KTVN: “The Sheriff says that communication with Governor’s Office has also not been the greatest.”

Reporting from KTVN found that Joe Lombardo’s state police shortage is putting added stress on rural counties. While state police vacancies increase, Mineral County Sheriff said that communication with Lombardo’s office has “not been the greatest” and “other rural law enforcement agencies feel the same way”. During Lombardo’s tenure, it was announced that state police would not have the resources to patrol Reno between 2-5 a.m. and nearly two years later the statewide vacancy rate has again increased, causing our communities to be less safe. On Lombardo’s watch, deaths on Nevada’s roads continue to rise. In 2023, Nevada reported more deaths on the road than the national average while state troopers patrolling decreased. 

Despite the Nevada Police Union president citing low take-home pay relative to competing agencies as the primary reason for shortages, in 2023 Lombardo voted against the union’s collective bargaining agreement that included critical pay increases for officers. After calling state trooper vacancies “a crisis” on the campaign trail in 2022, Lombardo stiffed officers again by ordering that they and other state employees who were working under collective bargaining agreements wouldn’t be receiving longevity pay under AB522 – payments of up to $1,027. 

Now, Lombardo has declined to include additional pay raises for state police in his proposed budget even as they face a decrease in their take-home pay as their contributions to the Public Employees’ Retirement System are set to increase. In 2023, Lombardo vetoed bipartisan legislation that would have helped boost state police take-home pay by cutting in half their share of retirement contributions. Despite unethically using his law enforcement background for political gain on the campaign trail in 2022, Lombardo has done little to address the looming state police shortage.

WATCH HERE:

MINERAL COUNTY SHERIFF: “[The Governor’s office] offered to get a meeting together involving all of us, and I have yet to hear anything on that and I’m still waiting.”

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KTVN: Mineral County Sheriff’s Office Concerned with Lack of Nevada State Police Assistance

Key points:

• We are following up on our coverage from last week, when the Mineral County Sheriff, Bill Ferguson, said Nevada State Police had “abandoned” them.

• Sheriff Ferguson says he has felt less of a presence from the state agency over the years.

• “Over the years they would average anywhere to 20 to 15 arrests per year,” he said. “In the past three years, they’ve had zero arrests.”

• The office has also seen less citations as well.

• In 2019, Nevada State Police wrote 1,231 citations in Mineral County.

• Last year, they only wrote 44, and so far in 2025, they have only cited one person.

• We’ve reported on Nevada State Police’s staffing shortages over the years, and Mineral County is also feeling it.

• “I understand that they’re working on short manpower,” Sheriff Ferguson said. “So am I. I’m down seven deputies.”

• The Sheriff says that communication with Governor’s Office has also not been the greatest.

• “They offered to get a meeting together involving all of us, and I have yet to hear anything on that and I’m still waiting,” he said.

• Sheriff Ferguson says some of the other rural law enforcement agencies feel the same way.

• We reached out to Nevada State Police and the Governor’s Office for additional comment from Friday’s statements and they have not gotten back to us.