Sheriff Joe Lombardo, head of the Las Vegas Metro Police should be impeached

LAS VEGAS — One week after the Baltimore Post-Examiner requested the after-action report on the October 1, 2017 Las Vegas Massacre, that police sources told us had been completed and as we reported in our July 6 article, ‘Las Vegas Metro Police announce Hendrex fired one month after Baltimore Post-Examiner broke story,’ Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo held a press briefing Wednesday and announced that the report would be available online after the presser.

This is how Lombardo conducts business, so he doesn’t have to answer questions about the report, just like he did with the release of the departments preliminary and final investigative reports on the Las Vegas Massacre, by releasing them after the press briefings.

By the way, as we reported in several stories both of those reports were a disgrace and an embarrassment.

It wouldn’t make much difference anyway when you take into account how the spineless Las Vegas media have coddled Lombardo throughout the past eighteen months.  They are weak, afraid to challenge Lombardo and allowed him to get away with his lies, misleading and inconsistent statements since the Massacre.

The Baltimore Post-Examiner has been the only media outlet that has challenged Lombardo in print and called him out for what he truly is.  He is just another lying, incompetent politician and according to many LVMPD officers who have spoken to us over the years, wouldn’t make a pimple on a good cop’s ass.

Lombardo must have taken an ad out in the Las Vegas Review-Journal based on the great coverage he has gotten in the past two years from this leading public relations firm for this sheriff.

He doesn’t even have the backing of the majority of rank and file cops.

It would have been more fitting if Lombardo had taken out a classified ad seeking a sheriff for Clark County – because, after the press conference on Wednesday, it’s hard to understand why no one will call for his impeachment.

Lombardo’s press briefing and the subsequent after-action report told us nothing.

Well, that is not exactly true.  It showed us the incompetence of and the failure of leadership within the LVMPD.

It was malpractice, to coin Lombardo’s own word, to not have been prepared 15 years after the September 11, 2001 terrorists’ attacks.  Millions of dollars in taxpayer money to the police department for training and equipment and how much more in federal grant money God only knows.

The 2008 Mumbai, India terrorist attack, which by the way, taxpayer dollars paid for a member of the LVMPD command to travel there for lessons learned, numerous other terrorist attacks and active shooter incidents in this country, yet the October 1 Las Vegas Massacre was the most catastrophic failure by police and security response to an active shooter incident in US history.

If that wasn’t enough to grab the attention of the police hierarchy here in Sin City, maybe the threats against the city made by terrorist groups that ran in the pages of magazines like Inspire and Dabiq should have given them a heads up.

Even after all these years to prepare, on October 1, 2017 we had a shortage of trauma kits, police radio problems and the list goes on.  It’s commendable that they have now addressed those concerns, but the big question is why the complacency and incompetence of the LVMPD’s leadership over the years.

The result is the worst mass shooting in modern American history, because one lone gunman fired from his sniper’s nest on the 32^nd floor of his MGM Resorts International (MGMRI) owned Mandalay Bay Hotel suite for over ten minutes unimpeded, killing 58 people and wounding almost 500 others.

At least that’s the official narrative.

The only police officer we are told who fired his weapon that night was the SWAT officer who had an accidental discharge of a three-round burst after making entry into Stephen Paddock’s suite, one hour and five minutes after the last shots were fired.

Excerpts from the extremely informative press briefing

Joe, FEMA is not an association. It’s the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The 158-page report with 93 recommendations. 40% already implemented.

Analysis: Great, about time. You had 15 years to get ready and failed.  The result; 58 dead and almost 500 wounded by gunfire.

Say it ain’t so Joe.

Lombardo: An example being, making sure high-rise structures that face open-air venues are secure, implementing expanded training to address elevated threats to include rifle training, extra supplies of trauma kits to major events and the presence of fire commanders at large scale events.

Analysis:  The Baltimore Post-Examiner was told by police officers that prior to Lombardo being elected sheriff the department had over 600 riflemen.  After he won the election that number dropped drastically. Lombardo is anti “assault” weapon and against high-capacity magazines and doesn’t even like that the police have them, so we have been told.

Officers who are qualified to have rifles cannot have them readily available in the carriers in their vehicles because Lombardo believes it does not look good to the public.  The rifles have to be kept in the trunk.  My answer to that is, the hell with the public perception.

Say it ain’t so Joe.

As the Baltimore Post-Examiner reported in several stories, both the LVMPD and MGMRI were both aware of the threat posed by a sniper from an elevated position prior to October 1, 2017.

Say it ain’t so Joe.

Joe, you should have had SWAT snipers deployed in the area of the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival because you know Joe that both the LVMPD and MGMRI had foreseeability and lives would have been saved.

Say it ain’t so Joe.

Lombardo: In early throes of 1 October, everybody’s familiar, bifurcation of the Force Investigation Team conducting the investigation of the 32^ndfloor and our homicide detail doing an investigation out at the Route 91 location.  That was questioned whether that was appropriate or not, I provided some explanation as to the reasoning behind that, but as a result of that dilemma, the Major Case Investigation profile and policy will be implemented in all future incidents, that we determine to be a major case.”

Analysis: Joe, what was the reason why the homicide detectives did not investigate Paddock’s death?

Tell us the truth on that dilemma Joe.

And now more bureaucracy, a major case squad?

Too many fish in the bowl Joe.

Lombardo: “We owe the public an assurance that we will always place their safety and well-being first.”

Having you in leadership Joe doesn’t give me great comfort.  Knowing there are good cops out there does.

Lombardo: Following the conclusion of the press conference the report will be made public, posted on LVMPD.com’s website.

Analysis: You’re a coward Joe, can’t face the tough questions.  I’m sorry, I apologize, don’t cry.

The Vegas media has no backbone, so you wouldn’t have been challenged anyway.  They only report, they don’t investigate and they don’t do their homework.  That’s why the Baltimore Post-Examiner has broken more stories on the Las Vegas Massacre than any other media outlet in the country.  Just like our readers tell us, “if you want to know what going on in Vegas, you have to go all the way to Baltimore.”

Lombardo takes questions from the media

Lombardo: It was completed I would say, safely say a month ago, well actually it was completed well before that…it was ready for publication a week ago.”

Analysis: So Joe, it was completed a month ago, but you released it a week after we asked your Public Information Office for it.  Whatever works I guess.

Reporter: Does the report address disciplinary actions or lessons learned about disciplinary actions against officers in the department?

Lombardo: No it doesn’t.  Those are internal processes that are identified and I don’t comment as you know, I don’t comment on personnel actions.

Analysis: Here you go again Joe, more cover-up and non-transparency.

Reporter: Of the 615 reviews, 4,900 dispatch calls, 500 police reports, 3,100 body-worn cameras videos, is that material that has already been released to the public?

Lombardo: Um, Carla, I would think you would have better served to answer that question, um, I don’t know, I can’t answer on the finality of those numbers or the completeness of those numbers I provided you today but, um, the items that were part of the public information request have been provided and that is completed, so is one for one example, I don’t know, I have to, we’d have to do a comprehensive review of that.  I guess the question you’re asking Ken is everything that we released to the media and the public is it the same as what we reviewed for the report. Yes.

Analysis: Joe, are you really sure that the public got everything the court ordered you to release to the public.  Are you absolutely sure Joe, you seem a little unsure about that?

Reporter: Does the report break down SWAT and the officers who were out there on the field when it comes to response time and secondly does that provide situation that shows where its better for those front line officers to respond to right away, without waiting for SWAT, for example, I know SWAT had limited radio communication.

Lombardo: Um, well I’m going to answer your first question, Yes. And no, um, there is no recommendation to wait on SWAT.  That paradigm has changed years ago as a result of the active shooters that have taken place across the United States.  We train our officers, once they have a sufficient number of officers available, it’s usually three or more are trained to act immediately against the threat.  We no longer wait and identify SWAT as the responding element or complement in those situations.

Analysis: Joe, let me ask you a question.  How come nobody entered Paddock’s suite until one hour and five minutes after he fired the last shots?

Joe, why did all those armed officers on the 32^nd floor wait for SWAT only to find out the full SWAT team never arrived?

Remember Joe when you told us that the full SWAT team made entry?  You lied to us, again.

Joe, you have been a bad boy. I do believe you lied to us again.  Remember when you sat with your friend alien reporter George Knapp from KLAS-TV’s I-Team in November of 2017.  That’s right Joe, the guy who you sometimes have dinner with. Remember when you told the public that you had to make entry into the room because you didn’t want Paddock reloading or opening fire again.  Yes, Joe, that was you.

Funny thing Joe, entry wasn’t made for over an hour.

Is that how concerned you were for public safety?

Be a man Joe, tell the truth for once.

Reporter: Eighteen months out, how would you rate your department’s response?

Lombardo: You know, I said it one month out, actually I probably said it a week out, but I’ll say it the same today, I think our response was uh, heroic, I think we did a fantastic job in what we did for an event that nobody could of what if’d, um yeah you get the naysayers and the self-proclaimed experts out there in the cyber world, they say well he should of prepared for this, um, come on folks, this was never in anybody’s thought process or paradigm, um, I think as a result of what we did experience in the short proximity of our response to the threat, I think we did a fantastic job.  And I won’t sway from that, you can ask me another year from now, I’ll give you the same answer.

Analysis:  Fantastic! Heroic!  Joe, you do remember a guy named Cordell Hendrex. Yes, Joe, you fired him on March 20 and you kept it from the public until I found out you were a very bad boy and you were hiding that fact from us.

Yes Joe, the same Hendrex you defended on radio shows. What happened Joe, you turned on your boy?

Relax Joe, he only stood by with an armed contingent of four other armed personnel, a force multiplier to use your own words, and they did nothing as people died and were getting wounded and yes Joe, as your own officers were pinned down and others braved the gunfire to get into the hotel to stop Paddock, but it was too late.

Reporter: I’m going to come back to that discipline question, you said these are handled internally, can you tell us results, for instance, cases where body cameras were turned off another perhaps important incident, the inadvertent shooting in the room, were there officers disciplined for circumstances like those?

Lombardo: Yes.  All identified discipline has already been identified, I guess that’s an oxymoron, we already identified all discipline associated with 1 October and discipline has been met out.

Reporter: I should ask specifically of the officer shooting in the room.

Lombardo: Yes, that individual has been disciplined.  That’s a matter of normal practice.

Reporter: The officers who did not turn on their body-worn cameras?

Lombardo: Yes, we have a matrix, hopefully, you’re very familiar with our matrix in activating a body-worn camera and the discipline associated with that.

Reporter: You know of two officers who were dismissed, or the one who got dropped back, are there any other pending actions.

Lombardo: No, I believe we’re in arbitration with one officer now.

Analysis: Joe, I don’t think you are being very transparent here. We were told there were other cops who failed to act that night.  Even someone at headquarters told me that last year.

Joe, you’re not lying again, are you?

Lombardo:…. I think we responded greatly.

Analysis:  Joe, greatly!  I really don’t want to have to repeat myself again, do I?

Reporter: Are there any other reports coming from your agency or others about 1 October?

Lombardo: I’m not aware of any.

Reporter: So this closes the book?

Lombardo: I believe this closes the book on that, I mean obviously we have, we still don’t know the reasons why, um, but this closes the book in practicality, of 1 October.  It will never close the book for our victims and the people that suffered as a result of it, um, but in evaluation of the event and investigation of the event, for all practical purposes, it closes it.

Analysis:  Joe, excuse me for not being politically correct here, but it doesn’t close jack shit.  Too many unanswered questions.

Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse

Joe, you didn’t even mention Hendrex’s name in the after-action report, how come?

Believe it or not people this is in the LVMPD October 1 After-Action Review:

The shooter began firing at 10:05 p.m. Officers completing paperwork in the Mandalay Bay security office heard the radio transmission of an active shooter at a high floor in the hotel and responded with hotel security managers by proceeding through the casino up to the 31st floor. From there, they relayed over the radio that they heard automatic gunfire one floor above them. Two LVMPD officers stood one floor below the shooter and could hear automatic gunfire. A few minutes later, the officers and hotel security officers entered the stairwell leading up to the 32nd floor. Unsure of what was taking place, the officers remained on the stairwell landing.

Joe, come on Joe, unsure of what was taking place.

What was taking place Joe was people were being slaughtered while two of your officers and three armed Mandalay Bay assistant security managers stood by for almost five minutes and did nothing.  They weren’t unsure what was going on, they knew and you know they knew.

Security radios were clearly heard on the body camera video.  The shooter was inside 32-135.  They told that to Hendrex when they were retreating.  Joe, we heard Hendrex’s radio blaring that other officers were pinned down and taking fire outside.   Joe, I guess you didn’t watch the video footage.  Shame on you.

Joe, let me tell you a little secret.  While the four of them were on the 31^st floor retreating, guess who was on the 32^nd floor as Paddock was killing people?

Yes Joe, the armed Mandalay Bay Hotel security shift operations manager and two armed security bike patrol officers. Joe, guess what, they didn’t do a freaking thing either.

Joe, I heard you say at the press conference as I watched you on television, that hotel security is a force multiplier for the police.

Joe, I’m going to tell you a little secret, just between you and me.

Joe, force multiplier.  Joe does that mean there were eight armed officers within several feet of Paddock’s suite as that piece of shit was killing and wounding people and they all did nothing, nada, zero.

OK Joe, I know you can’t talk about the Mandalay Bay because you may be thinking, what if I grow some balls and tell the truth, but then again what if I want a big six-figure job when I retire with the casinos running security like most of my predecessors.

Joe, it’s better for you if you keep your mouth shut and keep thinking about all those zeros that could come your way in the future.  There are still lawsuits going on too Joe, just in case you haven’t heard.

SWAT response

A SWAT sniper team was deployed in an LVMPD helicopter, hoping to confront the shooter. It was difficult for the helicopter to get close enough to the Mandalay Bay window to observe the shooter. Meanwhile, the SWAT commander had no radio communication with the helicopter or the snipers during their time in the air. The helicopter and snipers returned to ground level because they could not communicate with the SWAT commander, get close enough, or observe the shooter. Once the helicopter landed, the snipers learned the suspect was dead.

Joe, do you guys do training exercises?

Was this first time that a SWAT commander lost communication with officers in the air?

I’m asking you this question Joe because I know you had some experience with communication systems in the past.

Didn’t you have something to do with radio debacle that cost the taxpayers about $45 million some years back?

Joe, I hate to repeat myself, but you should have had SWAT snipers deployed in the area of Route 91.  Those guys can shoot the head off a tick and they would have saved lives. I know you didn’t think outside the box Joe, but I don’t think that’s a good excuse.

Joe, don’t you guys get paid to think about the what if’s?

Hey Joe, can I ask you one more question.  I know I’m a pain in the ass and a thorn in your side, but I feel compelled to ask you this question.

How come a SWAT officer did not know what Route 91 was, he thought it was a nightclub inside the Mandalay Bay?

I know it’s not a big deal Joe.  It was only a three-day event with 20,000 attendees, but it would have been nice if the word had gone out to all your personnel.

I would assume at this point Joe in our relationship, that it would be foolish and a waste of my time to ask for any other media requests from the public information office.  Apparently, they must of all been placed on administrative leave anyway because I never hear back from them.

Sheriff Joe Lombardo, is the highest law enforcement officer in Southern Nevada.

Apparently, Joe tells it like it ain’t.

Editor’s Note: Check out Doug Poppa on the Wayne Allyn Root show.