Joe Lombardo

Joseph Michael Lombardo (born November 8, 1962) is the 17th sheriff of Clark County, Nevada, the head of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD), the combined law enforcement agency for Las Vegas and Clark County. Lombargo has held this office since 2015.[1][2][3][4] He is a member of the Republican Party.[5]

This article is about the Sheriff of Clark County. For the fictional character, see List of Third Watch characters § Firefighter Joe Lombardo. For the American mobster, see Joseph Lombardo.
Joe Lombardo
Lombardo in 2016.
17th Sheriff of Clark County
Assumed office
January 5, 2015
Preceded byDoug Gillespie
Personal details
Born
Joseph Michael Lombardo

(1962-11-08) November 8, 1962
Japan
Political partyRepublican (1999–present)
ResidenceLas Vegas, Nevada, U.S. (1976–present)
EducationFBI National Academy
Rancho High School
Alma materUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas (BS, MS)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service Nevada National Guard
 United States Army
United States Army Reserve

Life and career

Prior to election as sheriff

Lombardo was born in Japan on November 8, 1962.[6] His father was an Air Force veteran.[6] He moved to Las Vegas in 1976[6] and graduated from Rancho High School in 1980.[7]

Lombardo served in the U.S. Army, National Guard, and Army Reserve.[6] He became an LVMPD officer in 1988.[7][6] He rose through the ranks,[7] becoming a sergeant in 1996 and a lieutenant in 2001.[6] In October 2011, Lombardo became the assistant sheriff in charge of the law enforcement services group, which included the department's divisions in charge of technical services, information technology, radio systems and professional standards.[7]

Lombardo holds a B.S. in civil engineering, and a master's degree in crisis management, both from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.[6]

Tenure as sheriff

On December 4, 2013, Lombardo announced his candidacy for sheriff of Clark County.[7] On November 4, 2014, he won the election by a closer margin of 51% to 49% against former Democratic LVMPD Captain Larry Burns, who was endorsed by former Democratic Clark County Sheriff Jerry Keller and outgoing Democratic Nevada Attorney General (now U.S. Senator) Catherine Cortez Masto. Lombardo was endorsed by former Republican Clark County Assistant Sheriff and 2014 candidate Ted Moody,[8] former Republican Clark County Sheriff Bill Young and outgoing Republican Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie.[9]

Lombargo took office on January 4, 2015. After becoming sheriff, Lombardo began the decentralization of LVMPD's detective operations, shifting detective operations from centralized crime-specific units to distribution of detectives throughout eight geographic commands.[10]

In 2016, Lombardo connected the Las Vegas crime increase to a California law named Proposition 47 reducing prison overcrowding.[11] Later that year, Lombardo responded to questions about a recent spike of violent crimes in Las Vegas, saying that the surge "keeps me up at night";[12][13] also in 2016, Lombardo disagreed with FBI director James Comey's statement attributing a recent spike in violent crimes in Las Vegas to a so-called Ferguson effect (or "depolicing" effect).[14] In December 2016, Lombardo supported a high-capacity magazine ban, a call supported by the Las Vegas Sun editorial board.[15]

Lombardo oversaw the investigation into the 2017 Las Vegas shooting at Mandalay Bay and Route 91 Harvest, the deadliest mass shooting in the modern history of the United States. Fifty-seven people were killed in the shooting. In 2019, Lombargo's department issued a report recommending many changes to improve the police response to future critical incidents.[16]

In 2018, Lombardo won re-election in the June 2018 primary election with 73% of the vote.[17][18] defeating four challengers.[18] He was sworn in to a second term on January 4, 2019, and during the ceremony touted an expansion of the LVMPD's staff levels during his tenure (an increase of more than 900 officers and 280 corrections officers).[17]

Personal life

Lombardo is divorced and has one child.[6] He is an off-road racer in the SCORE International racing series.[19]

References
  1. Lombardo, Joe (December 4, 2013). "Joe Lombardo". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  2. Schoenmann, Joe (June 27, 2014). "In Clark County sheriff race, Joe Lombardo, Larry Burns will pit police brass against police union". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  3. Lochhead, Colton (January 5, 2015). "Sheriff Lombardo offers lighthearted laughs in swearing in ceremony". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  4. Torres-Cortez, Ricardo (December 12, 2016). "Clark County sheriff shares insights on challenges of 2016". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  5. "On Duty For Joe with Sheriff Joe Lombardo". Nevada Republican Party. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  6. Shelby Lin Erdman, Who is Clark County, Nevada Sheriff Joseph Lombardo? Cox Media Group National Content Desk via Atlanta Journal-Constitution (October 2, 2017).
  7. Nordli, Brian; Valley, Jackie (December 4, 2013). "Metro Police veteran Joe Lombardo jumps into race for sheriff". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  8. Blasky, Mike (October 1, 2014). "Sheriff's race turns: Moody endorses Lombardo". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  9. Blasky, Mike; McCabe, Francis (November 4, 2014). "Lombardo wins Clark County sheriff's race". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  10. Lochhead, Colton (July 26, 2015). "3 notable changes since Sheriff Joseph Lombardo took office". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  11. Torres-Cortez, Ricardo (March 31, 2016). "Sheriff links Las Vegas crime hike to California law to reduce prison crowd". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  12. Juhl, Wesley (April 27, 2016). "Sheriff Lombardo answers questions about recent spike in violent Las Vegas crime". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  13. Torres-Cortez, Ricardo (April 28, 2016). "Lombardo: Surge in violent Las Vegas crime 'keeps me up at night'". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  14. Juhl, Wesley (May 17, 2016). "Clark County sheriff disagrees with FBI director, says Metro is understaffed". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  15. Sun Editorial (December 11, 2016). "High-capacity magazine ban a must for Nevadans' safety". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  16. Ricardo Torres-Cortez, 'It just kept getting worse': Lombardo recalls Oct. 1 shooting 3 years later, Las Vegas Sun (October 1, 2020).
  17. Ricardo Torres-Cortez, Lombardo sworn into second term as sheriff, Las Vegas Sun (January 4, 2019).
  18. Blake Apgar, Lombardo wins re-election in race for Clark County sheriff, Las Vegas Review-Journal (June 2018).
  19. Racers from 41 States, 18 countries–51st SCORE Baja 1000, SCORE International (November 12, 2018).
Civic offices
Preceded by
Doug Gillespie		 Sheriff of Clark County
January 5, 2015 – present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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