LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Accountability was high of thoughts for Mesquite residents following the firing of their metropolis supervisor. The previous police chief, who advocated for termination, was requested to be held to the identical customary of accountability.
A couple of minutes after the vote to fireplace Mesquite Metropolis Supervisor Edward “Owen” Dickie, 8 Information Now requested former Mesquite Police Chief Maquade Chesley reply questions concerning his firing. Chesley requested particularly what he can be requested, and upon studying it must do with the town’s investigation into him, he declined to be interviewed.
8 Information Now requested Chesley be held to the identical customary Dickie was held to, particularly answering questions from the media—which Dickie beforehand agreed to following self-admitted, racially insensitive remarks.
In response, Chesley accepted the 8 Information Now request for an on-camera interview.
8NN: Particularly, what we’re considering is about final month, there was a gathering that the town council had the place they printed 4 pages of an over 100-page investigation. It was an inside investigation report. We would like a few solutions to that, and out of your opinion. Once more, we’re asking to your opinion on this. There have been a number of accusations on there that had been surprising, one in every of which was that you simply had threatened to chop the throat of a police officer if he made feedback that led to your termination. Was that true?
Chesley: No.
8NN: Are you able to give any context to why that may have been within the investigation?
Chesley: -shrugs and shakes head-
8NN: There have been components in an investigation that put- that there have been issues like taking away officers’ keys, taking away bank cards, taking away sure skills for these law enforcement officials that had been members of the MPOA. Did you do something like that?
Chesley: No. So, what it was, was the 2 deputy chiefs had been demoted to lieutenant and that call was made by myself, the Metropolis Supervisor Edward “Owen” Dickie, and the town lawyer. These two deputy chiefs, after they had been demoted, the captains that had been promoted, they facilitated the motion of their places of work. From what I used to be instructed, they needed to maneuver places of work as a part of their demotion.
8 Information Now requested that former Mesquite Police Chief Maquade Chesley reply questions concerning his firing. (KLAS)
8NN: Did you ever return again to the police division after you had been fired?
Chesley: No.
8MM: By no means returned to the property?
Chesley: No.
8NN: One other factor on the investigation was there have been issues in there having to do with scoring. There was testing for promotions that was in there as effectively. There was remarks about eraser marks on the testing scores for these officers, and accusations of officers being—primarily—maligned from being promoted, alleging in that doc that you simply had been part of tampering with these scores. Is there any fact to that?
Chesley: There’s completely no fact with that. Anybody that is ran a division is aware of the chief stays out of all these promotional testings. What occurs is that goes by HR. It goes by the [sic] promotional workers. I do not see the scores till the tip. I am not- I do not grade the scores. I do not contact the scores. My solely involvement in that’s, HR provides me a doc saying these are the people who scored the best, and I’ve a possibility to decide on out of the highest three in keeping with our Mesquite metropolis coverage or our police division coverage. So, the truth that any accusation saying that I’ve “altered scores,” I did not even have entry to these paperwork to change them, it is fully false, 100% inaccurate. The people who examined landed the place they landed, pretty, so far as any data I’ve. And I promoted the highest individual each time.
8NN: There was one thing else in there having to do with- there was a number of reveals. That is the place we’re getting this data from that investigation. One other one of many reveals was there was an officer who stated that he had made a grievance or was going to make a grievance at that time, the investigation alleges that you simply needed to file legal costs to primarily ensure that that grievance did not come to gentle. Is there any fact to that accusation?
Chesley: Completely false, and that is the issue is when somebody conducts an investigation that has no background in police work, they do not perceive the way it works. So anytime an officer is beneath misconduct or investigation, if that arises to a legal factor or, you realize, a criminal offense, it is our responsibility as executives within the police division to inform or communicate with the district lawyer or individual that may prosecute that crime. It protects the town. It protects me as a police chief, in the truth that for those who by no means wish to be accused of sweeping one thing beneath the rug, so if an officer is accused of committing a legal act that should go to the district lawyer if it reaches that stage of felony, or it must go to the town prosecutor or one other metropolis to have a look at the allegations and choose if I used to be a legal act earlier than.
8NN: Another query concerning the investigation. I do not wish to malign this level. There’s something in there that claims once more that you simply threatened to chop law enforcement officials’ throats-
Chesley: No.
8NN: So, I wish to ensure I get a strong reply to this-
Chesley: Yeah.
8NN: Did you ever threaten any of your law enforcement officials?
Chesley: By no means, completely not.
8NN: Why is that within the investigation report?
Chesley: Effectively, I believe there was people who needed me out as police chief, and so they had been throwing any accusations they may to attempt to get me out. And the one person who ever threatened anybody or stated “I’ll cut your throat” is Edward Owen Dickie. He instructed me in a gathering with the town supervisor with the town lawyer, and with the HR director, he instructed me, “If you ever cut somebody’s throat. I’ll cut your throat.” And that is the one time that I heard that.
8NN: Onto the MPOA. There’s accusations about union busting, about hiring associates, not based mostly upon people who got here by the academy, however who you had gone into the academy with. Is there any fact to these accusations?
Chesley: Hiring is not one thing the police chief simply steps in and does. I do not decide who we’ll rent or not going to rent. Individuals apply. They undergo the method. In the event that they move the processes we’re hiring them. We have been brief on the Mesquite Police Division for years, and a part of my place is to if we’ve a emptiness and if individuals want to grow to be a police officer in Mesquite, I speak to individuals and hope that good candidates will come and work for us.
8NN: That is actually the tip of our questions. The one factor I’ll ask left is, we’re right here moments after Owen Dickie has been fired, and what’s your response about that?
Chesley: You recognize, I believe it is all about account of accountability. And lots of occasions when somebody does one thing incorrect, they attempt to put it on another person and so they that is what I believe occurred on this scenario, is he stated these issues that had been very offensive to anyone, and offensive to this neighborhood, and offensive to the cultures inside this neighborhood, and in the end, he made these selections to say what he stated that is on no person else. Nobody pressured him to say these issues, and he stated it on a number of events.
8NN: Final query, holding you to the identical customary, have you ever ever used the “N” phrase?
Chesley: No.
8NN: I admire it, Thanks.
Chesley: Thanks.
After the on-camera interview, Chesley instructed 8 Information Now he needed to maneuver on from the accusations for the sake of his household and their well-being, noting he was pursuing work elsewhere.
There’s not less than one lawsuit in opposition to the Metropolis of Mesquite ongoing, which was filed by Chesley.
