Proposal for Pahrump Police dies
A proposal to create a new law enforcement agency, the Pahrump Police Department, was put forward this week but after a round of debate and moments of outright argument, the idea was ultimately struck dead, with no motion forthcoming.
The Pahrump Police Department was a topic of discussion at the Tuesday, Sept. 15 meeting of the Nye County commissioners, while the board sat as the governing body for the unincorporated town of Pahrump. There were three agenda items to consider, beginning with Pahrump Bill No. 2026-03, which was sponsored by commissioner Ian Bayne. He explained that he was aiming to address crime in parks and shopping centers by establishing a local police department with three part-time employees.
The second item was to consider a funding source and Bayne came prepared with a potential option for the first year of funding. He suggested the use of around $150,000 from the county’s remaining Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund dollars to provide for start-up supplies and equipment, as well as salaries. Further, he already had a list of three candidates to be appointed to the positions of Pahrump police chief and officers – Tom Klenczar, Harry Williams and Adam Tippets, all retirees from the Nye County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO).
“The purpose is to have a police presence, in order to stop crime before it happens,” Bayne stated as the three items opened simultaneously Tuesday evening.
Public comment was rife with residents speaking against the proposal, with Nancy Yanda calling it “asinine”, Anthony Greco asserting that it would be nothing more than homeless police and several questioning the various aspects of the proposal, such as vehicles, the limited nature of the part-time positions, why recently bought-out deputies were being proposed for appointment, how the department would be funded in the future and more.
NCSO Investigator John Tolle, who sits as president of the Nye County Law Enforcement Association, spoke out as well, telling the board that the union had voted on the matter and the majority were opposed.
“I understand there is crime in Pahrump,” Tolle stated. “We are a reactive police force. Let the public hear me – I am sorry that we are a reactive law enforcement agency. We don’t want to be. We’re not proud of that. We want to be a proactive law enforcement agency. We don’t have the support, we don’t have the personnel. We need these resources to be given to the sheriff’s office, so that we can properly patrol this town.”
Bayne insisted that he was not judging the performance of the deputies at NCSO but he did not feel the funding proposed would change much for the sheriff’s office budget and would instead be put to better use in forming a Pahrump police department. He listed a litany of crimes he says he has witnessed recently, including people exposing themselves, harassing people and using drugs in Petrack Park and in the areas around the Walmart and Albertsons shopping plazas. He also noted that there is a truck and some of the necessary equipment to run a small police department, such as radios, already available, and suggested using town administration offices for police officers to work out of. Despite these attempts, he was unable to sway his fellow board members.
The meeting also became very tense between Bayne and Nye County Sheriff Joe McGill, with a heated exchange between the two as Bayne criticized McGill and McGill responded with his own biting comments.
“This circus needs to end!” Boskovich exclaimed as he attempted to calm the situation. “If you’ve got a motion, bring it forward.”
However, it took another 10 minutes before the items finally came to a close.
“I am desperate to clean up this town,” Bayne continued. “And I don’t think there are other people who necessarily feel that way.”
“So am I,” McGill rejoined, adding, “It could be a good solution, someday in the future, with the right plans, the right funding. But how about we fund our sheriff’s department that has been in existence since 1864?”
In the end, Bayne acknowledged that the proposal did not have the support of the board and each of the three Pahrump Police Department items died without any action taken.
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com
