drove to Metro headquarters for a weekly meeting, his attorneys allege the mobile billboard followed him and parked in a lot across the street from headquarters, where the public could see it.
That contradicts what Grammas told us in July.
"It was reported that, or believed that, the vehicle was heading down to headquarters and while the driver was heading that way, I gave the position to my team that we're not, this isn't a headquarters issue," Grammas said at the time. "This isn't a Sheriff McMahill issue. This isn't another Area Command issue. This is a Landon Reyes issue and we don't need to throw it in people's face."
Before it rolled out, the complaint says Reyes learned the "disparaging" billboard was coming and told his chain of command he wanted to file an Internal Affairs complaint against the union and "the retaliatory environment it was fostering." However, the lawsuit says Reyes was "instructed to stand down and expressly prohibited from pursuing an Internal Affairs complaint."
Attorneys for Reyes say this allowed "false and damaging narratives to remain unchallenged."
Metro's Public Information Office, overseen by Undersheriff Andrew Walsh, was also silenced, according to the complaint, which says Walsh directed "PIO not to respond to media inquiries regarding Captain Reyes and the mobile billboard." Indeed, we experienced that ourselves as Metro never responded to our request for information when we asked in July.
After the billboard appeared, the lawsuit says Reyes and Grammas met with Undersheriff Walsh and in that meeting, Grammas reportedly "threatened Captain Reyes" with more potential tactics.
According to the lawsuit, "At no point did Undersheriff Walsh attempt to de-escalate the meeting, correct Grammas, or protect Captain Reyes from this abusive conduct. Instead, Undersheriff Walsh ... berated Captain Reyes, stating, "You just couldn't let them (LVPPA) (expletive) win, could you? You are a stupid, stubborn (expletive) and a waste of my time."
The lawsuit says "Walsh further escalated his conduct, remarking that 'nobody gives a (expletive) about your family' after Captain Reyes expressed concern about the impact of the billboard on family members who the LVMPD also employs."
The lawsuit says "Grammas acknowledged that no grievances had been filed with LVMPD against Captain Reyes, as there were no disciplinary or contract-violation issues." When asked why Metro leadership didn't take any action against Reyes, Grammas told us in July, "You look at Sheriff McMahill and Undersheriff Walsh and folks like that and they're great people, but they've got a lot of things going on."
The lawsuit will be playing out in federal court while Grammas actively campaigns for Las Vegas City Council.
Social media posts show Gov. Joe Lombardo and members of the LVPPA executive board at Grammas' official campaign kick-off a few months ago.
Campaign contribution records show two entities associated with the union donated $10,000 each to Grammas. The Committee to Elect Kevin McMahill also donated $1,500.
McMahill's election committee donation came despite the lawsuit's claim that Grammas previously disparaged the sheriff. He allegedly said Sheriff McMahill was "not intelligent enough to discuss pay negotiations and should just remain quiet" and that "the sheriff did not know 'what the hell he was talking about' when Captain Reyes referenced a department-wide video the sheriff completed related to the financial status of LVMPD."
We reached out to Metro, the LVPPA, and Grammas, requesting comment on the lawsuit.
The union sent Channel 13 the following statement.
"Our directors decided to exercise their First Amendment rights, and their message was not defamatory.”
Grammas responded but declined to comment, and we've heard nothing from Metro.
You can read the full lawsuit below.