Las Vegas police stop haircut program during virus closures

Las Vegas police have put a stop to a special haircut program that allowed officers “who need to maintain their appearance” to get a trim at department properties this week.

The Las Vegas Police Protective Association organized the program, according to a memo obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. It advertised $25, cash-only haircuts from at least 19 hairdressers and barbers set up at Metropolitan Police Department headquarters and substations despite a statewide shutdown of nonessential businesses, including hair salons and barbershops.

According to the memo, the program was apparently approved by Gov. Steve Sisolak. But in an email sent to police union members Wednesday, Steve Grammas, the union’s president, clarified.

“It appears we had a misunderstanding with the Governor allowing the haircuts for first responders,” Grammas wrote.

“Our intent was not to go against the order in place,” the email continued. “We believed we had authorization as long as we controlled several aspects of the (personal protective equipment) and safety protocols.”

The original memo said Metro would provide participating hairdressers and barbers with masks and gloves and social distancing guidelines would be followed.

It made no mention of how hairdressers and barbers were selected to participate, or whether they had any personal relation to or client history with officers. It also made no mention of whether Metro considered relaxing department grooming standards.

Metro declined comment but confirmed the haircuts had ceased.

Zach Taylor, owner of Bluebird Barbers in Las Vegas, said stopping the program was “the right thing to do.”

“Still, even the fact that it was going on before today, it confuses me,” Taylor said.

He recalled sitting in his shop with his crew the day Sisolak announced the shutdown, quiet, emotional, watching together on all the TVs.

“It took some of my belief on following these orders away for the moment,” Taylor said of the program. “I’m still going to follow exactly what they tell me what to do. But it would have been hard for me to answer that question — when one of my guys says, ‘How come Metro can get their hair cut when none of my clients can?’ ”

In the Wednesday email, the police union president wrote that the program was two-pronged. In part, the union wanted to be sure that when officers responded to calls, “they looked as professional as the citizens would expect them to look.”

“The second prong was to try and offer some small level of help to these local workers and business owners to maybe ease the burden during one of the toughest economic times we have ever faced,” the email read.

Taylor said his father died of pneumonia last year, so he believes his crew is sensitive to the silent, invisible risks at play amid the pandemic. But they are still out of work, and none of them have received the benefits they’ve applied for.

“They just need to be reminded that we have to be responsible,” he said. “We’re not at the six-month mark. We’re three weeks in. It can’t be that serious for that much risk.”

Contact Rachel Crosby at rcrosby@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3801. Follow @rachelacrosby on Twitter.