Henderson police chief asked to step down
Henderson City Council members were shocked and embarrassed when told a week ago about a 2010 police beating of a motorist in diabetic shock.
At the center of the incident was police Sgt. Brett Seekatz, who was shown on a widely viewed video kicking the man in an act that cost taxpayers $292,000 in a settlement.
Although the incident did not lead to the officer losing his job, the fallout from how the case was handled and reported to council members might cost Police Chief Jutta Chambers hers.
Mayor Andy Hafen confirmed Wednesday that the city has asked Chambers to resign. Departing City Manager Mark Calhoun made the request Monday, citing her handling of the incident, which was recorded by the dashboard camera in a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper’s sedan.
A few council members have told the Review-Journal they had no knowledge of the beating of Adam Greene until Feb. 6, the day before the settlement was approved.
Councilman Sam Bateman, who is a deputy district attorney, told the Review-Journal that the decision to approve the settlement with Greene was an easy one to make after watching the video. Bateman was unaware of the incident and didn’t learn about the video until the eve of its release.
Hafen said the city’s elected officials were more than embarrassed.
“The council was concerned with the handling of the Greene case,” the mayor said. “And individual council members talked to (Calhoun) about it. He took the initiative to talk to the chief.”
Councilwoman Gerri Schroder said she was “shocked” and “troubled” when she saw the video while being briefed for the next day’s meeting.
“I was disappointed in our officer, and I let Mr. Calhoun know that I was embarrassed. That isn’t how the city of Henderson operates,” she said Wednesday.
Schroder also said the City Council did not take action against Chambers because the city’s charter prohibits elected officials from getting involved in employee issues with the exception of certain key positions, such as city manager or city attorney, which the council appoints.
“Mark Calhoun is in charge of the police chief,” Schroder said. “We can’t get directly involved.”
Councilman John Marz said he also spoke with Calhoun about the incident and its aftermath, but he did not discuss details.
The motive behind asking Chambers to step down is key, said Dane Claussen, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada.
“Her being replaced would be a necessity only if the City Council thinks the problems are systemic,” Claussen said. “She can’t control every action of every officer every day, but if they have training and recruitment and disciplinary problems, things she could control, then maybe she does need to be replaced.”
If that isn’t the case, he said, the City Council is making a “big show of a sacrificial lamb to atone for the situation they’re in.”
Hafen said Calhoun’s discussions with Chambers are ongoing. She is on vacation. Deputy Chief James White is acting chief.
Pushed out with a shove or gently nudged, Chambers stands to leave her post with a healthy final paycheck.
The mayor said she has been offered an employee buyout. Earlier this month, the City Council agreed to another round of staff reductions as a cost-cutting measure, and Chambers is eligible for the program.
Chambers, who has been with the department for nearly three decades, would receive two weeks’ salary for every year of her employment if she takes the buyout. She earns about $185,300 a year, according to the website Transparent Nevada.
Attempts to contact Chambers were unsuccessful.
If she does step down over the beating, it will bring to a close a distinguished career. Chambers became the first female police officer in Henderson’s history when she joined the department in 1983, according to her biography published on the city’s website.
She worked as a K-9 officer early in her career and was an undercover narcotics officer for a year. In 1997, she was promoted to sergeant and continued to work her way through the ranks, first as a lieutenant, then as a captain.
She served as the department’s deputy chief for three years before ascending to the chief’s position in September 2008.
Chambers joined a department that had only 30 officers in 1983. Henderson would grow to become the state’s second-largest city with a department that has nearly 400 police officers, nearly 50 corrections officers and more than 150 civilian employees.
Chambers was born in Germany and spent her childhood living in several states. She enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and spent her four-year tour at Nellis Air Force Base.
Chambers is a graduate of Nevada State College in Henderson and the FBI Academy, according to the city website.
Contact reporter Doug McMurdo at dmcmurdo@
reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5512.
