Nevada Press Association The best in Nevada journalism since 1924
As is often the case, it didn’t take long for a judge to recognize the value in opening some previously sealed state records in the case of two inmates shot by a prison guard.
According to the story by Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Sandra Chereb, U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon disagreed with the Nevada Attorney General’s Office’s argument that records of the shotgun shootings were strictly personnel matters.
“Those reports concern the state’s investigation of the events that give rise to this litigation,” Gordon wrote. “The public has an interest in seeing that the state properly and thoroughly investigates allegations of serious wrongdoing.”
Lest you’ve forgotten, Nevada’s Department of Corrections was being, shall we say, demur when it announced the death of Carlos Perez. The folks there failed to mention that he’d been shot in the back by a guard.
Now we understand why. It was a personnel matter.
Like when you don’t fill out your time card properly. Or the area around your desk has become messy. Or when you get that annual review that says “Needs to focus on goals and objectives.”
Not a good review
In this case, the annual review for the prison guards reads something like: Neglected duty, filed false reports, permitted security breaches and, oh yeah, a guy died as a result. That one of the prisoners remains alive is probably, um, inconvenient for the department.
What bothers me most in these cases is the presumption by state officials that they somehow know best how to handle such a massive screw-up by covering up the facts.
Yes, the guards were fired. But we’re still paying for their lawyers.
Yes, the prisons chief lost his job. But why? Over this, or something else? Was this the first straw, the last straw or a whole bale?
Instead, the reaction all too often is to lock away the truth in a file cabinet somewhere hidden from the public.
Wouldn’t it be refreshing — truly a revelation, in fact — if one of our state’s leaders had stepped forward and announced: Here’s what happened — the full report. And here’s what we’re going to do about it.
Please, make that one of your goals and objectives. And stick it in your damn personnel file.