Moonin, Yarnall, and Lee v. Nevada

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Kenneth J. McKenna 544 W. First St. Reno, NV 89503 (775) 329-6373 Attorney for Plaintiff

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEVADA

MATT MOONIN, DONN YARNALL, and ERIK LEE, Plaintiffs, vs. COMPLAINT AND JURY DEMAND STATE OF NEVADA, ex rel. its DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY HIGHWAY PATROL, LAS VEGAS METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT, CITY OF LAS VEGAS, CLARK COUNTY, DOUG GILLESPIE- Sheriff, DAVE LEWIS,""JOHN STEWART,"KEVIN TICE,THOM JACKSON,""JIM PETERSON,"WAYNE PROSSER,"CHARLES HAYCOX,"BRIAN SANCHEZ,"HUGH SHOOK,"TODD ELLISON,"ERVIN RAAB,"BEN LEONARD,"LUIS ZAPATA,"DONALD DICE,"CHRIS PERRY individually and in his official capacity,"PAT GALLAGHER,""GREG ZEIL, DALE JAEGER, MEL ENGLISH, TOM HIGGINS, MARK RISPOLI, MAKOR K-9. DOES 1-9, inclusive and CORPORATIONS 10-14. Defendants. ______________________________________________/

COMES NOW Plaintiffs MATT MOONIN, DONN YARNALL and ERIK LEE, by

and through their attorney of record, KENNETH MCKENNA, ESQ., hereby complains of

named Defendants as follows:

Case 3:12-cv-00353 Document 1 Filed 06/26/12 Page 1 of 104

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Parties and Jurisdiction

1. Plaintiff MATT MOONIN is an adult, competent man who was employed by resides

in Las Vegas and is employed by Defendant in the State of Nevada. All acts,

statements, and omissions alleged herein occurred in Las Vegas, State of Nevada.

Plaintiff hereby requests a jury trial relative to all issues so triable.

2. Plaintiff ERIK LEE is an adult, competent man who resides in Reno and is employed

by Defendant in the State of Nevada. All acts, statements, and omissions alleged

herein occurred in Reno and Las Vegas, State of Nevada. Plaintiff hereby requests a

jury trial relative to all issues so triable.

3. Plaintiff, DONN YARNALL, is an adult, competent man who resides in Las Vegas,

and was employed by Defendant and a citizen in the State of Nevada. All acts,

statements, and omissions alleged herein occurred in Reno and Las Vegas, State of

Nevada. Plaintiff hereby requests a jury trial relative to all issues so triable.

4. On information and belief, Defendant State of Nevada, Department of Public Safety

Highway Patrol (hereinafter referred to “NHP”) is a governmental entity providing

law enforcement traffic services and was Plaintiffs’ employer at all times relevant.

5. On information and belief, Defendants City of Las Vegas, Clark County,

Metropolitan Police Department (hereinafter referred to “LVMPD”) is a city and

county governmental entity providing law enforcement services and worked in

conjunction with NHP and Plaintiffs’ employer at all times relevant.

6. On information and belief, Defendant Doug Gillespie, is the Sheriff of the Las Vegas

Metropolitan Police Department and is responsible for providing law enforcement

services and working in conjunction with NHP and Plaintiffs’ employer at all times

relevant.

7. On information and belief, Defendant Dave Lewis is employed by Nevada Highway

Patrol as a Sergeant. Nevada Highway Patrol is a state entity providing law

enforcement including, but not limited to, traffic services to the motoring public.

8. On information and belief, Defendant John Stewart is employed by Nevada Highway

Patrol as a Lieutenant. Nevada Highway Patrol is a state entity providing law



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9. On information and belief, Defendant Kevin Tice is employed by Nevada Highway

Patrol as a Deputy Chief. Nevada Highway Patrol is a state entity providing law


10. On information and belief, Defendant Thom Jackson is employed by Nevada

Highway Patrol as a Captain. Nevada Highway Patrol is a state entity providing law


11. On information and belief, Defendant Jim Peterson is employed by Nevada Highway

Patrol as a Captain. Nevada Highway Patrol is a state entity providing law


12. On information and belief, Defendant Wayne Prosser is employed by Nevada

Highway Patrol as a Sergeant. Nevada Highway Patrol is a state entity providing

law enforcement including, but not limited to, traffic services to the motoring public.

13. On information and belief, Defendant Charles Haycox is employed by Nevada

Highway Patrol as a Lieutenant. Nevada Highway Patrol is a state entity providing


14. On information and belief, Defendant Brian Sanchez is employed by Nevada

Highway Patrol as a Deputy Chief. Nevada Highway Patrol is a state entity

providing law enforcement including, but not limited to, traffic services to the

motoring public.

15. On information and belief, Defendant Hugh Shook is employed by Nevada Highway

Patrol as a Trooper. Nevada Highway Patrol is a state entity providing law


16. On information and belief, Defendant Todd Ellison is employed by Nevada Highway

Patrol as a Lieutenant Colonel now, promoted from Captain. Nevada Highway


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Patrol is a state entity providing law enforcement including, but not limited to, traffic

services to the motoring public.

17. On information and belief, Defendant Ervin Raab is employed by Nevada Highway



18. On information and belief, Defendant Ben Leonard is employed by Nevada Highway



19. On information and belief, Defendant Luis Zapata is employed by Nevada Highway

Patrol as a Sergeant. Nevada Highway Patrol is a state entity providing law


20. On information and belief, Defendant Donald Dice is employed by Nevada Highway



21. On information and belief, Defendant Chris Perry is employed by The Department of

Public Safety as a Director. The Department of Public Safety is a state entity

providing law enforcement including, but not limited to, traffic services to the

motoring public.

22. On information and belief, Defendant Pat Gallagher is employed by Nevada

Highway Patrol as a Captain. Nevada Highway Patrol is a state entity providing law


23. On information and belief, Defendant Greg Zeil is employed by the Las Vegas

Metropolitan Police Department as a Sergeant. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police

Department is a city entity providing law enforcement including, but not limited to,

traffic services to the motoring public.


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24. On information and belief, Defendant Dale Jaeger is employed by the Las Vegas

Metropolitan Police Department as a Detective. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police


traffic services to the motoring public.

25. On information and belief, Defendant Mel English is employed by the Las Vegas

Metropolitan Police Department as an Officer. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police


traffic services to the motoring public. Defendant Mel English is also a business

partner with Defendant Mark Rispoli, who resides in the state of California.

26. Mark Rispoli is an adult competent man, who resides in the State of California.

27. On information and belief, Defendant Makor K-9, is a company which provides

services of canine training throughout the United States.

28. On information and belief, Defendant Tom Higgins is employed by Nevada

Highway Patrol as a Sergeant. Nevada Highway Patrol is a state entity providing


29. Jurisdiction of this Court is invoked pursuant 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985.

Facts

30. In 2002, Department of Public Safety Director James Kirkland initiated an internal

audit of the failed, Nevada Highway Patrol Drug Detection Dog Program. The audit

found the program to have been rife with mismanagement with an overall lack of

supervision, accountability, reliability, credibility, and productivity. The audit

concluded the failure of the program to have been caused by a lack of structure, clear

written practices, policies and procedures, standardized training and performance

standards, meaningful standardized certifications, and decentralized management. $31. In 2007, Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons ordered Nevada Department of Public

Safety (hereinafter referred to as “NVDPS”) Director Jerald Hafen (hereinafter

referred to as “Director Hafen”) to investigate and implement a new K9 Unit.

Intelligence information had shown that drug cartels were employing Nevada

highways as main corridors for the smuggling of illegal narcotics and large amounts


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of narcotics proceeds (cash) across the nation. There was also a nexus between the

drug smugglers and international terrorism. These same smugglers were also

supplying the illegal drug trade in many Nevada communities.

32. Director Hafen directed the Chief of Nevada Highway Patrol (hereinafter referred to

as “NHP”), Colonel Chris Perry (hereinafter referred to as “Colonel Perry,”) to

develop a K9 implementation plan. Colonel Perry was very vocal about his

opposition to any K9 operation running within NHP or NVDPS.

33. Colonel Perry eventually presented a plan to Director Hafen in which

implementation would take 2 full legislative sessions (4 years), at a cost of $3.5

Million.

34. Finding Colonel Perry’s Plan unsatisfactory, Director Hafen reassigned the task to

Investigations Deputy Chief J.V. Gagnon (hereinafter referred to as “Deputy Chief

Gagnon”).

35. The reassignment angered and embarrassed Colonel Perry who directly informed

Director Hafen that he wanted nothing to do with the K9 Program. Colonel Perry

openly informed his subordinates that he now hated Deputy Chief Gagnon and

Director Hafen. Colonel Perry vowed to destroy the K9 Program as well as any new

programs implemented by Director Hafen. Colonel Perry stated in a command staff

meeting, “I am going to unfuck everything Hafen fucks up”.

36. Director Hafen advised Deputy Chief Gagnon that both he and Governor Gibbons

sought to create the very best K9 Unit and Program in the Country. Director Hafen

further directed that the training and subsequent deployment of the K9 teams shall

ensure reliability and that all citizen Constitutional Rights be ensured and protected.

37. Deputy Chief Gagnon conducted an extensive fact finding investigation to compile

all the best practices. Deputy Chief Gagnon’s research revealed some disturbing

practices within the law enforcement drug dog community; some even possibly

illegal.

38. After an exhaustive investigation, Deputy Chief Gagnon submitted a comprehensive

K9 Program Implementation Plan. Deputy Chief Gagnon’s research revealed that a

centralized management/supervisory/training structure was crucial for success,

reliability, and accountability. Deputy Chief Gagnon also found, as a unique law

enforcement unit, any K9 Program required unique in house

management/supervisory subject matter expertise and insights to manage and


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supervise the K9 Program properly. In any K9 operation, weak, fragmented

management/supervision as well as out sourcing training and accountability to

civilian vendors or outside law enforcement agencies is counterproductive and an

invitation to misconduct. Deputy Chief Gagnon’s K9 Implementation Plan therefore

called for a stand-alone, in house, centralized management/supervisory/training

structure that ensured NVDPS K9 Teams received, attained, and maintained the

highest level of training and proficiency possible. The K9 Program would also be

entirely funded by the lawfully seized proceeds from illegal drug operations.

39. The K9 Implementation Plan was timely approved by Governor Gibbons, Director

Hafen, and the Nevada State Legislature.

40. The K9 Implementation Plan based much of the Unit’s success on hiring a full time,

expert contractor. The hired contractor’s responsibilities would include, but would

not be limited to, developing and writing comprehensive and standardized policies

and procedures, training plans(to include a written Nevada Peace Officer Standards

and Training course curriculum), evaluation processes and certifications. The hired

expert would be select and procure the dogs traveling extensively to locate and

procure the best canines available. The contracted expert would eventually train K9

Instructor’s to assume his/her role within the Unit. The implementation plan was a

two (2) year plan with written policies and training plans completed within year one

and the training of instructors and evaluators part of the second year of development.

41. A one year contract for employment, and the position’s requirements, were

advertised nationwide. The contract (to be renegotiated for renewal after one year

for purposes of continuity and expansion) was awarded to retired Los Angeles Police

Department Chief K9 Trainer Sergeant II Donn Yarnall (hereinafter referred to as

“Sgt. Yarnall.”) Sgt. Yarnall is considered by many as the premier police service

dog trainer in the United States. Yarnall’s vast experience, accomplishments, and

expertise are unmatched.

42. Nevada Friends of K9, a not for profit citizen volunteer group was established to

facilitate the purchase of the highly skilled dogs necessary for the specialized

training and reliable deployments required by the NVDPS K9 Program. Nevada

Friends of K9 is comprised of prominent Nevada business persons and community

volunteers. Funds are generated through community fund raising events and


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corporate donations. The dogs are purchased and donated to the State of Nevada at

no cost to the state.

43. Director Hafen and Deputy Chief Gagnon developed a three year K9 Program Plan

that adhered to the K9 Implementation Plan requirements. The K9 Program Plan set

out guidelines for structure, goals, and general timelines for expansion and progress.

The K9 Program Plan addressed, and countered, the problems experienced in the

prior, failed NHP K9 Program as well as the problems Deputy Chief Gagnon had

witnessed during his exhaustive investigation.

44. Deputy Chief Gagnon developed a K9 Handler selection process and six NHP

Troopers were selected. Recognizing that in any highway drug interdiction

operation all good drug detector dog deployments begin with a legal traffic stop and

a legal investigation, Plaintiff, NHP Trooper Matthew Moonin (hereinafter referred

to as “Trooper Moonin,”) a nationally recognized and highly respected highway drug

interdiction expert and instructor, was recruited to provide high level instruction,

expertise, and advice in highway drug interdiction - in addition to handling a drug

detection dog. Police Officers Keith Gordon (hereinafter referred to as “Trooper

Gordon,”) and Neil Ferguson (hereinafter referred to as “Trooper Ferguson,”), both

very experienced and successful K9 handlers from another law enforcement agency

with experience in managing law enforcement K9 programs, were recruited from

that agency to assist in the development and evolution of the new K9 Program.

Troopers Gordon and Ferguson, both senior members of the Southern Nevada law

enforcement community, left their agency and absorbed a significant salary reduction

in order to join NHP and its new K9 Program. Troopers Gordon and Ferguson

completed the NHP hiring process and the NHP Academy in Carson City, Nevada.

Trooper Erik Lee (hereinafter referred to as “Trooper Lee,”) was selected because of

his extensive detector dog experience while deployed in Iraq as a member of the

United States military. NHP Trooper Shawn Haggstrom was selected because of his

prior experience as a handler of police patrol and detector dogs in another law

enforcement agency. NHP Trooper William West (hereinafter referred to as

“Trooper West,”) was selected for his demonstrated integrity, honesty, teamwork,

initiative, and can do attitude.

45. Organizationally, the K9 Unit was placed under the Investigations Division of

NVDPS and Deputy Chief Gagnon was named the Manager and Officer in Charge.


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46. In order to assure NVDPS/NHP adhered to industry and lawful standards from the

inception, Sgt. Yarnall developed and submitted preliminary industry standard

written practices and policies to be used by NVDPS until permanent practices and

policies specific to the organizational structure, specific needs and requirements of

NVDPS could be developed.

47. The K9 Academy was scheduled to begin September of 2008. Although no funding

for the K9 Program was available until that date, dogs needed to be selected,

procured, and assigned to the new handlers prior to the start of training. Without

compensation and at his own expense, Sgt. Yarnall drove over 3,000 miles locating,

testing, selecting, and procuring dogs for the new handlers. The travel expenses and

time were never reimbursed by NHP.

48. On or about August, 25th, 2008, a one week K9 Orientation Class for the new

handlers was held at NHP Southern Command in Las Vegas, Nevada. A welcome

speech was given by Director Hafen. Colonel Perry was supposed to also give a

motivational welcome speech, but instead, Colonel Perry issued a thinly veiled

warning informing the audience of wide eyed, eager new handlers that people did not

like them, people did not want them, that they were starting the new K9 Program

with two strikes against them; Colonel Perry informed the new handler they would

be wise to watch their backs. The K9 Handlers were issued equipment, K9 vehicles,

and spent the remainder of the week getting to know their dogs and attending

lectures.

49. On or about August 26th, 2008 at the abrupt insistence of Colonel Perry, the K9

Program was organizationally transferred out from under the Investigations Division

and relocated to NHP. This restructuring placed the K9 Program and Deputy Chief

Gagnon under the direct control of Colonel Perry. Colonel Perry selected Deputy

Chief Brian Sanchez (hereinafter referred to as “Deputy Chief Sanchez,”) as the

immediate supervisor; Deputy Chief Sanchez was a Perry confidant.

50. On or about September 2, 2008 the first day of the K9 Academy started with all six

dogs and handlers. Two weeks into the required, 400 hour training, Colonel Perry

abruptly ordered Troopers Gordon and Ferguson pulled out of training to attend a 6

week “Specifics Training” course. Specifics Training is mainly classroom

instruction on the core Highway Patrol duties such as accident investigation, ticket

writing and the proper use of forms. Troopers Gordon and Ferguson possessed over


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15 years of Nevada law enforcement experience and both Troopers had already

completed NHP Police Academy training.

51. Troopers Gordon and Ferguson had been recruited into the NVDPS K9 Program to

facilitate and assist in the implementation of the K9 Program. Their abrupt removal

from the K9 Academy and reassignment to a 6 week “Specifics” training course by

Colonel Perry violated the clear intent of the directives issued by Director Hafen, and

had a significant, negative effect on the planned progress and evolution of the K9

Program.

52. Following removal, Colonel Perry was provided this material information by both

Director Hafen and Deputy Chief Gagnon. However, Colonel Perry ordered

Troopers Gordon and Ferguson to interrupt K9 training to attend Specifics classes

for the next six weeks.

53. Colonel Perry’s erroneous decision caused significant disruption in the continuity of

the K9 training as well as the planned timeline for initial deployment and program

evolution. Highway drug interdiction training by Trooper Moonin was interspersed

throughout the K9 Academy and was absolutely necessary for lawful drug dog

deployments and long term K9 Program success. Colonel Perry’s personal

interference prevented Troopers Gordon and Ferguson from receiving critical

training.

54. Acts of sabotage, revenge, and retaliation orchestrated by Colonel Perry, and carried

out by his subordinates, escalated in number and severity over the following three

years. The harm caused to civilian and law enforcement alike was foreseeable and

imminent.

55. In the 4th week of the K9 Academy, Deputy Chief Sanchez informed Deputy Chief

Gagnon that Sgt. Yarnall was required under contract to develop and submit a K9

Practices and Policies Manual. Deputy Chief Gagnon explained to Deputy Chief

Sanchez that appropriate, temporary policies and procedures were in place that had

been approved by Director Hafen. Deputy Chief Gagnon further explained to

Deputy Chief Sanchez that the plan was for Sgt. Yarnall to develop detailed practices

and policies as the needs of the NVDPS evolved and the after the current K9

Academy was completed. Deputy Chief Sanchez told Deputy Chief Gagnon the

delay was unacceptable and Sgt. Yarnall was required by contract to complete the

assignment immediately or face termination.


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56. Since Sgt. Yarnall was contractually limited to a 40 hour work-week, and if Sgt.

Yarnall used his allowable hours to draft the policies and procedures manual as

erroneously ordered, training would have had to abruptly stop causing disastrous

results. Instead, as a true professional committed to the program’s success, Sgt.

Yarnall worked on the manual after his ten (10) hour training days and on weekends

thereby completing the manual totally on his personal time and without any pay.

57. After donating approximately sixty hours to keep the training going, Sgt. Yarnall

submitted the manual to Deputy Chief Gagnon who then forwarded it to Deputy

Chief Sanchez.

58. Approximately one week after submission of the manual, Deputy Chief Sanchez

complained to Deputy Chief Gagnon alleging Sgt. Yarnall’s work on manual was

substandard, illiterate, and nonsensical. Deputy Chief Sanchez again threatened Sgt.

Yarnall’s employment alleging substandard performance.

59. As an experienced policy manual writer, the allegations appeared baseless

warranting an investigation.

60. After some investigation, Deputy Chief Gagnon learned that Captain Todd Ellison

(hereinafter referred to as “Captain Ellison,”) a confidant of Colonel Perry and

Deputy Chief Sanchez, had intercepted Sgt. Yarnall’s original work and replaced it

with a nonsensical mish mash of cut and paste copies of polices from an array of

other law enforcement agencies pertaining to patrol, explosive detection, and drug

detection K9 Teams.

61. A complaint of dishonesty and unbecoming conduct was lodged against Captain

Ellison regarding the switch of papers; however, NHP Command ignored the

complaint and no disciplinary action of any kind was taken against Captain Ellison.

62. Captain Ellison was at the time relieved of all command responsibilities because of

hostile work environment complaints and employee generated pending law suits

against him. The State of Nevada was ultimately held responsible for Captain

Ellison’s misconduct. In defiance of one settlement mandating that Capt. Ellison

have no supervisory powers, Colonel Perry promoted Captain Ellison to Lieutenant

Colonel (number two position) in NHP.

63. NHP Command interference and sabotage became an almost daily occurrence

throughout the remaining training. Critical computerized employment and training

records were mysteriously deleted from the department computer system on at least a


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weekly basis. Sgt. Yarnall’s pay was frequently held up for months at a time.

Reimbursement claims for Trooper/Handlers were somehow lost in the system or

just forgotten for months, despite repeated follow ups and requests from Trooper

Lee. Employee time sheets were routinely lost, rejected, or placed at the bottom of

paperwork piles because of “clerical errors” or intentional acts by the finance clerk,

the fiancé of Deputy Chief Sanchez. Every day significant amounts of time and

focus were diverted from training to attend to the ever changing rules and/or

bureaucratic emergency of the day. It was very blatant and clearly intended to create

a hostile work environment, place undue financial pressure on K9 personnel, and

disrupt the progress of the K9 Program.

64. Through hard work, dedication, perseverance, and personal sacrifice by all

participants, the training and certification of the remaining four K9 Teams was

completed on time – in spite of the continuous Command interference and sabotage.

65. A formal graduation ceremony and press conference was scheduled by Director

Hafen and all NVDPS Command Staff were ordered to attend - including Colonel

Perry and Deputy Chief Sanchez. The Governor of Nevada was also present as a key

note speaker. Both print and television media were on scene. During the ceremony

a $100,000 donation was formally presented by Wal-Mart Corporation to Nevada

Friends of K9. The donation was symbolized by a huge cardboard check facsimile.

At the conclusion of the graduation ceremony press interviews of dignitaries, K9

Teams, and Wal-Mart representatives were conducted. When the press and

department photographers requested a photo op of Wal-Mart representatives

presenting the facsimile check to the Governor and Nevada Friends of K9 board

members, the check facsimile could not be found. Colonel Perry and Major Sanchez

were also missing. In an embarrassing, bizarre juvenile act, Colonel Perry and Major

Sanchez had absconded with the check facsimile, flew by airplane with the facsimile

back to Carson City, and attempted to place the $100,000 donated for the purchase of

K9’s into the Highway Patrol general fund.

66. During the first month following K9 graduation, December of 2008, the K9 Teams

located and seized 8968.503grams of Marijuana (19.7 pounds), 453.59 grams of

Cocaine (1 pound), 3330 grams of Ecstasy/MDMA (7.3 pounds), and $402,670.00 in

allegedly, illegally obtained cash." The success of the K9 Program continued far

exceeding expectations throughout all of 2009 with the teams seizing 133,275.9


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grams (293.8 pounds) of Marijuana, 6270.51 grams (13.8 pounds) of

Cocaine, 15233.04 grams (33.55 pounds) of Methamphetamine, 14.1 grams of

Heroin, 80.1grams of Ecstasy/MDMA, and alleged criminal proceeds of

approximately $2,555,721.00. For the calendar year, 2010, 174821.3 grams (385.4

pounds) of Marijuana, 17573.1 grams 39.7 pounds) of Cocaine, 18046.31 grams

(39.78 pounds) of Methamphetamine, 28.5 grams of Heroin, 15 gallons of liquid

PCP, and criminal proceed assets in the amount of $1,575,242.00 in cash. From

January 1 – August 31, 2011, NVDPS/NHP K9 Teams located and seized 185835.2

grams (408.7 pounds) of Marijuana, 7464.8 grams 16.5 pounds) of Cocaine, 7532.61

grams (16.6 pounds) of Methamphetamine, and criminal proceed assets in the

amount $859,659.00 in cash. Since the inception of the NVDPS/NHP K9 Program

(September, 2008 through August 31, 2011), NVDPS/NHP K9 Teams have located

and seized a total of 502900.93 grams (1,108.7 pounds) of Marijuana, 31762.0 grams

(70 pounds) of Cocaine, 40,819.46 grams (89.99 pounds) of Methamphetamine, 42.6

grams of Heroin, 3410.1 grams (7.5 pounds) of Ecstasy/MDMA, 15 gallons of liquid

PCP, and criminal proceed assets in the amount of $5,393,292.00 in cash.

67. The formal K9 Academy for the four K9 Teams was finished. Two K9 Teams were

assigned to Reno and two K9 Teams to the Las Vegas Area. However, the first

phase of training at the Academy was completed, the second phase of training, on the

job training (OJT), would then begin. OJT ensures reliability under the watchful

eye of a K9 expert/instructor. This crucial phase of training required Sgt. Yarnall to

ride along with the new K9 Teams on duty.

68. However, due to Colonel Perry’s sabotaging removal of Troopers Gordon and

Ferguson from the K9 Academy, the two Troopers were now scheduled for their 400

hour K9 Academy training. Colonel Perry and Deputy Chief Sanchez malicious

removal of the Troopers forced Sgt. Yarnall to either delay the critical OJT portion

of training for the four new K9 Teams, or delay the K9 Academy. Either option Sgt.

Yarnall had been presented would have caused significant injury to the K9 Program

and/or the goals set by Director Hafen.

69. Instead of choosing, Sgt. Yarnall again prioritized the K-9 Program and successfully

completed both critical tasks by working excessively long hours and days off. Sgt.

Yarnall was not only uncompensated but traveled between Reno and Las Vegas at

his own expense.


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70. In December of 2008, Colonel Perry advanced a vicious rumor regarding Sgt.

Yarnall to Director Hafen. Colonel Perry falsely told Director Hafen that Sgt.

Yarnall had been sued repeatedly for excessive force and civil rights violations

during Sgt. Yarnall’s tenure as Chief K9 Trainer for the Los Angeles Police

Department (LAPD).

71. Following Colonel Perry’s false statements, Director Hafen concerned about Sgt.

Yarnall’s integrity as well as Nevada’s exposure to civil litigation, immediately

conducted a cold conference call between Director Hafen, Colonel Perry, Deputy

Chief Gagnon, and Sgt. Yarnall. Director Hafen ordered Sgt. Yarnall to respond to

Colonel Perry’s baseless allegations. Under pressure and surprise, Sgt. Yarnall told

the truth explaining that in the nine (9) years prior to becoming Sgt. at the LAPD in

1999 and during his multiple positions as officer, founder, handler and trainer of the

K9 Unit, Sgt. Yarnall was named in only one nuisance civil action. Sgt. Yarnall

explained that after his promotion to Sgt., department policy mandated he transfer to

a uniform patrol division and out of the K9 Unit. It was at this time, after Sgt.

Yarnall was no longer involved in the Unit when questionable officer behavior began

occurring and civil suits and personnel misconduct complaints began regularly

occurring. In explicitly stating the truth, Sgt. Yarnall was not involved in the K9

Unit after being promoted to Sgt and it was after him leaving the department that the

problems began.

72. In December of 2008, Sgt. Yarnall had traveled from Las Vegas to Reno and was

conducting K9 maintenance and OJT (On The Job Training) with newly certified K9

Teams, Trooper West/K9 Hilo and Trooper Lee/K9 Petey. This training is critical in

order to effectively transition the fundamental skills and ethics learned in basic

training to actual deployments. Because K9 is a most unique management and

supervisory challenge within law enforcement, it is customary and common sense for

police managers and supervisors of a new K9 program to meet with the designated

department K9 Expert in order to gain insight into the assets and liabilities of the K9

Teams. It also allows the K9 Expert to gain insight into the unique requirements of a

particular community or Command Area so the Expert can adapt the training and

deployments to those needs. It is also customary and just good management for the

supervisors and command staff to at least observe the K9 Teams work or train –

especially after the involved K9 Handlers have worked so hard and made so many


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personal sacrifices far above and beyond the call of duty. Neither Sergeant Lewis nor

any of the NDPS/NHP Command (with the exception of Director Hafen) has ever

observed the training of the K9 Teams. In fact, they have intentionally avoided it.

Yarnall made several attempts to contact and schedule meetings with Sergeant Dave

Lewis (Trooper West and Trooper Lee’s immediate supervisor) and Major Brian

Sanchez. Both Lewis and Sanchez dodged and avoided Yarnall’s repeated requests

to meet and exchange information.

73. Upon returning to Las Vegas after completing the training in Reno, Sgt. Yarnall was

informed by Deputy Chief Gagnon that a complaint had been initiated by Sgt. Lewis

alleging Yarnall, West, and Lee were planting drugs in citizen’s cars during traffic

stops in order to gain K9 positive alerts establishing probable cause to conduct a

search. Sgt. Lewis’s allegation was utterly false. Sgt. Lewis had never met Sgt.

Yarnall and had never observed any training or searches.

74. After Sgt. Lewis’ false complaint was made about NDPS/NHP K9 Handlers planting

drugs, the false allegation spread department wide casting the entire K9 Program in a

very bad light. Every member of the K9 Program including Sgt. Yarnall, Trooper

Lee, and Trooper Moonin were shunned by other NHP Troopers and NHP Command

causing embarrassment, intimidation and serious concerns over their reputations.

75. Sgt. Yarnall lodged a dishonesty complaint against Sgt. Lewis but NHP Command

implicitly supporting the rumor by taking zero action for the outright lie and/or

conducting zero investigation.

76. Based upon the false allegation, and without any investigation, the NHP Southern

Command Deputy Chief Phil Tilt ordered that OJT was not to be conducted in his

area of command.

77. Four weeks into the second K9 Academy and OJT Training, Colonel Perry

demanded Sgt.Yarnall immediately complete the written Nevada Peace Officer

Training and Standards (hereinafter referred to as “POST”) K9 training course

syllabus and certification which is required for the program to obtain POST

certification. Colonel Perry stated that it was required in Sgt. Yarnall’s contract and

that it needed to be completed within three weeks. Deputy Chief Gagnon listed off

the numerous reasons why Colonel Perry’s demand was erroneous explaining Sgt.

Yarnall’s considerable, current duties and Sgt. Yarnall’s already exhaustive efforts to

facilitate the best training possible. Deputy Chief Gagnon informed Colonel Perry


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the document was not currently necessary and explained to Colonel Perry that the

disruption by his demand would be extremely detrimental to K9 operations and long

term goals and success. Deputy Chief Gagnon specifically informed Colonel Perry

that the POST document had been scheduled to be completed after this second

training group had completed training to ensure the best practices were finalized and

implemented as the standard for the program.

78. Colonel Perry ignored Deputy Chief Gagnon’s information and in a clear act to

sabotage the K9 Program, ordered Sgt. Yarnall complete the highly detailed and

voluminous, POST Course Curriculum within three weeks; Colonel Perry further

stated if Sgt. Yarnall failed to provide the POST curriculum, his contract would be

terminated.

79. Sgt. Yarnall met twice with Deputy Chief Tony Almaraz regarding the POST Course

Curriculum. During the discussions, Deputy Chief Almaraz told Sgt. Yarnall the

demand came directly from Colonel Perry informing Sgt. Yarnall that . Colonel

Perry disliked Deputy Chief Gagnon, the K9 Program and by association, anyone

connected to the program especially those who were/could ensure the program’s

overall success.

80. Colonel Perry intentionally caused Sgt. Yarnall anxiety and embarrassment. Colonel

Perry was now on clear notice that inconsistent and poor training, inconsistent or

insufficient standards, lack of standardized policies and practices, and poor

supervision/management will lead to misconduct, civil rights violations, and civil

liability.

81. Colonel Perry had now demonstrated his resolve to keep his promise to destroy the

K9 Program and would use his power of office to intentionally cause hardship and

injury to others.

82. Sgt. Yarnall again worked extensive hours and weekends, without pay, to ensure his

contract would not be terminated. While continuing to provide the scheduled and

necessary training at the highest quality, within the ridiculous three (3) week time

frame demanded by Colonel Perry, Sgt. Yarnall completed and submitted a 130 page

detailed, comprehensive Nevada POST K9 Course Curriculum. Again, due to Sgt.

Yarnall’s restrictions on compensation, Sgt. Yarnall completed the POST Course

Curriculum, in excess of 160 hours, uncompensated.


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83. Sgt. Yarnall’s POST submission documentation, enumerating Yarnall’s excellent

curriculum and training, was submitted and readily accepted. The program became

fully certified by the Nevada POST Board of Certification. NVDPS/NHP was now

the only Nevada POST Certified K9 Program in the state of Nevada and was the first

training program in Nevada to ever be certified by POST.

84. Sgt. Yarnall’s POST Curriculum was also later submitted and readily accepted by the

Utah POST Certification Board. As such, the NVDPS/NHP K9 Curriculum, as

created by Sgt. Yarnall, achieved dual POST certification status for both the State of

Nevada and the State of Utah.

85. POST standards are designed to ensure and maintain the highest level of reliability

far exceeding industry standards. The Nevada POST Certification testing is one of

the most difficult in the entire nation and most definitely provides the hardest testing

curriculum in the state of Nevada. Following training, POST certification mandates

recertification of every K9 Teams every three (3) months, instead of the industry

norm of annual retesting. As a Post Certified K9 Team, these Nevada Teams afford

the highest level of reliability ensuring the ultimate protection of the constitutional

rights of both citizens and visitors alike.

86. Following Nevada certification, and continuing throughout the program, every

Nevada NVDPS K9 Team (handler and dog) was, and remained, certified through

both Nevada and Utah POST.

87. In furtherance of the over success of K9 Program, Sgt. Yarnall conducted a 400 hour,

arduous K-9 Instructor training for Troopers Moonin and William West. Upon

completion, the Troopers achieved POST Certified, K9 Instructor status. Both

Troopers are certified to instruct the Nevada DPS Narcotic Detector Dog Course, and

to certify police narcotic detector dogs according to Nevada and Utah POST

standards. Only three (3) Post Certified Instructors exist in the State of Nevada; Sgt.

Yarnall, Trooper Moonin, and Trooper West.

88. The United States Attorney General’s Office has recognized Nevada DPS K9

Practices and Policies, training, and certification standards as exemplary.

89. State, federal and local courts have recognized Nevada DPS K9 Practices and

Policies, training, and certification standards as exceeding industry standards; state,

federal and local courts have all characterized DPS K9 Handlers as experts in the


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handling and deployment of narcotic detector dogs and on the topics of illegal

smuggling and highway interdiction of illegal narcotics.

90. NVDPS K9 Teams are viewed by other law enforcement agencies as the most highly

skilled and reliable. On multiple occasions DPS K9 Teams have located drugs and

drug money that detector dog teams from other law enforcement agencies missed.

NVDPS K9 Teams have become the “go to” K9 Teams with some agencies

coordinating drug sweeps with the specific availability of the NVDPS K9 Teams.

91. Trooper Tim Raabe and his dog “Gripper” was thoroughly tested by judges and

district attorneys and was granted the only exemption status ever for a very strict

probable cause warrant requirement in court jurisdictions that historically view

narcotic detector dogs with suspicion and a jaundiced eye. In those counties,

Trooper Raabe and “Gripper’s” positive indicator for the odor of illegal drugs

unilaterally satisfies probably cause for searching the vehicle.

92. Trooper Moonin and his K9 “Teko” located and seized over $1.63 million and one

kilo of cocaine as a result of a self-initiated (by Trooper Moonin) drug interdiction

stop of a passenger vehicle in Las Vegas. Trooper Moonin is a true expert in the

area of highway interdiction. His dog is the example of a reliable drug detection

dog. The details of this case and the exceptional search by K9 Teko have become

subject matter for K9 Academies and drug interdiction seminars nationwide.

93. NVDPS and NHP Command initiated and promoted department wide a rumor that

Trooper Moonin’s detector dog, “Teko” had no role in the seizure of the money and

drugs in this case.

94. One million dollars of drug money seized by NVDPS K9 Teams was used to

purchase AR15 long rifles for each sworn member of NVDPS – at no cost to the

state. The purchase of the rifles was for counter terrorism and officer safety

purposes.

95. NVDPS Southern K9 Command was housed in a converted home that also housed

the Las Vegas office of the Nevada Division of Investigation. The Southern Area K9

Program was housed in an unused converted pool house located in the rear yard at

that location. Desks, computers, file cabinets, and other office equipment were

installed and Deputy Chief Gagnon managed the statewide K9 Program from there.

All hard copy and computerized K9 Program records were kept at the site. The

building was secured with deadbolt locks.


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96. Because of his refusal to meet with Sgt. Yarnall in December of 2008, in February of

2009, Sergeant Lewis was ordered by Deputy Chief Gagnon to meet with Sgt.

Yarnall to learn specifics about K9 operations, training, assets, liabilities and overall

supervision. Sergeant Lewis appeared at the meeting openly acting disinterested,

distracted, and argumentative. After a mere 30 minutes, Sergeant Lewis boldly

informed Sgt. Yarnall the Washoe County Sheriff’s Department would provide better

K9 training utilizing the California POST Certification curriculum and training.

97. Since Sgt. Yarnall had done exhaustive research as to the best practices across the

country prior to the K9 Program’s initiation, Sgt. Yarnall felt comfortable responding

to Sergeant Lewis’ baseless false claims. Sgt. Yarnall advised Sergeant Lewis that

California POST had been corrupted by civilian K9 Trainers and commercial entities

that mined California POST for future customers and used the California POST

certification as a sales gimmick. Sgt. Yarnall further advised Sergeant Lewis that the

California POST Certification was elementary at best and insufficient for the needs

and standards of NDPS/NHP K9. Sgt. Yarnall told Sergeant Lewis that if he cared to

research the subject he would send Sergeant Lewis copies of both the California

POST annual certification and the NDPS/NHP quarterly certification so Sergeant

Lewis could compare the vast difference in objectivity, quality, and difficulty

between the two certifications. Sergeant Lewis declined. Sgt. Yarnall advised

Sergeant Lewis that it is best to stay clear of California POST so as not to promote

unreliability in the NHP K9 Teams and to avoid the probable legal conflicts and

close scrutiny if and when the corruption of California POST is exposed.

98. Sgt. Yarnall then explained to Sergeant Lewis that NDPS/NHP K9 training and

standards had been designed to ensure reliability and protection of constitutional

rights, as ordered by Director Hafen. Sgt. Yarnall informed Sergeant Lewis that

NDPS/NHP training and standards far exceed industry standards and are designed to

achieve and maintain a high level of reliability, and that a highly advanced and

proven training system was employed to achieve and maintain that reliability. Sgt.

Yarnall explained that mixing training systems such as the instinctual compulsion

system employed by NDPS/NHP with the classic conditioning/play drive/handler

compulsion/handler dependent training system employed by Washoe County

Sheriff’s Office was a recipe for disaster – especially with new dogs and handlers. It

is like mixing oil and sand.


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99. Although Sergeant Lewis possessed no knowledge of K9 Units or Programs,

had done zero research on K9 training or training effectiveness, Sergeant Lewis

continued to insist that NDPS/NHP should train with either Washoe Sheriff’s K9 or

with his friend Brian Howard, and that NDPS/NHP K9’s be certified through

California POST.

100. Following this conversation, Sgt. Lewis continued to verbally and

openly push to relocate all K9 training out of NDPS/NHP.

101. Fully committed to NDPS/NHP training, K9 Commander, Deputy Chief

Gagnon issued an order to Sgt. Lewis cease his false degradation of the training and

standards of NDPS/NHP K9.

102. During Sgt.Yarnall’s February training ride along, Sgt. Yarnall witnessed

Trooper West’s dog Hilo identify several kilos of marijuana concealed in a

sophisticated compartment built into a late model vehicle. An arrest was made and

the drugs seized. Sgt. Lewis and Lieutenant John Stewart arrived at the scene to

assist in transport of the suspect. Neither officer acknowledged Sgt. Yarnall and

openly and blatantly shunned Sgt. Yarnall.

103. After one week of training in Reno, upon returning to Las Vegas, Sgt.

Yarnall was informed by Deputy Chief Gagnon that Lieutenant Stewart had filed a

verbal complaint to Major Sanchez. Lt. Stewart claimed that Sgt. Yarnall was

impersonating an NHP Trooper, driving around NHP in a marked patrol vehicle

dressed in a NHP Trooper uniform. Lt. Stewart’s allegation was completely

fabricated and confusing since Sgt. Yarnall’s dress, non-NHP uniforms, were

witnessed daily without comment by many Command Staff and officers, including

Major Sanchez himself. Sgt. Yarnall informed Deputy Chief Gagnon that the

allegations were totally false expressing a concern that a high ranking officer, with

significant authority, could make up such a lie and file a totally baseless complaint.

104. The false complaint caused Sgt. Yarnall great embarrassment and anxiety. As

such, Sgt. Yarnall felt forced to file a complaint of dishonesty against Lt. Stewart.

105. Sgt. Yarnall’s complaint enumerating the improper actions and dishonesty of

Lt. Stewart were ignored and totally squashed by Major Sanchez. Lt. Stewart’s

baseless and false complaint was implicitly condoned by NHP Command since Lt.

Stewart received no repercussions for his totally inappropriate behavior.


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106. Following Major Sanchez discounting and ignoring Sgt. Yarnall’s truthful,

and easily verifiable complaint, Sgt. Yarnall now recognized himself as a target by

other officers, NHP and NVLPD Command causing Sgt. Yarnall extreme anxiety.

107. In January of 2009, during the critical time implementing newly trained K9

Teams into the field, Deputy Chief Sanchez abruptly ordered Deputy Chief Gagnon

to attend a three month Command School by Northwestern University. Deputy

Chief Gagnon had not applied for the school, was totally surprised by the order and

would force the newly trained K9 Troopers, and the K9 Program overall, without

direct supervision and guidance at a most critical time.

108. During Deputy Chief Gagnon’s three month absence, Colonel Perry directed

NHP Sergeant Ken Twitty and NDI Sergeant Jackie Muth to covertly enter the K9

Office in a “black bag”, covert operation to search all computer and hard copy files

for personal and political intelligence on the board members of Nevada Friends of

K9.

109. During this same period, Captain Ellison was assigned to a desk in the main

NVDPS office at the front of the property. Captain Ellison was a close confidant of

Colonel Perry and Deputy Chief Sanchez. Captain Ellison had also been relieved of

all command and subordinates pending the outcome of a hostile work environment

investigation and lawsuit. On one occasion a K9 Trooper, Shawn Haggstrom, was in

the K9 Office completing paperwork a few hours before start of shift and was sitting

at a desk not readily viewable from the entry door. The Trooper heard a key inserted

into the door lock, the door opened, and in strolled Captain Ellison. Captain Ellison

had no official or departmental purpose for entry into the locked K9 Office. Captain

Ellison did not see the Trooper and he quickly walked to Deputy Chief Gagnon’s

desk. As Captain Ellison started to sit down at Deputy Chief Gagnon’s computer,

Captain Ellison finally saw Trooper Haggstrom. Captain Ellison immediately

jumped up from the desk and quickly exited the office without saying a word.

110. Approximately one week later, K9 Troopers discovered Deputy Chief

Gagnon’s desk had been taken and the items that were on top of his desk, including

his computer, thrown on the floor. Nothing else appeared disturbed except that all

the hard copies of K9 records were gone from the file cabinets in which they were

stored.

111. NHP Command launched no investigation into the thievery or destruction.


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112. Upon Deputy Chief Gagnon returning from Command School, he personally

launched an investigation and quickly uncovered, John Stewart, an Investigations

Division Deputy Chief and close Colonel Perry confidant had taken the desk.

Deputy Chief Stewart defiantly and dominantly informed Deputy Chief Gagnon that

he knew the desk was Gagnon’s but took it anyway. He refused to admit to stealing

the files, the thief has never been identified the files were never recovered.

113. The NVDPS K9 Program was mandated by state legislature as entirely self-

funded through the NVDPS Asset Forfeiture Account. This account is funded by

drug assets and money legally seized and adjudicated during state drug

investigations. The bulk of the funds in the account are the funds seized during K9

Team highway drug investigations and sniffs.

114. Since the Program’s inception and in spite of the huge success of the K9

Program, NHP Command commonly and routinely claimed funding for the Program

was lacking. Sgt. Yarnall’s pay was often delayed for months at a time; purchase

requests for basic tools and necessary tools were consistently and routinely denied.

Perishable and basics such as dog food, leashes, dog collars, and the training towels

so vital to the Program’s success were often denied. K9 Handlers and Sgt. Yarnall

were often forced to purchase the most basic items and/or feed their assigned K9 out

of pocket. K9 Team Members were sometimes required to travel; however, their

travel, lodging, and per diem expenses were routinely denied. All and each denial

was followed by NHP Command claiming a lack of Asset Forfeiture Funds.

115. Witnessing the widespread deficiencies, Nevada Friends of K9 eventually

donated a significant amount of the required equipment. K9/ICE Team Members

were forced to purchase the remaining required equipment at their own expense.

116. Out of frustration, each K9 Team Member including Troopers Moonin and

Lee, the board members of Friends of K9, and Sgt. Yarnall directly asked

NVDPS/NHP Command and/or supervisors the reasons for the depletion of the Asset

Forfeiture Fund when so much money had been seized; NVDPS/NHP Command was

asked to account for the funds spent out of the Fund. In response to each question,

by each employee, by each concerned citizen, NVDPS/NHP Command refused to

make any comment on the subject remaining steadfastly silent.

117. In additional to routinely delaying Sgt. Yarnall’s pay, Colonel Perry

repeatedly refused to afford Sgt. Yarnall the customary and agreed upon, 1 year


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contract extension. Although Colonel Perry baselessly claimed funding to be the

cause, Colonel Perry’s true intentions were to cause instability and insecurity in the

K9 Program and pressure Sgt. Yarnall to quit. Colonel Perry knew that the future

success of the NDPS/NHP K9 Program was largely dependent on Sgt. Yarnall’s

ability to train both the dogs and handlers to a high level of skill and to instill

integrity, cohesiveness, high morale, and pride within the K9 Program. Those

attributes did not fit in with Colonel Perry’s stated agenda to destroy or dismantle the

K9 Program.

118. In the spring of 2009, Director Hafen informed Colonel Perry Sgt. Yarnall’s

contract expired the end of August and ordered Colonel Perry to renew the contract

prior to its expiration to prevent any gap in the progress of the K9 Program. In the

middle of August 2009, Colonel Perry informed Director Hafen no Asset Forfeiture

Funds were available to fund Sgt. Yarnall’s contract. Director Hafen aggressively

reminded Colonel Perry three new K9 Teams was scheduled for training in

September of 2009, and Colonel Perry must locate the funds to secure Sgt. Yarnall’s

Contract.

119. Soon after his conversation with Director Hafen, Colonel Perry found the

funds in the Asset Forfeiture Account to renew Yarnall’s contract. However,

Colonel Perry’s delay caused a one month gap in Sgt. Yarnall’s contract. Although

Sgt. Yarnall remained working and traveling, all while unpaid and unreimbursed,

Colonel Perry’s actions delayed the start of K9 training by one month.

120. During the winter K9 Academy held in Carson City, 4 new K9 Troopers were

required to be away from home and their families for a minimum of three months.

Standard policy and procedure, to alleviate the hardship, allowed reasonable

overtime, or at a minimum an on duty travel day to travel home on their day’s off.

However, during this winter training session, these options were abruptly and

surprisingly denied to the new trainees causing financial burdens and family stress.

NVDPS/NHP Command alleged the denial was due to a lack of Asset Forfeiture

Funds.

121. Following notification of this major change in policy, the new Trainees and

Sgt. Yarnall met with K9 Coordinator Lieutenant John O’Rourke (a close confidant

and handpicked for the position by Colonel Perry), and asked why the funds were

unavailable. Lt. O’Rourke responded that all overtime funds had been totally


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depleted by the first three handlers during the first K9 Academy. Lt. O’Rourke’s

statement implied these three Troopers had received the millions of dollars in

available overtime pay in just one or two months.

122. On December 6th, 2008, Trooper Moonin and his K9 partner “Teko” were

involved with the seizure of over seven pounds of Ecstasy/MDMA.

123. During the week of December 8th-12th, 2008, Moonin and his K9 partner

“Teko” were involved in currency seizures totaling $402,670.00.

124. During December of 2008, Deputy Chief Gagnon met several times with

Trooper Moonin requesting he accept a lead role in the integration of the K9 Units

with highway interdiction activities. As a nationally recognized expert in highway

drug interdiction with vast experience and demonstrated success, Deputy Chief

Gagnon felt Trooper Moonin the best candidate for leading statewide standardization

and integration. In Trooper Moonin accepting the position, Trooper Moonin’s

overall responsibilities would include his K9 Handler tasks, his K9 Trainer tasks and

now the tasks required to further integration. Such duties included, but were not

limited to, training and mentoring, creating a standardized reporting tool for both K9

and Interdiction members, tracking Trooper involvement within court cases,

providing logistical support to all K9 Members.

125. Throughout$January$to$June$of$2009,$Trooper$Moonin$continued$

demonstrating$high$productivity$and$adherence$to$the$highest$training$

standards$as$Trooper$Moonin$continued$to$be$forced$to$work$around$NHP$

Command’s$sabotage$and$needlesslyHcreated$hurdles.$$

126. During$this$time$and$on$top$of$all$of$his$other$responsibilities,$Trooper$

Moonin$continued$being$one$of$the$best$K9$Handler$on$the$job.$$Moonin$and$his$

K9$partner$”Teko”$were$involved/responsible$for$six$seizures$of$Marijuana$

totaling$14,088$grams$(31$pounds);$eight$seizures$of$Cocaine$totaling$5946.9$

grams$(13.1$pounds);$six$Methamphetamine$seizures$totaling$6338.2$grams$

(13.9$pounds);$$and$five$seizures$of$$suspect$drug$proceeds$totaling$

$1,817,356.00$in$cash.$$One$of$Trooper$Moonin’s$currency$seizures$is$the$largest$

amount$seized$to$date.$$!!$

127. In June of 2009, Deputy Chief Kevin Tice(hereinafter referred to as “Deputy

Chief Tice”) of NHP Southern Command in Las Vegas unilaterally ordered the K9

Program decentralized; as decentralization had been the cause of the prior program’s


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downfall, and directly violated the plan approved by the Governor and State

Legislature, Deputy Chief Tice’s order appeared nonsensical.

128. On or about June 18th, 2009, Director Hafen quashed Deputy Chief Tice’s

decentralization order. Director Hafen ordered the operational and administrative

structure of the K9 and Interdiction programs centralized under NHP headquarters in

Carson City.

129. On or about June 18th, 2009, Deputy Chief Tice issued an email confirming

Director Hafen’s orders of centralization of the K9 and Interdiction programs under

NHP headquarters. Deputy Chief Tice separated the K9 Troopers from the ICE

members by stating, “Colonel Perry has more meetings/discussions scheduled with

regard to the ICE Team. However, as of this time; ICE Team Operations will be

centralized operationally and administratively to HQ - Major Tony Almaraz.”

Deputy Chief Tice’s order alienated Trooper Moonin from his co-workers on the

ICE Team and caused disharmony in the drug interdiction working environment.

130. During the remainder of June 2009, Colonel Perry and Deputy Chief Tony

Almaraz attempted to take the K9 program back to the decentralized, non-

standardized policies and procedures of the prior failed NHP K9 Program. Deputy

Chief Gagnon resisted and both Perry and Almaraz complained to Director Hafen

that Deputy Chief Gagnon was interfering with NHP operations.

131. In July of 2009, at the NHP Northern Command in Reno, Troopers Lee,

West, and Thomas Urso reported witnessed 4th Amendment violations by Trooper

Allen Young and reported these violations directly to Sgt. Dave Lewis. As the

Sergeant In Charge of the NHP Northern Command Ice/K9 Unit, (an admitted close

personal friend of Colonel Perry), Sgt. Lewis shrugged off the serious allegations in

front of the three complaining Troopers stating it was a personality conflict between

the three troopers and Trooper Young.

132. Following this complaint, all three of these Troopers continued to witness

unconstitutional searches and continued repeating their concerns to Sgt. Lewis on a

nearly weekly basis.

133. In July of 2009, Colonel Perry and Major Tony Almaraz met with Director

Hafen and insisted Deputy Chief Gagnon be transferred to the NVDPS Academy in

Carson City. Director Hafen issued the order and Deputy Chief Gagnon was

effectively removed from the K9 and Interdiction program. Lt. John O’Rourke, NHP


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Headquarters, was appointed as the department K9 Coordinator by Colonel Perry.

NHP Southern Command Sergeant Mike Cooke was assigned as Sergeant of the

Southern Nevada Interdiction Task Force

134. In July of 2009, Trooper Moonin inquired about housing “Teko” inside a

canine crate at the team office, which was located in the NHP Southern Command.

He was told that Deputy Chief Kevin Tice had given the order not to allow K9

Troopers to have their K9’s housed “at any time inside the building.” NHP

Command suggested canines be kept in the parking lot while the handler was

working within the building. Since dog safety precluded dogs from being kept

outside in the Las Vegas summer heat, the rule caused significant inefficiency

forcing handlers to travel to their residences to pick up their dogs after every

meeting, class or necessary headquarter visit.

135. The significant inefficiency motivated Sgt. Cooke to send an email outlining

the issues and Deputy Chief Tice as well as the rest of NHP/DPS Command was

notified of the issues Deputy Chief Tice’s order was causing. In response, for no

substantive reasons, Deputy Chief Tice reiterated his order and the ban on K9’s in

the building.

136. Director Hafen learned of the dangerous and counterproductive situation and

intervened and ordered Deputy Chief Tice to allow the K9’s access to the building.

Although Deputy Chief Tice disingenuously contended a misunderstanding must

have occurred, the order remained in effect, and K9’s banned, until December, 2009.

137. Sgt. Yarnall’s initial one-year contract expired August 1, 2009. A few months

before the expiration date, Director Hafen advised Colonel Perry that Sgt. Yarnall

had performed far beyond all expectations and that the renewal of his contract was

critical in maintaining the tremendous success and upward momentum of the K9

Program. Director Hafen directed Colonel Perry to start working on the renewal of

the contract in May, 2009. Colonel Perry delayed action and as the contract

expiration grew close, Colonel Perry declared there was no money in the Asset

Forfeiture Fund to pay for Yarnall’s contract renewal and that the contract would

have to be put out to public bid. As Yarnall’s contract expiration date arrived,

Colonel Perry had still not completed his assignment and Yarnall’s contract expired.

Director Hafen then gave Colonel Perry a direct order to get the contract done, but

Perry insisted that Yarnall’s contract be extended for 6 months rather than renewed


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for one year. It was imperative that the training and momentum of the K9 Program

continue upward at this time, so Yarnall continued to work full time without

compensation on the promise that Colonel Perry would complete the contract

extension immediately. Colonel Perry’s interference caused Yarnall to work

uncompensated for a month and a half (27 working days) and lose $20,655.00 in

compensation. Yarnall also was required to maintain liability insurance during that

period.

138. In October of 2009, a drug interdiction car stopped by ICE/K9 team members

resulted in the identification and subsequent apprehension of a wanted and

international terrorist. Instead of commending the troopers, Deputy Chief Tice made

a derogatory and salacious comparison of the NHP ICE/K9 Unit to the infamous and

scandalous Los Angeles, Police Department, Rampart Division of the 1990’s. The

statements were made to Alan Davidson, NVDPS Public Information Officer.

Deputy Chief Tice told Trooper Davidson that the ICE/K9 Team is rogue and

without supervision, just like Rampart Division. Trooper Moonin and every other

ICE Team/K9 member were embarrassed, intimidated, and offended by Deputy

Chief Tice’s slanderous remarks. It compared hardworking, dedicated, self-

sacrificing Troopers with criminal police officers convicted of unprovoked

shootings, attempted murders, drug dealing, beatings, bank robberies, falsifying

evidence against citizens, stealing evidence and lying to cover up their crimes.

Tice’s remarks were intended to and succeeded in escalating the hostile working

environment within NHP.

139. In November of 2009, the working environment created by NHP command

had become extremely hostile. A grievance citing the hostile work environment was

submitted to Director Hafen by the southern ICE/K9 team members.

140. In early 2010, in response to the grievance, Director Hafen ordered NHP

Colonel Tony Almaraz and NHP Lieutenant John O’Rourke to meet with southern

ICE/K9 team members in an attempt to reconcile management with employees. A

meeting was held at the NHP Southern Command. The ICE\K9 members voiced

their concerns and gave details relating to the hostile work environment. Chief

Almaraz discounted team member concerns and statements and cited

miscommunication as the reason. Chief Almaraz then launched into an attack on the

grievance letter. Chief Almaraz aggressively stated, “I can’t take this seriously


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when you don’t even sign your names to the letter”, implying that the ICE/K9

members were cowardly. In fact, all ICE/K9 members were present and the

grievance was signed the ICE/K9 Team indicating unanimous agreement. Chief

Almaraz and Lieutenant O’Rourke clearly felt their authority had been challenged

and exhibited anger at the end of the meeting. Instead of reconciliation, the meeting

resulted in more animosity by command toward the ICE\K9 Team.

141. The following Monday after the meeting Sgt. Mike Cooke said he was told

from NHP Command that NHP Chief Tony Almaraz was highly upset with the

ICE/K9 members for bringing forward the items and was planning to make changes

to “reel them in,” and “get them in-line.” Sgt. Cooke told Trooper Moonin to “get

ready for the retaliation from Tice.”

142. Director Hafen recognized the egregious nature of Deputy Chief Tice’s

“Rampart Division” remarks, and ordered Deputy Chief Tice to personally apologize

to the offended Troopers.

143. As ordered, Deputy Chief Tice and his subordinate, Captain Thom Jackson,

called a meeting with the offended Troopers under the guise of apologizing;

however, Deputy Chief Tice never apologized and instead characterized his

statements as a “miscommunication.” After this blatantly false claim, Deputy Chief

Tice continued making false statements contending he “never once not allowed dogs

in” to Southern Command again calling it a “misinterpretation” by Ice/K9 Team

members. Deputy Chief Tice’s remarks were patently false and escalated the hostile

work environment.

144. On February 4th, 2010, Trooper Lee was attending Reno Justice Court when

he was approached by Washoe County Deputy District attorney Kelli Viloria as well

as the defense counsel. The defense counsel argued he would be using Trooper Allen

Young’s prior court testimony against him as a negative reference to the credibility

and reliability of the Northern Nevada Interdiction Task Force. The advisement was

in reference to recent dishonest court testimony and 4th Amendment violations by

Trooper Young. It was the same concerns Trooper Lee and other ICE/K9 members

had previously related to Sergeant Lewis. Trooper Lee immediately returned to the

Reno NHP Office after his court appearance and relayed the statements made to his

immediate supervisor, Sgt. Dave Lewis.


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145. Shortly after Trooper Lee’s statements, Trooper Allen Young was removed

from the Northern Nevada Interdiction Team and placed on administrative leave as

the result of an OPR investigation.

146. Continuing until August of 2010, several Task Force meetings were

conducted by Sgt. Dave Lewis. On each occasion, team members were asked by

Sgt. Dave Lewis to voice concerns or address problems; however, when the team

member voiced concerns or objections, Sgt. Lewis repeatedly blamed Trooper Lee

for instigating the complaint.

147. Routinely during task force meetings, Sgt. Lewis pointed out to other K9/ICE

Team members that Trooper Lee was an example of “what not to do”. Trooper Lee

was publicly embarrassed and felt Sergeant Lewis’s public humiliation was in

retaliation for disclosing official misconduct about Allen Young, Sgt. Lewis’s close

personal friend.

148. In February 2010, shortly after the grievance meeting with ICE/K9 Team

members. Deputy Chief Tice’s order effectively eliminated K9 and ICE Team

members from overtime hours which were used to supplement Troopers income lost

to pay freezes and mandatory furlough days off. Deputy Chief Tice’s order is in

direct violation of NHP Division Directive 3.3.069 that states “Commanders shall

ensure equitable opportunity for all personnel to work on Security Services

Contracts.”

149. On or about March 2, 2010, Deputy Chief Tice further retaliated for the

Ice/K9 Team grievance by removing Sergeant Mike Cooke as Officer In Charge of

the NHP Southern Command Ice/K9 Team and replacing him with Sergeant Santo

Bell. Sergeant Bell has no Ice/K9 experience and is a confidant of Deputy Chief

Tice.

150. Director Hafen received information of the incident and once again directed

Deputy Chief Tice to maintain the integrity of the ICE/K9 unit intact.

151. On March 3, 2010, Deputy Chief Tice issued an email advising to disregard

the previous email listing supervisory reassignments.

152. A K9 Academy handler training was scheduled for July of 2010.

153. As Sgt. Yarnall’s contract expiration date, May 15, 2010, Director Hafen

ordered K9 Academy training to expand to the Ely area. New K9 Handlers were

selected and Sgt. Yarnall was directed by Lt. O’Rourke to begin the canine, selection


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process. With Sgt. Yarnall’s contract expiration looming, Lt. O’Rourke assured Sgt.

Yarnall his contract would be renewed without delay.

154. As the contract expiration date moved closer, Sgt. Yarnall become

apprehensive about this contract renewal and that Colonel Perry, as the personal in

control of K9 finances, would again interfere with contract renewal.

155. Sgt. Yarnall’s contract renewal date passed without renewal and the

termination date arrived. Sgt. Yarnall contacted Lt. O’Rourke stating training was

looming and dogs needed to be timely procured. Sgt. Yarnall stated he had lined up

some prospective K9’s out of state but he needed to travel extensively to test the

dogs. Lt. O’Rourke told Sgt. Yarnall that Colonel Perry was delaying renewal

because of “technical difficulties” and lack of money in the Asset Forfeiture Fund,

but that the money would be found and the contract extension would be done any

day. Sgt. Yarnall again challenged the balance of the Asset Forfeiture Fund since

nearly $4 Million in drug proceeds had been located and seized should have been

deposited. Lt. O’Rourke remained silent. Sgt. Yarnall felt he had no choice but to

take Lt. O’Rourke at his word that his contract would be timely renewed.

156. Relying on Lt. O’Rourke’s statements, Sgt.Yarnall traveled over 6,000 miles

in his own vehicle, on his own time, without any compensation to test and procure

the dog for the new K9 Handlers.

157. Upon Sgt. Yarnall returning from the procurement trip, Lt. O’Rourke

informed Sgt. Yarnall that Colonel Perry was now conditioning his contract renewal

on Sgt. Yarnall conducting the K9 Academy handler training and a K9 Instructor

Course concurrently. If Sgt. Yarnall refused to conduct both 400 hour trainings

concurrently, Colonel Perry would refuse to renew his contract. Lt. O’Rourke told

Sgt. Yarnall that Colonel Perry had authorized his pay to increase by the insulting

amount of $10.62 per hour for the instructor training (industry standard is $75.00 to

$100.00 per hour) but was decreasing his hourly compensation for handler training

by 10%. Lt. O’Rourke explicitly explained Colonel Perry had, and was, making all

the decisions regarding Sgt. Yarnall’s employment and salary; Sgt. Yarnall could

take it or leave it and no room for negotiation existed.

158. Outraged, Sgt. Yarnall weighed his limited options. Refusing Colonel

Perry’s insulting terms would have wide, long lasting and devastating impacts on the

K9 Program. Additionally, relying on Lt. O’Rourke’s assurances, Sgt. Yarnall had


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entered into purchase agreements to buy multiple dogs and Sgt. Yarnall fully

understood failing to comply with these agreements would greatly harm him

professionally and substantially injure his impeccable reputation within the small K9

community. Further, Sgt. Yarnall had invested considerable personal time and his

own money procuring the best dogs and preparing the canines for training.

159. Sgt. Yarnall, frustrated and agitated, informed Lt. O’Rourke of the unfairness

of the situation and again, vented about the constant NVDPS/NHP Command

interference and sabotage of providing effective and efficient training. Sgt. Yarnall

explained the interference had prevented Sgt. Yarnall from grooming skilled K9

Handlers to become K9 Instructors. Sgt. Yarnall explained Instructors could be

trained to a level exceeding industry standards, but it was questionable if that

training would actually prepare the instructors for the tremendous responsibilities

and multi-faceted skills required for long term sustainability. Sgt. Yarnall made it

very clear to Lt. O’Rourke that much like the K9 Teams, it is imperative that the

skills learned in training be honed in practical applications and that the new K9

Instructors must be closely mentored in the field until they gained the experience,

adaptability, and true subject matter expertise. Sgt. Yarnall explained to Lt.

O’Rourke that anything less invites misconduct, violations of civil rights, and

substandard work.

160. After obtaining full commitment from Lt. O’Rourke about the follow up

required to ensure instructor success, and knowing leaving the Program at this

juncture would do irreparable harm to his reputation and future job opportunities,

Sgt. Yarnall agreed Colonel Perry’s unreasonable terms. Sgt. Yarnall agreed to the

pay changes and to the concurrent trainings if his contract would be guaranteed

through the 6 months following training completion, i.e. January through June of

2011). Lt. O’Rourke explicitly agreed to Sgt. Yarnall’s employment contract

existing through June of 2011 and unequivocally stated that Colonel Perry was on

board with the contract running through June of 2011.

161. The K9 Academy handler training and the Instructor Course were placed

back on schedule for July of 2010.

162. Although Sgt. Yarnall remained uncovered by an employment contract, and

was not receiving any salary, Sgt. Yarnall continued working full-time maintaining

the overall integrity of the program supporting personnel and also began preparing


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the chosen K9 Instructor Candidates. Due to Colonel Perry’s direct delay in

extending/renewing Sgt. Yarnall’s contract, Sgt. Yarnall, clearly committed to the

success of the K9 Program, worked uncompensated for approximately one month.

Sgt. Yarnall worked approximately a total of 280 hours resulting in lost income of

over $21,000.

163. In May of 2010, Lt. O’Rourke interviewed candidates for the K9 Instructor

positions.

164. Soon after, Lt. O’Rourke selected Troopers Moonin and Troopers West for

the Instructor positions. The selected Troopers understood the position would afford

no additional financial compensation but would include new duties including the

selection of all new dogs, the training of all new K9 Teams and all task required after

training to remain fully POST certified.

165. Approximately two (2) weeks into the concurrent trainings, Lt. O’Rourke

informed Sgt. Yarnall no funds were available for lodging the two, out of town

trainees. Lt. O’Rourke stated that if lodging could not be found, the trainees would

have to return to their respective assignments until funding could be found. Once

again, Sgt. Yarnall asked Lt. O’Rourke why, with nearly $4 million seized by NHP

K9 Teams, was there no Asset Seizure Funds available? Lt. O’Rourke said there just

wasn’t any money and avoided an answer.

166. In order to avoid removing the two (2) trainees from training, and once again

overcoming NHP Command obstacles and prioritizing the Program, Sgt. Yarnall

volunteered his residence for the out of town trainees.

167. Eventually, the two (2) trainees and their canines resided in homes and no

compensation was afforded to any of the home providers.

168. In September of 2010, in an attempt to avoid the delays and disruption to the

progress of the K9 Program because of interference by NHP Command and Colonel

Perry, Sgt. Yarnall met with Director Hafen offering to become a civilian employee

with a salary of $80,000 per year. Director Hafen agreed the permanent position

would minimize the sabotage occurring and would also save Nevada nearly half of

the funds allocated to K9 training.

169. Following the meeting, Director Hafen ordered both Lt. O’Rourke and Lt.

Peterson to each separately create and develop a permanent civilian position for Sgt.

Yarnall to fill. Director Hafen also ordered Lt. O’Rourke prepare Sgt. Yarnall’s


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contraction extension for January 1, 2011 through June 31, 2011 in order to avoid

delays and/or force Sgt. Yarnall to once again work without just compensation.

170. Repeatedly, both Director Hafen and Sgt. Yarnall followed up with the

Lieutenants to assess the progress of their ordered tasks. Every time, each

Lieutenant stalled claiming the other Lt. was handling the task.

171. During the month of October in 2010, Trooper Moonin was repeatedly pulled

out of Instructor training by Sgt. Mike Cooke to pull statistical data for Lt.

O’Rourke. Each and every time Trooper Moonin attempt to pull the records Lt.

O’Rourke requested, Trooper Moonin found the records missing.

172. As the requests, and the corresponding sabotage and deletion of K9 records

continued, Trooper Moonin established an updated backup copy of the records; as

such, Lt. O’Rourke’s request were fulfilled limiting his attempts to keep Trooper

Moonin away from training.

173. Near the end of 2010, Director Hafen announced his retirement from

NVDPS.

174. As Director Hafen’s retirement approached, Colonel Perry, who was being

promoted to NVDPS Deputy Director, became bolder escalating the openness and

level of the hostility he directed at the K9 Program and staff.

175. On December 31, 2010, Director Hafen’s last day of employment, Colonel

Perry’s hostility and antagonistic behavior had escalated to such an egregious level

that Director Hafen initiated an internal investigation with the Office of Personal

Responsibility(hereinafter referred to as “OPR”) against Colonel Perry.

176. As of Director Hafen’s last day, neither Lieutenant had completed their

ordered tasks; no civilian job position had been created and an employment

renewal/extension had not been drafted.

177. On Sgt. Yarnall’s last day under his employment contract, December 31,

2010, upon inquiring about his renewal/extension, Sgt. Yarnall was explicitly told by

Lt. O’Rourke the renewal/extension was waiting for Deputy Director Perry’s

approval.

178. On January 1st, 2011, Colonel Perry assumed the position of Acting Director.

(now referred to as “Director Perry.”).

179. Beginning on January 1st, 2011, Sgt. Yarnall’s contract extension was once

again maliciously delayed. Sgt. Yarnall continued to work 10 hour days without


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compensation and traveling at his own expense to maintain the integrity of the K9

Program and facilitate the success of all new trainees.

180. Sgt. Yarnall frequently requested an update on the extension of his contract

from Lt. O’Rourke. Each time, Sgt. Yarnall was informed Director Perry was

holding up the extension but that because Lt. O’Rourke continued to make Director

Perry aware of the statistics and tremendous success of the K9 Program, there would

be no problem.

181. At the end of March of 2011, Lt. O’Rourke informed Sgt. Yarnall that

Director Perry had personally decided not to renew his contract. Sgt. Yarnall was

shocked as Sgt. Yarnall had continually relied on Lt. O’Rourke’s verbal guarantee of

a contract and had worked uncompensated and traveled repeatedly at his own

expense. Deputy Perry’s erroneous refusal caused Sgt. Yarnall to lose over

$63,751.50 rightful compensation.

182. In late January, 2011, Trooper Moonin was interviewed by Lt. Jackie Muth of

OPR regarding the hostile work environment complaint initiated by Director Hafen.

Trooper Moonin testified truthfully about the widespread hostility and misconduct.

Trooper Moonin also identified the misappropriation or misuse of Asset Forfeiture

Funds.

183. During January 2011, Director Perry initiated a secret investigation into the

ICE/K9 program. The purpose and results of that investigation have never been

disclosed.

184. On February 21st, 2011, Major Sanchez questioned NHP Northern Command

K9 Instructor Trooper West regarding the two NHP detector dogs handled by

Troopers Gordon and Ferguson. Major Sanchez wanted to know if either or both

dogs could be retrained to new handlers. Trooper West was stunned by the question

because Troopers Gordon and Ferguson were still active K9 Handlers. Trooper West

explained that Gordon’s dog “Popeye” was an excellent dog and could be retrained,

but that he was originally selected for dual-purpose status (patrol and detection).

The dog needed additional training experience that the newly trained Instructors,

West and Moonin, were supposed to assist Sgt. Yarnall with the training. Trooper

West informed Major Sanchez that the transition training could not be done without

Sgt. Yarnall. Trooper West also told Major Sanchez training Trooper Ferguson’s


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dog “Amanda” to a new handler could be easily done as the Instructor Course had

covered this exact scenario.

185. Later that same day, Deputy Chief Tice notified Troopers Gordon and

Ferguson, without any explanation or reason, the Troopers were being immediately

removed from their ICE/K9 duties. Deputy Chief Tice then informed the Troopers

would be given their new assignments at a later date; effectively, Deputy Chief Tice

placed the Troopers into employment limbo.

186. On February 23rd, 2011, Sgt. Wayne Prosser replaced Sgt. Cooke from the

Southern Command Ice/K9 Team.

187. That same day, Deputy Chief Tice and NHP Southern Command staff

members including Captain Thom Jackson, Lieutenant Charles Haycox, and Sgt.

Prosser met with Trooper Moonin and the two remaining NHP members of the

Southern Interdiction Task Force. Deputy Chief Tice introduced the members to

their new NHP Chain of Command. Deputy Chief Tice questioned Trooper Moonin

about retraining the two dogs previously assigned to Troopers Gordon and Ferguson.

Trooper Moonin responded identically to the response given by Trooper West; one

dog could be easily retrained while the other dog, due to the dog’s wider breadth of

skills, would require Sgt. Yarnall as skills necessary exceeded those of Trooper West

of Moonin. Deputy Chief Tice explicitly stated the sudden removal of Troopers

Gordon and Ferguson was a warning to the remaining members of the ICE/K9 Team.

Deputy Chief Tice demanded the Troopers buy-in to this “new direction” and new

chain of command. At the conclusion of the meeting, Deputy Chief Tice explicitly

and openly threatened Trooper Moonin stating Trooper Moonin must conform and

accept the new chain of command or Trooper Moonin would be removed from his

position. Deputy Tice explicitly and openly stated to Trooper Moonin, “This team

will be a success with or without you.”

188. On February 24th, 2011, Deputy Chief Tice issued a gag order sending out a

department wide email ordering all ICE/K9 members and line employees to have no

communications verbal or written with individuals outside the ICE/K9 program.

“Effective immediately, except for allied LE agencies and HIDTA representatives,

there will be NO direct contact between K9 handlers, or line employees with ANY

non-departmental and non-law enforcement entity or persons for the purpose of

discussing the Nevada Highway Patrol K9 program or interdiction program, or


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direct and indirect logistics therein. All communication with ANY non-departmental

and non-law enforcement entity or persons regarding the Nevada Highway Patrol

K9 program or interdiction program, or direct and indirect logistics relating to these

programs WILL be expressly forwarded for approval to your chain-of-command.

Communication will be accomplished by the appropriate manager/commander if

deemed appropriate. Any violation of this edict will be considered insubordination

and will be dealt with appropriately.”

189. The gag order resulted in all K9 staff being subjected to extreme suspicion,

mistrust and isolation. K9 staff was embarrassed and felt intimidated and overall

fearful of engaging in normal workday activities for fear of termination.

190. On or about March 3rd, 2011 Trooper Moonin asked Sgt. Prosser about K9

certifications for the remaining NVDPS K9’s. Trooper Moonin was then told by Sgt.

Prosser that Deputy Chief Tice, Colonel Almaraz and Director Perry had decided to

remove Trooper Moonin as a K9 Trainer. Trooper Moonin was shocked,

embarrassed, and humiliated. Trooper Moonin was advised Trooper West would be

the only trainer. Upon Trooper Moonin expressing the need for objective

certification, Sgt. Prosser stated Director Perry, and all NVDPS/NHP Command, had

made their decision and the decision was final.

191. On March 3, 2011, Director Perry and Colonel Almaraz testified before the

Joint Subcommittee on Public Safety/Military/Veteran’s Services of The Senate

Committee on Finance and The Assembly Committee on Ways and Means Seventy-

sixth Session regarding the DPS K9 Program. Both Director Perry and Colonel

Almaraz provided false and deceptive information minimizing the K9 Program’s

huge success.

192. On March 3, 2011, NHP Southern Command Lieutenant Haycox met with

K9 Trooper Gary Smith on I 15-mile marker 58. Lieutenant Haycox told Trooper

Smith “turn in your leash and this can all go away”. The statement was in reference

to and acknowledgement of the escalating hostile work environment and retaliatory

acts perpetrated towards targeted members of the K9 Program by Acting Director

Perry and the DPS/NHP Command Staff. Ten minutes later, Lieutenant Haycox met

with Trooper Moonin where he also pressured Trooper Moonin to quit the K9

Program by way of negative performance evaluation and demands for illegal,

unreasonable performance quotas and counterproductive deployment strategies.


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193. On or about March 3rd, 2011 Trooper Moonin was ordered into a meeting

with Sgt. Prosser and Lt. Haycox to discuss his performance. After years of

exemplary performance, Trooper Moonin was informed his current performance was

unsatisfactory. Sgt. Prosser compared Trooper Moonin to another trooper, Trooper

Shaun Martin, stating the number of traffic stops completed by Trooper Moonin was

significantly less than Trooper Martin. Trooper Moonin was informed by Lt.

Haycox NHP leadership had characterized him as “lazy, resentful, and stealing time

from the Highway Patrol.” Embarrassed, humiliated, and intimidated, Trooper

Moonin attempted to list his additional responsibilities as compared to Trooper

Martin; however, Lt. Haycox refused to listen explicitly stating that Trooper Moonin

needed to “complete a minimum of seventeen stops no matter what.” When Trooper

Moonin asked about the implementation of this “quota,” Trooper Moonin’s job was

threatened and Lt. Haycox told him to be quiet. Lt. Haycox informed Trooper

Moonin that although the K9 Program would hate to lose him, he was replaceable

and the Program would still succeed without him.

194. On or about March 10th, 2011 NHP Captain Osbourne executed a second gag

order prohibiting K9 staff from any communications with any person not involved

with ICE/K9 interdiction program operations. Yarnall’s contract renewal was still

pending. In order to maintain a high level of reliability within the K9 Program,

Yarnall, without any compensation continued to mentor the new K9 Instructors,

Troopers Moonin and West, conduct maintenance training, and conduct evaluations.

Trooper Lee and Trooper West asked if the gag order included Yarnall. Troopers

Lee and West also enquired if the gag order included Nevada Friends of K9. Captain

Osbourne stated he didn’t know and contacted Deputy Chief Brian Sanchez. Deputy

Chief Sanchez then contacted Acting Director Perry for clarification. Deputy Chief

Sanchez then told Captain Osbourne, who then told Trooper Lee and Trooper West

that Yarnall as well as Nevada Friends of K9 were included in the gag order. Shortly

thereafter Yarnall received a phone call from Lieutenant John O’Rourke informing

him that Acting Director Perry personally decided that his contract for the required

OJT training and mentoring of the new K9 Instructors would not be renewed. In very

short order, Acting Director Perry had effectively dismantled the NVDPS K9

Program and suppressed productivity, initiative, and reliability.


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195. In late March, 2011, Director Perry notified Deputy Chief Gagnon that

Director Perry had personally launched a formal internal investigation (OPR) against

him.

196. Deputy Chief Gagnon was fully apprised of Director Perry’s willingness to

lie and engage in improper behavior; since Director Perry had openly enumerated his

announced his intention to remove staff promoted by prior Director Hafen, Deputy

Chief Gagnon knew the OPR investigation would be corrupt and rigged against him.

Deputy Chief Gagnon knew his Director Perry would have no issue with baselessly

damaging his reputation and ruining Deputy Chief Gagnon’s long, law enforcement

career. Deputy Chief Gagnon had witnessed Director Perry destroying the

reputations, character and careers of other law enforcement personnel.

197. Based solely upon the actions of Director Perry, i.e. the launching of the

meritless investigation and his willingness to engage in unethical behavior, on March

28, 2011, Deputy Chief Gagnon retired from NVDPS.

198. On or about April, 2011, retired Deputy Chief Gagnon applied for a law

enforcement position with the Ely Police Department.

199. Soon after applying, Director Perry was attending a law enforcement

conference in Ely and intentionally sought out the hiring, White Pine Sheriff, Dan

White. Director Perry falsely informed Sheriff White that prior Deputy Gagnon was

a back stabber, could not be trusted, and should not be hired for the law enforcement

position in Ely.

200. During March and April, 2011, Deputy Chief Tice continued the

fragmentation and decentralization plan for the Southern Command Ice/K9 Teams.

Deputy Chief Tice selected Trooper Hugh Shook and Trooper Ervin Raab to replace

the baselessly fired previous handlers. Trooper Donald Dice, a close confidant of

Deputy Tice, was added to the ICE Team without explanation.

201. Shortly after the new appointments, the Southern Nevada Interdiction Task

Force was split into two squads. Each squad included members of both members of

NHP and Detectives from LVMPD. This structure closely mirrored the previously

failed K9 program since this major structural change decentralization the Program

which had previously been found to result in fragmentation causing a lack of

accountability and instability in operations.

202. Trooper Moonin was assigned to work under LVMPD Sergeant Greg Zeil.


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203. From February 2010 to May 2011, Trooper Lee received an increasing

number of disciplinary, counseling sessions by Sgt. Lewis for insignificant or

fictitious incidents.

204. In April of 2011, in one disciplinary, counseling session with Trooper Lee,

Sgt. Lewis directly represented to Trooper Lee he had violated policy and read

Trooper Allen Young’s OPR investigation. Sgt. Lewis confrontationally informed

Trooper Lee that the testifying troopers, he (Trooper Lee), Trooper West, and

Trooper Urso were personally and solely responsible for Trooper Young’s removal

from the Task Force. Sgt. Lewis informed Trooper Lee that his actions were a “slap

in the face,” i.e. a betrayal of a fellow police officer. Trooper Lee was intimidated

and felt threatened.

205. During April of 2011, Trooper Moonin was now integrated into his team

which included himself, as a NHP Trooper, and LVMPD Narcotic Detectives. As

Trooper Moonin began working closely within his team, Trooper Moonin began

witnessing some team members conducting questionable and unconstitutional

searches.

206. After each witnessed questionable or outright unconstitutional search,

Trooper Moonin verbally discussed the actions with the LVMPD detectives

committing the offense. Each time, Trooper Moonin’s concerns were met with

rationalizations and distrust.

207. During April of 2011, Sgt. Prosser contacted Troopers Moonin and Smith

informing the Troopers their vehicle’ camera was being changed to include a

memory card with a larger capacity. Sgt. Prosser explained a larger capacity

memory card was to assist Trooper Moonin in limiting the time spent at the office

uploading his stored in-car video recordings.

208. As no other members were scheduled for “re-programming,” the procedure

seemed unusual and suspicious. Fully aware of the commonplace acceptability of

dishonesty within NDPS/NHP Command, Trooper Moonin was concerned he was

being set up in some fashion.

209. Soon after, the camera modification was executed by Sgt. Prosser.

Concerned about the reasons for the overall modification, Trooper Moonin insisted

on overseeing the process. Trooper Moonin witnessed Sgt. Prosser removing a

Compact Flash type memory card listing the size of 16 gigabyte with an identical


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card, also listing the size as 16 gigabyte. He further mentioned that the “NHP

Sergeant in charge of the L3 program would be re-programming” Trooper Moonin’s

in dash camera.

210. On or about April 28th, 2011, Trooper Gordon was notified he was being

investigated by OPR for conspiring with members of the public and using their

political influence to remove members of the Department of Public Safety. The

investigation was totally baseless and without fact.

211. Even though the OPR investigator herself explicitly labeled the investigation

a “political witch hunt,” the OPR investigation never officially closed or a decision

clearing Trooper Gordon’s name rendered. For the 8 months prior to Trooper

Gordon’s retirement, the investigation remained open with Trooper Gordon suffering

isolation under a cloud of suspicion.

212. On or about May 4th, 2011, Trooper Moonin was ordered to a meeting with

Lt. Haycox and Capt. Jackson regarding the re-training of dog “Amanda”. Capt.

Jackson asked Trooper Moonin for a working plan to get “Amanda” re-trained and

working with Trooper Shook. Trooper Moonin explained policy required Trooper

Shook and “Amanda” complete the NVDPS POST, 400-hour certification course.

Capt. Jackson replied, “I would caution you a little; POST isn’t that great of an

accreditation.” Capt. Jackson asked if Trooper Moonin had the skills to train

“Amanda.” However, upon Trooper Moonin responding affirmatively, Capt.

Jackson stated that NHP Command was not “appreciating the magnitude of the

commitment,” i.e. referring to the amount of work required to manage the K9

Program. Capt. Jackson then baselessly discounted Trooper Moonin’s skills in front

of Command staff and Trooper Shook and referred sarcastically to a plan of having,

“five students’, but only one has a furry friend.” Referring to five K9 handlers being

trained, but only one handler would handle a K9. The comment made no sense.

Captain Jackson then said DPS/NHP Command was entertaining a “hybrid” program

that would send Trooper Shook to LVMPD to have the K9 team trained. As an

experienced expert, Trooper Moonin explained the pitfalls to the overall reliability

and success of a “hybrid” non-standardized K9 Program. Trooper Moonin further

advised Captain Jackson of the growing trend of civil lawsuits for Fourth

Amendment violations against police departments nationwide and the growing trend

of the courts to cite non standardized training, policies, and procedures as grounds


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for dismissal of criminal drug cases involving drug dogs. Trooper Moonin also

advised Captain Jackson that fragmentation of K9 training and ICE Program

integrity can and will probably lead to a lack of reliability and accountability by the

K9 and ICE Teams.

213. On or about the afternoon of May 4th, 2011, Lt. Haycox initiated a meeting

with Trooper Moonin, Trooper Shook and Sgt. Prosser. Lt. Haycox stated NHP

Command was unhappy with the level of currency seizures. Lt. Haycox stated he

wanted everyone to work southbound I-15 to seize more money.

214. In or about May of 2011, Sgt. Prosser and Trooper Gary Smith were both

present at a civil rights presentation at the National HIDTA Domestic Highway

Enforcement (DHE) conference. The presentation emphasized a growing trend of

civil suits alleging civil rights violations filed against departments using drug dogs in

highway drug interdiction deployments. The presentation provided the reasons for

the rise in suits against police departments resulted from a lack of overall

standardization including, training, policies and procedures and performance

evaluations, i.e. certifications.

215. Weeks later, during their quarterly K9 certification meeting, the presentation

regarding an increase in civil rights suits against police departments was thoroughly

discussed. The K9 Instructors, Trooper Moonin and Trooper West, discussed the

utmost importance of standardization and the need to bring have a meeting with NHP

Command to discuss the matter thoroughly.

216. As discussed in the meeting, a few days later, Sgt. Lewis was contacted

requesting a meeting be set up with NHP Command to discuss the legal exposure

matter.

217. In response to the request for a meeting, Sgt. Lewis contacted Chief Almaraz

characterizing Trooper Moonin and Trooper West’s actions to meet with NHP

Command as improper attempts to violate their chain of command. Chief Almaraz

responded stating Troopers Moonin and West needed to contact the Deputy Chiefs in

their respective commands.

218. Upon receiving this information, Trooper Moonin and Trooper Gary Smith

requested a meeting with Deputy Chief Tice, through Lt. Haycox, to discuss the

matter.


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219. On several occasions during the month of May of 2011, Trooper Moonin

heard Trooper Shook inform LVMPD Narcotics Detectives and NHP Troopers

workers of Trooper Moonin’s unwillingness to acquiesce misconduct. Possessing

the knowledge of LVMPD’s relaxed searching standards, Trooper Shook’s

statements and demeanor clearly indicated his willingness to engage in misconduct

in order to garner favor with LVMPD Narcotics Detectives.

220. After Trooper Moonin overhead these statements, Trooper Moonin began

suffering escalating levels of alienation, isolation and shunning from his unit co-

members, NHP supervisors, and DPS/NHP Command. The alienation and shunning

escalated to a highly dangerous level since Trooper Moonin was no longer afforded

officer backup, as was proper, safety protocol, from his co-workers and no actions

were ever taken by NHP Command to rectify the clear violation of safety protocol

and/or Trooper Moonin’s exposure to bodily harm.

221. On or about May 23rd, 2011, Trooper Moonin and Trooper Smith finally met

with NHP command. Trooper Moonin again advised NHP Command that their

organizational changes to the K9 Program was fragmenting the Program and would

result in the overall loss of credibility, reliability, and sustained success. Further,

Trooper Moonin finally presented NHP Command with the information presented at

the DHE conference regarding the increase in civil rights based lawsuits against

police departments due to lack of overall standardization. In direct opposition to the

legal advice given to NHP Command at the DHE Conference, Capt. Jackson

announced NHP’s decision to train Trooper Shook and “Amanda” under the

LVMPD system characterizing their training as “stand-alone.” Capt. Jackson

indicated future training would comply with established protocol further stating that

the attorney who gave the presentation at the DHE conference was an “an idiot.” To

ensure utter compliance, acceptance and silence, Capt. Jackson implicitly threatened

Troopers Moonin and Smith’s sought promotion to Sergeant.

222. Deputy Chief Tice implicitly noted the accuracy of the presentation at the

DHE conference and acknowledged the risk of civil challenge due to the lack of

standardization stating, “I’m aware of the potential challenge, um, for inconsistency,

and I’m willing to accept that.” However, Deputy Chief Tice then explicitly stated

NHP Command had decided to accept the risk. “The Colonel (Tony Almaraz), and

the other Major Brian Sanchez) discussed that, and we’re willing to accept that.”


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Deputy Tice further stated, “It’s irrational to think you would have some civil

liability.” “To think you could carry some liability is not ultra-rational.” Deputy

Chief Tice then also threatened Trooper Moonin turning to Trooper Moonin and

stating, “I’m not going to tolerate folks saying that Kevin Tice is destroying your

program; that kind of thing is going to get you out of the program.” Further stating to

Trooper Moonin if he failed to accept NHP Command’s decision in silence, NHP

would retaliation and “It’s going to hurt; it’s going to be painful; we’re going to have

a good program with or without you!”

223. Although Deputy Chief Tice, nor any NHP command staff member, had ever

witnessed the inner workings of any K9 Program, Deputy Chief Tice reiterated that

he, Major Sanchez and Colonel Almaraz had all agreed in utilizing the LVMPD K9

training program. Deputy Chief Tice discussed his meeting with LVMPD K9

trainer Jay Carlson (hereinafter referred to as “Trainer Carlson.”) Deputy Chief

Tice said he spent one hour with Trainer Carlson and it was “an impressive hour”

where he “learned some basics.” Deputy Chief Tice said he researched Trainer

Carlson and his resume was every bit as impressive as Sgt. Yarnall.

224. Upon Deputy Chief Tice leaving the meeting, Capt. Jackson returned to the

meeting and met with Troopers Moonin and Smith. Capt. Jackson told Trooper

Moonin that he was “not to talk or associate with Bill West up in Reno.” He told

Trooper Moonin in front of Command Staff that “Bill West is putting his dick in the

door and slamming it!” referring to Trooper West contacted command staff

regarding the K9 units shared concern.

225. Later that day, Trooper Moonin reported Capt. Jackson’s order and overall

vulgarity to Lt. Haycox and Sgt. Prosser; Lt. Haycox and Sgt. Prosser took no action.

226. A short time after this meeting, Trooper Moonin was interviewed for

promotion to NHP Sergeant.

227. In spite of receiving extremely positive feedback and receiving one of the top

ratings, Capt. Jackson informed Trooper Moonin he was not being promoted to

Sergeant.

228. During the months of June and July of 2011, Trooper Moonin began

witnessing LVMPD narcotic detectives engaging in escalating acts of misconduct

including, but not limited to, egregious violations of Constitutional Rights.


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229. During the months of June and July of 2011, Trooper Ervin Raab repeatedly

delayed notifying dispatch of his traffic stops for approximately 15-20 minutes.

Trooper Raab would determine if the traffic stop had drug seizure potential before

notifying dispatch; this not only violated procedure but fraudulently skewed Trooper

Raab’s performance. Further, also in direct violation of procedure, Trooper Raab

was conducting a traffic stop well into the State of Arizona.

230. During the same months, Trooper Donald Dice was running registration

checks through NHP Dispatch and stopping vehicles with car registrations under

Hispanic names.

231. In one incident at the FedEx sort facility on Post Road, in Las Vegas,

Nevada, Trooper Moonin observed Detective Jaeger remove a box from the belt and

place it on the ground for Trooper Shook to run his narcotic detection K9 “Amanda”.

Detective Jaeger removed a small poker type device from his pocket and poked the

side and top of the box. LVMPD Sergeant Greg Zeil was present and witnessed the

incident but was totally silent to the improper acts.

232. As the improper behavior escalated in frequency, three (3) Troopers,

Troopers Moonin, Martin, and Smith met personally with Sgt. Prosser to complain

about the unconstitutional and improper behavior witnessed. Sgt. Prosser responded

to the complaints with some nonsensical reason for the Trooper’s improper actions;

Sgt. Prosser’s response clearly indicated a he would not be addressing the

unconstitutional and improper actions.

233. As was indicated by Sgt. Prosser’s initial response, the improper actions

continued with no disciplinary actions against the offending officers being taken or

counseling sessions occurring.

234. At the beginning of May, 2011, Dana Gentry, the producer of Las Vegas

Television Channel 3’s Face to Face With Jon Ralston program, began inquiring into

possible mismanagement by DPS/NHP Command of federally and state funded

programs and property earmarked for specific crime reduction programs. As the

inquiry progressed, Ms. Gentry began asking questions regarding possible

mismanagement or misappropriations of Asset Forfeiture Funds by DPS/NHP

Command.

235. On June 16, 2011, Colonel Almaraz, NHP Chief, wrote a letter to the

executive board of Nevada Friends of K9 that informed the board that DPS/NHP


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would no longer accept donations or assistance from Nevada Friends of K9. Colonel

Almaraz’s letter outlined his personal plans for the expansion and management of

the K9 Program, and clearly documented his intent to continue his career with

Nevada Highway Patrol.

236. In the evening of June 16, 2011, Las Vegas Channel 3 Face to Face with Jon

Ralston aired a segment documenting mismanagement at the top of DPS/NHP, and

raised questions regarding malfeasance or misuse of state and federal funding.

237. On the morning of June 17, 2011, Colonel Tony Almaraz abruptly and

without notice retired from NHP. His stated reason for retirement was that he always

wanted to be an airline pilot.

238. On July 21st, 2011, Las Vegas News Channel 3 show “Face to Face”

launched an investigative series disclosing the incompetence, malfeasance, and

possible corrupt command of NDPS/NHP.

239. Between July 21st and December 30th, 2011, several segments on the issue

were broadcasted.

240. Following the news stories, NDPS/NHP Command spread and supported the

rumor that Trooper Moonin was the media’s source and he had betrayed his

department.

241. In response to false rumor, Trooper Moonin experienced further, extreme

isolation; Trooper Moonin was subjected to cat calls and repeated aggressive and

implicitly threatening accusations from NHP Command and co-workers. The

hostility in the work environment caused Trooper Moonin great embarrassment as

well as fear for his personal safety, career, and even security of employment.

242. On July 28th, 2011, Trooper Moonin filed a complaint with the Department of

Public Safety Office of Professional Responsibility Lieutenant Jackie Muth.

243. Motivated by Trooper Moonin’s prior complaints, Trooper Shook cornered

and confronted Trooper Moonin. Trooper Shook made serious false and misleading

statements alleging official corruption and cash kickbacks by several Nevada

Highway Patrol Troopers including Trooper Moonin and Trooper Lee. Trooper

Shook made false and misleading statements alleging official corruption and cash

kickbacks regarding a philanthropic citizens group (Nevada State Friends of K9)

comprised of business and community leaders who have dedicated untold hours of

selfless labor and personal expense for the benefit of the citizens of Nevada and the


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Nevada Department of Public Safety. Trooper Shook made false and misleading

statements alleging official corruption, cash kickbacks, lack of industry expertise,

and shoddy work regarding Sgt. Yarnall. Additionally, Trooper Shook made

statements revealing his disregard for citizen constitutionally protected 4th

Amendment Rights.

244. On or about August 3rd, 2011, the hostility and retaliation Trooper Moonin

was suffering had escalated to such a level Trooper Moonin felt compelled to request

a formal squad transfer through Sgt. Prosser. Members of the Task Force that

included the LVMPD Detectives, and Trooper Shook, were shunning and isolating

Trooper Moonin to such an extent Trooper Moonin felt his personal safety

jeopardized and his job performance suffering.

245. In direct violation of normal protocol and procedure, Sgt. Prosser ignored

Trooper Moonin’s request.

246. On August 19th, 2011, Trooper Moonin and his Unit were assigned to the

FedEx sort facility. Trooper Moonin was working the outbound belt with LVMPD

Narcotics Detective Hector “Adrian” Sandoval and LVMPD Narcotics Detective

Ray Schaffner. LVMPD Narcotics Sergeant Greg Zeil was the supervisor on the

scene. Trooper Moonin witnessed Detective Sandoval and Schaffner remove one

parcel each from the belt and set it down on the walkway next to the belt. Trooper

Moonin witnessed both Detectives remove keys from their pockets and poke holes in

the boxes as the bent over to pick them up. This was a clear unconstitutional

technique. Both detectives walked to a location in close proximity to the belt and

laid both boxes on the ground. They placed a randomly selected box taken from the

belt, without punctures next to the two probed boxes. Detective Schaffner returned

to his vehicle and brought his narcotic detector dog “Falley” into the shipment bay.

Trooper Moonin watched “Falley” sniff the packages with no response/alert from the

K9. Detectives repositioned the boxes and still no response/alert from the K9. The

K9 came to the third box without punctures and alert by putting her paw on the box

and looking back and forth from the box to Detective Schaffner. The K9 received no

response from Detective Schaffner and left the box. Sergeant Zeil witnessed the act

and didn’t question the unconstitutional tactic used.

247. During August of 2011, LVMPD Narcotics Detective’s Ray Schaffner and

Dale Jaeger remove two suspect boxes from the outbound belt at the FedEx Sort


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Facility. Both Detectives placed the boxes on a flatbed cart located just outside the

shipping bay door. No attempts were made to contact the “Sender” or “Receiver” of

the packages to gain possible consent to search. Detective Schaffner retrieved his

narcotic detector dog “Falley” and deployed her on the boxes. The K9 gave no

responses to the packages after several passes. Detective Jaeger walked over and

poked several holes along the center of the tape securing the boxes. Detective

Shaffner again deployed his narcotic detector dog with negative results. Detective

Jaeger took both packages to this vehicle and opened them and unlawfully searched

the contents of each. He returned a short time later and the boxes had been re-sealed.

The boxes were placed back on the belt

248. During late August, 2011, Trooper Gary Smith and his dog “Jaeger” were

ordered to be tested by LVMPD K9 trainer Mel English to determine if “Jaeger”

could be trained under the LVMPD K9 training system. The explanation given by

Sgt. Prosser was that the canines were to be evaluated by a third party to see if the

NVDPS K9 Program was sufficient. Trooper Smith and “Jaeger” were then subject

to a” test” by approximately eight LVMPD K9 unit personnel. Trooper Smith was

asked by LVMPD Master K9 Trainer Mel English which drug odor his dog was most

comfortable with. This question by Officer English indicates a lack of understanding

of subject matter and LVMPD’s insufficient performance standards. Trooper Smith

replied, “all odors.” Five trace odor hides (toothpicks laden with microscopic drug

odor) had been concealed within a large warehouse prior to Trooper Smith’s arrival

and Trooper Smith was not informed of the hide locations. The temperature was 105

degrees inside the warehouse. The “test” was a setup for failure. During Jaeger’s

evaluation and while the dog was searching out the drug odor, one of the LVMPD

handlers “dry tested” his Taser unit - a gross violation of search protocol and a clear

attempt to distract or frighten the dog. But Jaeger found all five hides with no false

alerts – a 100% reliability ratio. 100% should always be the goal of every detector

dog team and was the standard for all NVDPS/NHP K9 Teams. Yet K9 Jaeger was

given a “B- to a C” rating by the LVMPD evaluating personnel, Master Trainer Mel

English. The severe level of difficulty in extreme temperatures, the dry firing of the

taesar, and the number of LVMPD officers crowded around the dog during the

search are clear evidence of a set up. Very few detector dogs outside the NDPS K9

Program could or would work successfully under such conditions.


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249. On August 31st, 2011, Trooper Moonin and Trooper Smith were purposefully

excluded from a joint LVMPD/NHP Ice/K9 drug task force meeting.

250. Later in the day, Trooper Moonin was informed by Trooper Shaun Martin

that he, Sgt. Prosser, Trooper Dice, and Trooper Raab were present at the meeting in

which LVMPD Sergeant Zeil initiated a heated discussion concerning an inquiry to

LVMPD from Las Vegas Channel 3 news producer Dana Gentry regarding civil

rights violations committed by LVMPD and NHP task force members at a local

FedEx shipping facility. Ms. Gentry’s inquiry specifically addressed allegations of

illegal poking and opening of sealed parcels at the shipping facility to assist the K9’s

in detecting illegal drugs. Several of the Detectives at the meeting became enraged

that someone had disclosed information about their illegal activities. Several

members at the meeting said they knew the leak was coming from the inside and that

everyone had to be careful. Sgt. Prosser remained quiet during the discussion. At the

end of the discussion, instead of condemning or initiating an investigation in to the

allegations of illegal activities and gross misconduct by their subordinates, both NHP

Sgt. Prosser and LVMPD Sgt. Zeil recommended non-disclosure and a tightening of

the ranks.

251. On September 7th, 2011, Sgt. Zeil called a meeting with Trooper Moonin,

Trooper Shook, and Detective Jaeger. Sergeant Zeil discussed the August 31st

meeting telling Trooper Moonin specifically that someone went to the media and

told them Metro was probing and poking boxes prior to dog sniffs. Sgt. Zeil

explained that “narcotics detail is a covert mission”, and not to tell friends outside

the unit because it leads to other people knowing our business. Sgt. Zeil directed his

explanation directly to Trooper Moonin.

252. After the meeting Trooper Shook and Detective Jaeger met outside in the

parking lot intentionally and visibly excluding Trooper Moonin; the behavior was

intended as further intimidation to remain silent. After dinner later that evening

Trooper Moonin was speaking to LVMPD Detective Dale Jaeger about the earlier

meeting regarding the media and cutting the boxes. Detective Jaeger stated “there

was nothing wrong with what they were doing”. He said he had talked to Ervin Raab

and Donald Dice and knew they didn’t go the media. Jaeger told Trooper Moonin it

was either him or Gary Smith that was responsible for the media attention. He said,


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“people get hurt doing things like that”. Trooper Moonin recognized that statement

as a direct physical threat.

253. On September 7th, 2011, Trooper Moonin was assigned by Sgt. Zeil to

conduct a high profile vehicle stop of a person suspected of transporting a large

amount of narcotics into Nevada. Contrary to custom, standard procedure, and

common sense, Trooper Moonin was refused any back-up from his squad. Although

the traffic stop placed Trooper Moonin in personal peril, he and “Teko” located and

seized over thirteen pounds of Methamphetamine.

254. On August 31, 2011, Trooper Moonin notified Sgt. Prosser that his patrol

vehicle’s camera was not recording properly. Sgt. Prosser took no action to remedy

to problem.

255. On September 6, 2011, Trooper Moonin was advised by Lt. Haycox that he

and his dog would be “tested” by members of the LVMPD K9 Program on

September 8, 2011.

256. On September 8th, 2011, 2:39 p.m. Trooper Moonin was assigned to work

with ICE investigators at the McCarran International Airport. Although Trooper

Moonin and K9 Teko were scheduled to be “tested” by LVMPD K9 sometime that

day, Moonin and Teko were assigned to search baggage for hours in an outside area

and temperatures exceeding 95 degrees. It is customary and proper industry protocol

to ensure a dog has adequate rest prior to any evaluation, test, or certification.

Trooper Moonin recognized this assignment as an intentional means to exhaust his

dog and ensure failure of the pending LVMPD evaluation. While working the

operation, Trooper Moonin was contacted by Lt. Haycox via LVMPD Sgt. Greg

Zeil’s cell phone. Lt Haycox told Trooper Moonin that his patrol vehicle’s in car

camera was not recording and in an accusatory tone as if Trooper Moonin had

tampered with or sabotaged the camera system. Lt. Haycox demanded an

explanation. Trooper Moonin explained the issues to Lieutenant Haycox.

Lieutenant Haycox ordered Trooper Moonin away from a Federal Task Force

operation to the NHP Southern Command immediately.

257. Trooper Moonin was met at the NHP Southern Command garage by

Lieutenant Haycox and Sergeant Tom Higgins. Sergeant Higgins opened Trooper

Moonin’s passenger door and began accessing his in-car camera controls. Trooper

Moonin attempted to watch what he was doing. Lieutenant Haycox saw Trooper


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Moonin watching him and quickly ordered Trooper Moonin to exit the vehicle.

Lieutenant Haycox walked around the front of Trooper Moonin’s vehicle and met

him on the driver's side. Lieutenant Haycox asked Trooper Moonin when the camera

was installed in the vehicle. Trooper Moonin explained sometime in March.

Lieutenant Haycox asked Trooper Moonin what the exact date it was installed.

Trooper Moonin explained he couldn't remember. He again asked when it was

installed. Lieutenant Haycox was speaking in an accusatory tone similar to a strict

interrogation. He continued to ask Trooper Moonin exactly when he noticed the

camera malfunctioning. Trooper Moonin explained he noticed it August 31st, 2011.

He explained he brought it to the attention of Sgt. Prosser and was by Sergeant

Prosser advised to have the camera examined the following work week. Trooper

Moonin explained he had brought the vehicle in on August 7th as advised.

258. Lieutenant Haycox continued to interrogate Trooper Moonin in an accusatory

tone about the camera. Lieutenant Haycox demanded to know where the second

memory card was for the camera. Trooper Moonin told him he was never issued a

spare card. He again asked where the card was. Trooper Moonin told him again he

didn't have one. He asked Trooper Moonin if he had a barrel key for the camera. The

answer was no. Trooper Moonin stated he, like all most Troopers, weren’t allowed to

have a key or extra card for the machine. He again asked Trooper Moonin where the

second card was. Trooper Moonin stated he didn't know. Lieutenant Haycox said in

a loud voice, "so you're saying you don't have a key for the machine?" The answer

was no. After several minutes of accusatory questioning, Trooper Moonin voiced his

protest and asked Lieutenant Haycox what this was all about. Lieutenant Haycox

didn't answer. During the questioning, Trooper Moonin noticed Lieutenant Haycox

repeatedly looking over at what Higgins was doing inside the vehicle. He again

asked where the second chip was. Trooper Moonin told Lieutenant Haycox about

the details surrounding Sgt. Prosser switching the memory cards. Haycox and

Higgins then told Trooper Moonin to take his vehicle around to the back of the

Southern Command and see if it would upload its data. Higgins turned to the Radio

Shop Technician, “Bill”, and told him to replace the card if the upload didn't work.

Haycox and Higgins walked out the east door and contacted Trooper Moonin.

Haycox said Sergeant Higgins was going to give Trooper Moonin some training on

the camera.


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259. Trooper Moonin chose to stay at the Southern Command to verify the in-car

camera was uploading data properly to the NHP server. Haycox told Trooper

Moonin to “hang out.” He told Trooper Moonin to go inside, check his mail box,

email, and finish any paperwork. Trooper Moonin explained there was no crate

inside to accommodate his K9 “Teko.” Lieutenant Haycox again suggested Trooper

Moonin to go ahead and take her inside. He again told Trooper Moonin to check his

mail box, email, and finish any reports. Trooper Moonin attempted to give K9

“Teko” a break. Lieutenant Haycox again mentioned going inside and checking his

mail box, email and catch up on any paperwork. Trooper Moonin found Lieutenant

Haycox’s behavior odd. Trooper Moonin grabbed “Teko” and walked into the office.

Trooper Moonin entered the NHP Task Force office and found a plastic crate that

was constructed and sitting with the door open. He hadn't seen the crate in the office

before. Haycox, Trooper Moonin checked his mailbox as so adamantly directed by

Lt. Haycox. He found a memory card sitting in the box behind some magazines.

Trooper Moonin examined the card visually. He then called Lt. Haycox and advised

him of his findings. Trooper Moonin explained he found the memory card in his

mailbox and that it was quite a coincidence. Lieutenant Haycox asked Trooper

Moonin how long the card had been in the mail box. Trooper Moonin now

understood he was being set up for disciplinary actions and that the memory card

may have been covertly uploaded with material that would be grounds for

disciplinary action against him. Trooper Moonin told Lieutenant Haycox he just

found it and called him immediately. Trooper Moonin told him he didn't want to

touch the card and for Lieutenant Haycox to retrieve it. Lieutenant Haycox told

Trooper Moonin he wanted him to "pick it up, put it in an envelope, and put it in his

mail box." Trooper Moonin told Lieutenant Haycox he didn't feel comfortable

touching the card and having his fingerprints on the card. Haycox interrupted

Trooper Moonin and said in an extremely nervous tone, actually, he had just talked

to Deputy Chief Tice and said that Tice had told him it was just a training issue and

the Deputy Chief said not to worry about it. He said it was no big deal and repeated

to Trooper Moonin to pick it up and put it in his box. Trooper Moonin contacted

Sergeant Scott Scrivner to have him witness the removal of the card. Sergeant

Scrivner and Trooper Moonin returned to the Task Force office where he observed

Trooper Moonin remove the memory card with evidence tweezers and seal it in a


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labeled envelope. They then walked up to Lieutenant Haycox’s office. Sergeant

Scott Scrivner unlocked Haycox's office and placed the card on Haycox’s desk.

Sergeant Scott Scrivner then shut and locked Haycox's office. Trooper Moonin

departed Southern Command and went to the K9 evaluation being conducted by

LVMPD. Trooper Moonin recognized this manufactured attempt at tricking him into

a disciplinary situation as harassment, to distract him from effectively completing the

LVMPD evaluation that he had been ordered to later that evening.

260. On September 8th, 2011, 8:00 p.m., Trooper Moonin responded to Schroder

Middle School as ordered by Lieutenant Haycox and Sergeant Prosser for an

“evaluation” of his Narcotics Detection Dog “Teko” by Las Vegas Metropolitan

Police Department K9. Trooper Moonin was met at the location met by Sergeant

Greg Zeil LVMPD, Lieutenant Haycox, and approximately six to eight members of

LVMPD K9. Lieutenant Haycox approached Trooper Moonin and said, “I just want

to reiterate that I talked to Captain Jackson.” “He said it was no big deal and not to

worry about it.” Trooper Moonin recognized the inconsistency in that statement and

the one given on the phone earlier at the NHP Southern Command. This confirmed

his suspicions of a setup by Haycox. Mel English arrived a short time later and was

introduced by Lieutenant Haycox. Mel English was recently appointed LVMPD’s

head K9 trainer after his mentor and private business partner, Sergeant Jay Carlson,

retired. Upon arrival Trooper Moonin asked Haycox what the purpose of the test

was. Haycox curtly responded “It’s a test.” ”We just want to see if there is any room

for improvement with the K9 Program.”

261. Trooper Moonin was told to get his dog and to enter the school. Trooper

Moonin retrieved his dog “Teko” out of her car. They were required to walk from

the front of the school to a hallway in the opposite end of the grounds. The

temperature inside the search area was in excess of 98 degrees. Teko worked

approximately 600 feet through some doors, out through a quad area to the

designated search area in 100 degree heat. As should be, Teko was searching

everything she could throughout the walk. As they approached another set of doors

Trooper Moonin observed Mel English standing near the door and another Metro

trainer seated on a bench near him. English turned and walked through the door with

the other trainer behind him. Teko and Trooper Moonin followed. As they got near

the other trainer in the door way, Trooper Moonin observed Teko pick up the odor of


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narcotics and she pulled him towards the door. Upon entry to the building, Teko

detected additional drug odor and pulled Moonin towards a military ammo can

located on the ground near the door. LVMPD uses the ammo cans to store their

narcotic training aids. Trooper Moonin knew that practice of storing drug training

aids had been abandoned at least 20 years ago by most law enforcement agencies

because the drugs contained within the ammo box absorb and become contaminated

with the heavy residual odor of the military paint and remnants of grease and

ammunition. That contamination leads to missed drugs and false alerts. Trooper

Moonin redirected Teko away from the ammo after being instructed by Mel English

to wait in an area inside the door for Lieutenant Haycox to enter the hallway. Teko

was approximately five feet from the can. The placement of the ammo can was

clearly a setup designed to confuse and frustrate the dog. Trooper Moonin was

informed that there were six training hides concealed within an area of

approximately 150-200 lockers and told to start the search. Trooper Moonin

redirected Teko to the designated search area. Trooper Moonin recognized the ammo

can at the front door during a search is a clear indication of no understanding of scent

contamination or search area protocol, or the “test” had an agenda not based on

objectivity. Not knowing how many more traps had been set, Trooper Moonin

moved in and worked Teko through a very detailed, methodical search pattern. Teko

located the source of odor of the first drug hide within a few lockers. There was no

need for anyone to interpret her alert as she tried to dig through the locker door to get

to her “prey.” Trooper Moonin substituted a prey object (towel) for the concealed

prey and she caught and killed it. When she was done shredding the substitute prey

carcass, she dropped it and again hunted down the same prey nest, and attempted to

flush out additional prey still concealed within the nest (prey (drug) odor was still

emanating from the locker). Trooper Moonin eased her away from the find and she

immediately started searching new lockers. This process was repeated four more

times until all five required training aids were located without incident. No misses

and no false alerts, a 100% reliability ratio. The “test” was conducted after Teko and

Trooper Moonin had completed a shift at the airport searching luggage in 95 degree

heat for ICE. This information was known by both Lieutenant Haycox as well as the

Metro evaluators. By the time Teko got to the last couple of finds, she was

exhausted. Yet she worked through that exhaustion and completed her task


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admirably. Trooper Moonin later learned that each hide was trace (microscopic)

cocaine odor. The training aides were tiny pieces of cotton ball the size of a pencil

eraser - all absorbed with the odor of cocaine. Another training aide was described

as a small piece of paper. For their own evaluations and certifications, LVMPD uses

California Narcotic Canine Association (CNCA) certification standards for their

dogs. CNCA standards require a minimum of 20 grams of narcotic for each

certification hide. The difference between LVMPD K9’s certification standards and

what they required of Trooper Moonin/Teko and Trooper Gary Smith/Jaeger is

glaring. Teko located microscopic cocaine odor on five pieces of cotton the size of a

pencil eraser completely concealed within 100-150 middle school lockers without a

miss or false alert. All after working in 95 degree weather. Trooper Moonin

recognized this is not how tests are typically done. Trooper Moonin recognized that

the LVMPD K9 “test” on Trooper Smith and K9 Jaeger in August, 2011, had been

unsuccessfully orchestrated to ensure failure. Trooper Moonin also recognized that

he had also unsuccessfully been set up for failure by LVMPD K9 and NDPS/NHP

Command. However, the exceptional demonstrated proficiency of both NVDPS

Teams was monumental and was a testament to the dogs as well as to the quality and

sustainability of the NVDPS/NHP training system.

262. Soon after Teko’s “test”, LVMPD Master Trainer Mel English had a handler

bring in a dog to demonstrate for Lieutenant Haycox. The handler had previously

watched Trooper Moonin’ s dog on the lockers and ran his dog on a known hide. The

handler stood in front of the target locker. He gave the dog a command to search and

directed the dog toward the bank of lockers. The dog went past a hide that Teko had

found prior. The dog went back and forth several times before ending up on a locker

directly in front of the handler. The dog looked at the handler and began to bump the

locker with his nose and beg the handler for his reward, looking for a cue from the

handler. The handler then threw the dog a toy as confirmation and reward.

263. After the search, English broke into a thirty minute verbal diatribe of junk

science, self-promotion, anthropomorphic anecdotes, contradictions, and

disparaging, untruthful remarks about others. He also attempted to describe his

“modern” techniques and theory of training. Trooper Moonin recognized it as a

combination of nonsense, made up theories, and confusion.


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264. Mel English made multiple references to his company. This was in reference

to a police K9 training business called Battle Born K9. He mixed his job at LVMPD

with his company several times and displayed difficulty separating the two.

265. Mel English’s business partners are Jay Carlson (his recent immediate

supervisor now retired) and Mark Rispoli who also owns Makor K9 in California.

LVMPD purchases all their detector dogs from Makor K9.

266. Mel English, Jay Carlson, and Mark Rispoli all sit on the board of CNCA

(California Narcotics Canine Association). Trooper Moonin asserts based on his

training and experience, CNCA is currently being used by board members to mine

customers for future business. Most board members are currently engaged in the

selling of dogs to police departments and the training of police dog teams. LVMPD

purchases their detector dogs from Mark Rispoli sight unseen, untested, no

warrantee, no health guarantee and no return agreement. One of the last untrained

dogs they bought from Makor had heartworm at the time of delivery. LVMPD had

to absorb the cost of treatment for the dog.

267. English based his training on a notion that a dog should work only in hunt

drive and that somehow prey drive interferes with the hunt drive. He said there is the

pre hunt followed by 5 phases of hunt drive – air scenting, pure hunt, stalking/prey,

kill/vanquish, and shredding. He placed great emphasis on phase 2 Pure Hunt. He

said you can tell a dog is in Phase 2 Pure Hunt because the dog has a closed mouth

and he is “bracketing” the air scent. Mel English is emphatic that the dog should

never receive any drive satisfaction past phase 2. Drive satisfaction for phases 3-5

interfere and diminish Phase 2 Pure Hunt. Trooper Moonin recognized English’s

junk science as a failed attempt to cover lack of skill and fundamental understanding

of canine genetic responses. English related that they were trying to get a dog they

had in training to sit at the source of odor by way of correction. English said it was a

mystery him when the dog eventually shut down and quit working. He stated he

worried on this problem all through a sleepless night and went to the internet in an

attempt to find a solution. Mel English told Trooper Moonin the next day he had

what he called “my epiphany”. He let the dog go out on a search off leash. As the

dog got farther away from the handler, the dog actually started searching. Lo and

behold the dog went up to a scent box, “stalked the scent”, and laid his chin on it.

And that’s when the “epiphany” came to him. English incorrectly reasoned that the


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dog must remain in hunt drive and that anything past that will diminish the hunt. He

used this dog’s behavior to develop his “5 Phases of Hunt Drive”.

268. By his own statements, English’s experience is based in a combination two

opposing theories of Operant Conditioning and dominance/force. Mel English had

created conflict with this dog. In reality, by leading the dog to odor and then

inflicting pain or discomfort, he was attempting to mimic what should be a

compulsive, instinctual response triggered by specific stimuli (target odor). This is

called aversion training. This is why the dog shut down.

269. LVMPD continues to this day to employ heavy force and harsh corrections in

their training. English failed to address the dog’s motivation to hunt in his theory.

Force, play, and praise are not instinctually compulsive. They are pack behaviors,

meaning they are optional depending on circumstance, environment, and the dog’s

social status with the handler. The dog must have an instinctual, compulsive purpose

(motivation) to hunt for it to be reliable. And the dog must repeatedly satisfy that

motivation (drive satisfaction) at least in the beginning for that motivation to develop

to the required level of compulsion. If a dog has never been successful in digging a

rabbit out of a hole, then he will never know he can. And the way a dog determines

his success is he digs the rabbit out, catches, and kills it. The catch and kill

reinforces his motivation. If there is never a chance to catch and kill the rabbit, then

there is no reason to hunt for it. And that is exactly what English’s 5 Phases of Hunt

Drive theory does. It extinguishes the compulsive instinctual motivation to hunt for

something specific (drug odor) and replaces it with a social behavior that encourages

the dog to act like he is hunting in order to receive a reward from the handler.

270. English was very clear that the dog must be paid (throw a toy to him) during

what he calls Phase 2 Pure Hunt. He said you must reward for the hunt and not for

the find. This is a bizarre twist on an Operant Conditioning tenant that you reward

for a desired behavior (what looks like hunting behavior) and extinguish unwanted

behavior by non-reward.

271. Therefore in English’s theory, actually finding the source of odor must be

undesirable because he reinforces and rewards the dog for the “behavior” of hunting,

not locating the source of target odor. The dog mimics the physical act of hunting to

get the reward.


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272. Trooper Moonin recognized explanations given by English as an illogical and

upside-down spin-off of Sgt. Yarnall’ s published and well established five elements

of “Prey Drive”. (Hunt, Find, Flush, Catch, and Kill.)

273. Trooper Moonin recognized Mel English did not understand the significance

and importance of shredding. Shredding is an intricate part of the kill. It is not a

drive in and of itself and was developed by Yarnall in 2008. In English’s theory of

hunt there are five phases. That means all five phases must be present for there to be

hunt drive. If you subtract three out of the five you can’t have full hunt drive. You

will only have partial hunt drive or a dog that just looks like its hunting.

274. Trooper Moonin asserts dogs are born hunting, and they hunt for many

reasons; territorial intruders, a bitch in heat, for prey, for carrion, for danger, for pack

members, etc. All dogs use their nose and all dogs hunt. The secret is to determine

what their primary motivation to hunt is. If it is not the proper motivation to hunt,

then you cannot exploit the reliable instinctual compulsions and must resort to

trickery. The fact that a dog likes to hunt has no bearing on whether he can be a

reliable police dog.

275. English bragged LVMPD doesn’t do any selection testing of the dogs before

training because he can train any dog to find drugs in a matter of hours or days. This

statement in and of itself is evidence that English and LVMPD rely on trickery and

cueing to train and maintain their dogs. Trickery and cueing will lead to unreliability

and 4th Amendment violations. This is evidence by LVMPD’s parcel poking at the

FedEx facility.

276. “Clicker Training” is often used in Operant Condition training and are

employed to mark desired behavior. Trooper Moonin has seen LVMPD use clickers

in their training and asked English if he used them. Another trainer near English

quickly blurted “No, we don’t use clickers!” That trainer probably knew that

Operant Conditioning and the use of “clickers” is inappropriate and an almost sure

way to lose drug dog cases in court. English got a concerned look on his face and

hesitated. He then said that they do use clickers, but only for a limited time and only

to mark the desired hunt behavior. One trainer’s denial conflicting with the other

trainer’s reluctant admission indicated knowledge of inherent reliability problems

created by Operant Conditioning and clicker training.


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277. Lieutenant Haycox asked Trooper Moonin if he had a “release” for his dog,

meaning would his dog release the towel on command. Trooper Moonin informed

him that she would release the towel on command but that he didn’t use it because he

wants the dog to achieve drive satisfaction.

278. English then went on another lengthy repetitive explanation of why you only

want drive satisfaction on his Phase 2 Pure Hunt and not for prey drive. He then said

the Supreme Court requires every police dog have a release command. He made it

clear that the Supreme Court didn’t say “patrol dog” but said every “police dog”

meaning it included drug and explosive detector dogs as well. He went on to explain

that it was for Trooper Moonin’ s own safety and for the safety of others. Mel

English stated he knew this because his Springer Spaniel has bitten him hundreds of

times. He also gave an example of how a model’s lip was bitten off by a LVMPD

dog when she bent down to pet him. He said all dogs bite and that there has to be a

release in case one of our dogs bites a child. He repeated that the U.S. Supreme

Court mandates a release command for every police dog. Trooper Moonin asserts

that Mel English was referring to the landmark case of Kerr vs. West Palm Beach in

which the Court established minimum performance and recordation standards for

police patrol dogs only. Trooper Moonin submits, this part of English’s speech was

to impress Lieutenant Haycox in an attempt to show there is something severely

lacking in the DPS training – and only Mel English can fix it.

279. Officer English’s statements regarding a requirement for a “release” do not

reconcile with LVMPD’s actual practices.

280. On May 14, 2012, an LVMPD Patrol K9 was shot and killed by an LVMPD

Officer after his partner was attacked by the LVMPD K9. The dog had been

deployed in a search for a felony suspect after a lengthy foot pursuit by LVMPD.

The dog instead attacked a perimeter officer and all attempts by the handler to get the

dog to release the bite failed. Even a taser was unsuccessfully deployed. After

lengthy and unsuccessful attempts to get the dog to release his bite, the victim

officer’s partner shot the dog through the spine. The dog died a few days later.

LVMPD’s public response was stuff happens.

281. Trooper Moonin asked Officer Mel English how he would get his dog

“Teko” to release the “reward.” He told Trooper Moonin to trust him – he would get

her to release. Trooper Moonin pressed him further. He asked him if that involved


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“ripping their head off”, as stated by another Metro trainer during Trooper Gary

Smith’s “evaluation.” Mel English went into a mangled explanation of how the

alpha female punishes a subordinate by pinning the subordinate to the ground and

harshly biting its throat. Do it or die. Mel English said it was no problem, just a

couple of harsh corrections and the dog will release the toy forevermore. Trooper

Moonin recognized this technique as what is commonly known as an “Alpha Roll.”

Its only purpose is total domination and will cause long lasting or permanent

submissive behavior and handler dependence, or cause the dog to go into a vicious

survival instinct. In either case the alpha roll or harsh, unjustified punishment will

erode any working relationship, create mistrust, and cause the dog to focus on the

handler rather than finding drugs. On numerous occasions LVMPD handlers have

related to Trooper Moonin the brutal and harsh techniques used in their training. In

certain incidents they resort to hanging and then kicking the dog to get it to release.

282. Trooper Moonin has personally witnessed a Metro handler take his dog

behind a car after missing a significant drug seizure and brutally kick his dog

repeatedly. He has also witness this occurring in the working environment. Such

harsh treatment of a dog is not only morally wrong, but criminal. And the fact that it

is done for the sole purpose of releasing a toy is counterproductive.

283. Trooper Moonin submits, it is why English’s dog has bitten him hundreds of

times. With that type of brutal pressure and dominance, his dog no doubt associated

him with pain and defense. It is unnecessary, archaic, and will cause unreliability in

a detector dog.

284. Mel English explained what a confirmation sniff is and that they train the dog

to do it. A confirmation sniff is when the dog finds the odor. The handler withholds

the toy and the dog will then put his nose at the source of odor again. The handler

then throws the toy for the dog. The theory is that it is to confirm to the handler that

the dog has source of odor. The reality is that the handler usually cues the dog to

where he wants him to bump his nose. The dog does the bump, turns, and looks at

the handler like he is begging for food at the dinner table. When the reward doesn’t

come, the dog repeats the “bump and beg” over and over until the handler throws

him the toy. Trooper Moonin asserts this is a base problem with English’s training. It

is unknown what the dog really associates with his reward. It is undetermined as to

the difference of hunt behavior or the fact that the dog is running around a car off


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leash and looking like he is searching that brings the reward from the handler. It is

unknown if the dog has found a particular odor, or bumped its nose against the

school locker door to cause a handler reward. It can be and often is the wrong

association and will be prone to false alerts and missed drugs.

285. Trooper Moonin wanted to see for himself what English was talking about, so

he asked him if he could put out a blind (unknown location to the handler) drug hide

in a locker in another hallway in the school and watch one of his dogs find it. English

hesitated and appeared to be calculating the request. Trooper Moonin started to ask

him again when he stated that another Metro handler had just arrived and did not

know where the first hides were that they put out for my dog. He was insistent that

he choose which hide to use and stated “I’ll give you that” as if Trooper Moonin had

challenged him. English then walked over to a recessed area between the lockers

and the door. When the handler walked into the search area, English stepped back

against the wall so he was partially concealed but Trooper Moonin could still see the

front of his uniform. As the handler walked through the door, English said

something, nodded his head forward, and brought up his hand waist high. He

appeared to motion the handler to a locker directly across the hallway from him. The

handler brought his dog past English and stopped directly in front of the target

locker. He gave the dog the command to search. The dog, who could not have been

in English’s Phase 2 Pure Hunt because he never closed his mouth during the entire

search, ran off leash searching several lockers to the left of the handler, passing 2

training aids located in that row. The dog then moved right back towards the handler

and sniffed the lockers a second time on his way back – again missing the 2 hides.

The handler remained stationary in front of the target locker. When he got to the

locker the handler was standing in front of, he stopped sniffing and looked at the

handler. The handler’s foot was now unnaturally pointed towards the target locker.

Evidently the dog didn’t get the hint because he sniffed the lockers to the left again,

and again missed the two hides there. The dog moved right again and again missed

the two hides. The handler remained in his position in front of the target locker. This

time the dog stopped sniffing at one locker to the left of the target locker, stopped

and stared at his handler. The handler adjusted his stance and the dog moved one

locker to the right. The dog sniffed the locker, turned, and looked at the handler. This

repeated 3-4 times. Sniff and look, sniff and look. On the last look, the dog was


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staring at the handler (begging) and the handler threw the dog a toy while the dog

was staring at him. The dog was allowed to have the toy for a few seconds before it

was taken away. The dog’s mouth never closed and there was no bracketing.

286. NHP Lieutenant Haycox witnessed the entire evaluation, Officer English’s

lengthy explanations, and the LVMPD detector dog failed demonstration.

287. During September 2011, Trooper Moonin, along with Trooper Shook, and

Detective Jaeger were working at the FedEx Sort Facility. Trooper Moonin selected

an empty shipping box from the supply shelf and set it on the ground for training

purposes later in the assignment. Detective Jaeger picked two boxes off the belt for

Trooper Shook and placed them next to the empty box. Detective Jaeger probed

both boxes with a small poker like device. Trooper Shook retrieved his narcotics

detection dog “Amanda” (recently retrained and certified by LVMPD K9) and

deployed her to the boxes. Amanda gave no response/alert to the boxes set out by

Detective Jaeger. “Amanda” stopped at the empty box and stared at the box. She

repeatedly looked back-and-forth from the box to Trooper Shook for a “cue” to alert.

Trooper Shook witnessed Trooper Moonin observing him and immediately pulled

“Amanda” away from the box and dismissed the false alert/cueing as “she’s fucking

with me.”

288. On September 12th, 2011, Trooper Moonin contacted the southern Nevada

DPS Office of Professional Responsibility and spoke with Lieutenant Jackie Muth.

Trooper Moonin initiated a filed a complaint against multiple narcotic Detectives and

three NHP Troopers for egregious misconduct and civil rights violations. All three

Troopers were recently handpicked by Deputy Chief Kevin Tice to replace the

Trooper/K9 Handlers removed from the K9 Program by DPS/NHP Command. Two

other veteran NHP task force members also came forward as witnesses and

supported the allegations. Following the September 12th complaint, a personnel

investigation (OPR) was initiated and was protocol, the suspected Troopers were

placed on administrative duty at the NHP Garage in Las Vegas. Personnel

investigations customarily take several months, sometimes over a year to complete.

In drastic contrast to the normal timeline, after only weeks Trooper Shook was

returned to uniform and placed in his identical, prior position. In drastic contrast to

the normal timeline, after only a couple of weeks later, the validated accusations

were explained away and Troopers Ervin Raab and Donald Dice were fully


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reinstated to their prior drug interdiction duties. All three Troopers worked in a low

profile manner as to avoid media attention during the conclusion of the investigation.

289. On September 14, 2011, Washoe County Sheriff’s Office K9 Deputy

Brandon Zirkle asked Trooper Bill West what was wrong with their K9 Program. He

informed Trooper West NHP Command was meeting with Washoe County Sheriff’s

Office K9 staff on September 16, 2011, regarding changing the NHP K9 Program.

290. DPS/NHP Command announced that all DPS/NHP Northern and Central

Command K9 Teams were to be retrained and certified by the Washoe County

Sherriff’s Office K9 Program.

291. Washoe County Sheriff’s Office outsources all their K9 training for dogs and

handlers to a civilian commercial enterprise, Von Liche Kennels, in Indiana. The

dogs are purchased sight unseen from Von Liche Kennels and the handlers and dogs

attend a 3 week training course taught by civilians at the kennel location in Indiana.

Many other K9 handlers from around the country also attend the classes so there is

minimal personal or individual training for the K9 teams. Von Liche Kennels is a

commercial enterprise and therefore volume and turnover directly affect the

commercial kennel’s profit margin. Hence the 3 week large volume classes, instead

of the 8 to 14 week course (minimum 400 hours) that is actually necessary to train a

drug detection K9 team. The 4oo hour minimum course was industry standard and

common practice among law enforcement agencies before the police K9 industry

was corrupted and profit drove a downgrade of industry training and standards. It is a

common yet ill-conceived practice by many law enforcement agencies to rely on the

good will, good faith, and integrity of the profit motivated person or company that is

selling them a dog and then training and certifying the same K9 team. Law

enforcement agencies like Washoe County Sherriff’s Office essentially relegate their

responsibility and accountability to enterprising civilians who actually have no law

enforcement experience, including drug interdiction/detection, and have never been

vetted. It is a recipe for complacency and degradation of performance standards.

Upon completion of the Von Liche Kennels 3 week training course, the dog and

handler return home. There is no follow up or OJT from Von Liche kennels. Over a

period of weeks, Washoe County Sherriff’s K9 then employs squeaker toys, classic

conditioning, and play training to bring that K9 team up to the substandard


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California POST K9 Standards. This process often results in failure, missed drug

loads, and false alerts.

292. Director Perry, Lieutenant Colonel Ellison, Deputy Chief Sanchez, Deputy

Chief Tice, and Captain Gallagher knowingly downgraded and prevented the

essential training of DPS/NHP K9 Teams by policy change and eliminating the

highly skilled, extensively trained, and successful training cadre - replacing it with

an inexperienced training cadre from Washoe County Sherriff’s Office K9. Washoe

County Sherriff’s Office K9 doesn’t train their own department K9 teams and has no

experience in training drug detector dog teams other than maintenance training. By

policy, Director Perry, Lieutenant Colonel Ellison, Deputy Chief Sanchez, Deputy

Chief Tice, and Captain Gallagher also changed the performance and certification

standards from one that exceeded all industry standards and required exceptional

skills and a full understanding of the drug interdiction process (Nevada POST K9

Certification Standards), to one that is corrupt and allows false alerts by the dog,

California POST.

293. On September 14, 2011, Deputy Chief Tice issued an unprecedented,

dishonest NHP wide email designed to cover up official misconduct and negligence

as well as to retaliate, intimidate, embarrass, and defame Sgt. Yarnall, Troopers

Moonin and Lee, and other members of the DPS/NHP K9 Program. Deputy Chief

Tice’s department wide email served as notice to Troopers Moonin and Lee, as well

as all other members of the NHP that those that disclosure official misconduct and

illegal activities would be met with punishment, public humiliation, retaliation,

ridicule, cover up, and dishonesty by DPS/NHP Command.

294. The email announced that the department K9 contractor had not been retained

and the K9 Program was being scrutinized for validity, best practices, and

sustainability. It was common knowledge throughout Nevada and other states that

Sgt. Yarnall was the contracted K9 trainer referred to in the email. Deputy Chief

Tice’s email was a public announcement that Sgt. Yarnall had been fired because of

substandard product. This public announcement embarrassed Sgt. Yarnall, caused

him great anxiety, held him up to ridicule, and severely diminished his standing and

reputation in the national law enforcement community. The email also placed the

remaining members of the K9 Program, including Troopers Moonin and Lee, under a


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shadow of suspicion, mistrust, and ridicule among the entire Nevada Highway

Patrol.

295. Deputy Chief Tice’s email stated “ Regionally, the LVMPD, HPD, and

NLVPD work collaboratively under the same K9 training program”. This statement

is factually false and gives a false impression that DPS/NHP K9 is moving from

unsatisfactory isolation to a modern, cohesive, multi-agency group for more

beneficial training. LVMPD K9, North Las Vegas K9, and Henderson PD K9 do not

train under the same program, do not train together, and in fact have their own

different and independent training programs and standards. In truth, with the

exception of one Henderson PD K9 team assigned to the HIDTA Task Force and

other than being in the same valley, there is no interaction between the respective K9

programs.

296. Deputy Chief Tice’s email further stated “The LVMPD has recently trained

our own Trp. Shook and “Amanda” who have been performing very successfully

under the regional program within their task force assignment”. Deputy Chief Tice

knew the statement was dishonest and untrue, and that an internal disciplinary

investigation (OPR) had been initiated and was currently being conducted into the

illegal search activities, 4th Amendment violations, and false alerts/intentional

cueing by Trooper Shook and K9 Amanda. Deputy Chief Tice knew that Trooper

Moonin and 2 other veteran, well respected Troopers had come forward on

September 12, 2011 after witnessing Trooper Shook’s illegal activities and K9

Amanda’s false alerts. Deputy Chief Tice’s department wide statement embarrassed

Trooper Moonin, caused him great anxiety, and held him up to ridicule.

297. Deputy Chief Tice’s email then stated “The LVMPD will be conducting a K9

Master Trainer – training program beginning in October, and has graciously invited

us to participate. Because of the questions and concerns regarding the long term

sustainability of our current DPS program, I have accepted the LVMPD offer to

participate in the Master Trainer program.” “ If you are interested in attending the K9

Master Trainer program on behalf of the Highway Patrol, please submit your interest

directly to me NLT Friday Sept. 30, 2011. Please include a brief communication of

your commitment and a resume’ with specific information that you feel uniquely

qualifies you for this important role. Current OR prior experience handling K9’s is


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required – can be military experience. If you have any questions regarding this

assignment – please do not hesitate to call me”.

298. Deputy Chief Tice, as well as the entire DPS and NHP knew that both

Troopers Moonin and West had received extensive K9 Instructor training and were

the only 2 K9 Instructors certified in the State of Nevada to conduct the Nevada

POST K9 Course and the Nevada POST K9 Certifications. Deputy Chief Tice’s

statement was unprecedented and a complete surprise to Trooper Moonin and

Trooper West. The statement was retaliatory and singled out Trooper’s Moonin and

West for department wide ridicule, embarrassment, and humiliation. It documented

DPS/NHP Command’s willingness to openly punish whistle blowers and to endorse

official misconduct, illegal activities, and cover up.

299. On September 16th, 2011, Trooper Moonin completed an OPR interview for

his complaint in to the misconduct. Later that evening Sergeant Prosser contacted

Trooper Moonin and inquired about the investigation. Sergeant Prosser told Trooper

Moonin, “I know you aren’t supposed to talk about it.” “But how did it go?” He then

said, “Lieutenant Haycox wants to know about it.” Trooper Moonin felt he was being

prodded to divulge post admonishment details about the investigation. He told

Sergeant Prosser he wasn’t allowed to discuss the meeting and ended the contact.

300. During September 17th - 19th, 2011, after voicing their objections to the deaf

ears of NVDPS/NHP Command, six of the eight NHP K9 Handlers resigned from

the NHP K9 Program. Each handler had intimate knowledge of the Metro K9

training system that requires the cueing of dogs as a fundamental training tenant.

None of the NHP K9 Handlers was willing to participate in the subsequent violations

of law and civil rights that was sure to follow.

301. On September 19th, 2011, Trooper Lee informed Sergeant Dave Lewis that

effective immediately he was resigning from the K9 Program because of the

DPS/NHP Commands trend towards endorsement of 4th Amendment violations.

Trooper Lee told Sergeant Lewis that although he was resigning from K9, he wished

to remain on the Northern Nevada Interdiction Task Force. Sergeant Lewis informed

Trooper Lee that Captain Julie Johnson ordered Trooper Lee to show up to work

with his K9 “Petey” in his patrol car or face insubordination charges.

302. On September 19th, 2011, Trooper Moonin delivered his resignation to

Lieutenant Haycox. Lieutenant Haycox addressed Trooper Moonin in a threatening


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manner stating, “we’ll see what we want to do to you!” Trooper Moonin felt

intimidated and avoided a confrontation by quickly exiting Lt. Haycox’s office.

303. On September 20th, 2011, Director Perry called a meeting between

NVDPS/NHP Command and all NHP K9 handlers in an attempt to appear he was

open to a resolution to the problem. Some of the command staff was clearly upset

and angry at the handlers. Each handler was given a chance to voice their opinions

and solutions to the crisis. Some handlers spoke and some did not. Trooper Moonin

spoke and gave expert advice based on solid experience and demonstrated success on

ways to resolve the unnecessary problems created by Command. NHP Chief Bernie

Curtis discounted the concerns and fears of civil litigation by explaining his view of

having several law suits pending against him. Deputy Chief Sanchez reiterated Chief

Curtis’s views. It fell on deaf ears once again. Nothing changed. Because of

Commands’ established lack of credibility, dishonesty, and clear agenda to dismantle

the K9 Program, each handler resubmitted their resignations.

304. On September 22nd, 2011, Trooper Erik Lee received a call via cell phone

from Washoe County Sheriff’s Deputy Phil Jones. Jones stated Washoe County

Sheriff’s Office K9 staff was contacted approximately one year prior regarding the

plan by NHP Command to change the K9 program.

305. On September 22nd, 2011, Director Perry issued a misleading email to all K9

Handlers. He cited the Handlers had “misconceptions and issues regarding

misinformation” about the incidents and intended direction of the NHP command.

Director Chris Perry then gave the statement, “I would also reiterate the participation

in the K9 program is an assignment. The Trooper positions and locations of the K9

teams were testified to and agreed upon with the approving legislative body. Any

future requests to be removed from the K9 team assignments will be reviewed and

addressed by the Commands in order to determine assignment needs and open

positions within those locations. Like any assignment it comes with the expectation

of performance associated with the duties and functions assigned to that task

306. On September 23rd, 2011, Trooper Moonin reconfirmed his resignation from

the K9 Program in a meeting with Captain Jim Peterson and Captain Jackson.

Captain Peterson praised Trooper Moonin for his contributions. He then asked

Trooper Moonin to remain as a K9 handler in his new traffic assignment. Trooper

Moonin again reiterated his decision to resign from K9. Captain Peterson told


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Trooper Moonin we (NHP Command) are losing Trooper Moonin the K9 handler.”

“I’d hate to lose Trooper Moonin the Trooper.” Trooper Moonin perceived this as

another NHP Command threat and pleaded that he wanted to continue to be a State

Trooper. Trooper Moonin was immediately punished for his resignation. He was

unnecessarily removed from the Southern Nevada Interdiction Task Force and

remanded to the traffic section of the Nevada Highway Patrol. This retaliatory

action subjected Trooper Moonin to a pay cut. He was further remanded to a

dayshift assignment that caused another certain pay cut for Trooper Moonin.

Trooper Moonin was not allowed to select his new assignment which had been the

customary and standardized practice for all exiting members. Captain Jim Peterson

advised Trooper Moonin that Captain Thom Jackson would be assigning him to a

dayshift squad and to await orders. Trooper Moonin explained he was being subject

to shunning and feared for the same treatment from traffic personnel as he did from

Task Force members. This was due to Trooper Shook being confirmed by Trooper

Moonin as spreading rumors and untruths throughout the traffic section. Trooper

Moonin respectfully requested to be transferred to the Indian Springs NHP Sub

Station and escape further shunning or hostility. Captain Jackson said in a sarcastic

tone that he could assign Trooper Moonin to the Pahrump Sub Station. This would

cause Trooper Moonin to travel approximately seventy-two to eighty-four miles each

way to reach his assigned duty station. Captain Jackson contacted Trooper Moonin

via cell phone advising him of his assignment to dayshift traffic. Captain Jackson

explained to Trooper Moonin in a condescending tone, “yea, we’re not going to be

able to accommodate you.” “You’re heading to dayshift traffic.”

307. On September 23rd, 2011, Sergeant Lewis subjected Trooper Lee to public

humiliation by ordering him to email his K9 resignation to Deputy Chief Sanchez,

and to courtesy copy “CC” everyone in the NHP chain of command.

308. On September 23rd, 2011, Trooper Lee received a letter from Deputy Chief

Sanchez via Lieutenant Mcafee stating he now accepted Trooper Lee’s resignation

from the K9 program. The letter stated Trooper Lee was to continue all training and

records for his DPS K9 “Petey”. Lieutenant Mcafee advised Trooper Lee that the

information contained in the letter was solely from Deputy Chief Sanchez. He

further stated “if this happens to go to John Ralston, it didn’t come from me.”


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Lieutenant Mcafee statements were a clear attempt to distance himself from the

actions of Deputy Chief Sanchez.

309. Deputy Chief Brian Sanchez confirmed Trooper Lees resignation by email

informing Trooper Lee that he was immediately removed from the Northern Nevada

Interdiction Task Force. Trooper Lee’s removal from the HIDTA Task force cost

him a significant reduction in pay. Trooper Lee was never given an explanation as to

why he was removed from the Northern Nevada Interdiction Task Force.

310. On September 26th, 2011, Trooper Moonin was issued a letter from Captain

Jackson with his orders from Director Perry. Trooper Moonin was ordered to

maintain NVDPS K9 “Teko.” He was also ordered against his resignation to remain

as the NVDPS K9 master trainer and responsible for the training of current and

future handlers and K9’s. NVDPS/NHP Command reacted to the resignations by

ordering the handlers to remain on the road with their dogs and to maintain them at

required levels. This is interesting since Command had no experience and never

sought out guidance as to what acceptable or required levels are, and that all support

and maintenance training by department K9 trainers had been suspended since

January (9 months).

311. The Central Command K9’s in particular had been completely isolated and

cutoff from the rest of the program. K9 vehicles had broken down and remained

unrepaired for months while the dog was forced into undersized travel crates in the

back of old patrol cars while on duty for 10+ hour shifts. The crates were so small

that the dogs couldn’t stand up or turn around. Many of the handlers have still not

been issued heroin to train with – therefore compromising training and any heroin

seizures in court. After NHP’s folly turned into a scandal when television reporter

Jon Ralston discovered and reported about it, Director Perry attempted to cover his

tracks, reversed course, and declared that NVDPS K9’s would not be trained by

Metro. Perry explained it away as yet another miscommunication and a

misunderstanding.

312. September 28th, 2011, Lieutenant Andy McAffee instructed Trooper Lee to

sign a memo that Trooper Lee was no longer required to train K9 “Petey”. Trooper

Lee asked Lieutenant McAffee why he was removed from the Northern Nevada

Interdiction Task Force. Lieutenant McAffee stated he didn’t know all decisions

were coming from Director Perry and Lieutenant Colonel Todd Ellison.


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313. On October 10th, 2011, After more Ralston news broadcasts on the contrary

nature, dishonesty, and incompetence of Perry and NVDPS/NHP Command,

Director Perry, through an Office of Professional Responsibility (Internal Affairs)

intermediary, Lieutenant Jackie Muth, sent out feelers to Trooper Moonin to see if

the Trooper was amenable to creating a plan to resolve the K9 Program issue.

Lieutenant Muth was one of the two DPS supervisors directed by Colonel Perry to

conduct the “black bag” intelligence gathering operation against K9 and Nevada

Friends of K9 in 2008. The message from Perry was “what will it take to make this

problem go away?” After several calls from the intermediary, Trooper Moonin

agreed to write the plan and put many hours of his own time into its construction.

Trooper Moonin was flown to Carson City to meet with Director Perry, NHP Chief

Bernie Curtis, and DPS Deputy Director Jim Wright. The plan was essentially the

same plan and recipe for success adopted by former Director Hafen and was so

responsible for the tremendous success of the K9 Program. It quickly became clear

to Trooper Moonin that the meeting was an exercise in futility and designed to give

an appearance of diligence to the press and Perry’s bosses. The Command members

listened passively, told the Trooper Moonin they would take the plan under

advisement and get back to him. Trooper Moonin never received that advisement.

Conversely, DPS/NHP Command has since gone the opposite direction from

Trooper Moonin’s plan.

314. On October 12th, 2011, Trooper West submitted his resignation from DPS K9

and requested transfer from the Reno area to Southern Command Traffic in Las

Vegas. Trooper West was told by NHP Command that his transfer could take place

within one week. West rented out his personal residence and made arrangements for

his move to Las Vegas. During the discussion with Command the topic of training

new handlers to replace the handlers that recently resigned came up. Trooper West

advised Chief Sanchez that the training should be conducted in Las Vegas where 2

certified trainers (West and Trooper Moonin) would be available to train. Reno lacks

the number of suitable training locations, and the weather in Las Vegas in winter is

more suited for productivity (Reno/Carson City in winter is wholly unsuitable for

consistent/productive training)

315. On October 16th, 2011, Trooper West received a phone call from Lieutenant

MacAfee informing him that his (West’s) transfer had been indefinitely delayed by


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order of Deputy Chief Sanchez, and that West will be required to conduct a K9

Training Academy sometime in the future, in Reno, during winter, and by himself.

Deputy Chief Sanchez further ordered Trooper West to put together a schedule for

the training of replacement handlers. It should be noted that at Command’s insistence

and against the advice of the contracted K9 Expert, all prior K9 Academies have

been conducted in Las Vegas in the summer and Carson City/Reno in the winter.

This goes against all common sense and logic. This was clearly part of Command’s

continued attempt to demoralize the troops and thwart productivity.

316. On October 18th, 2011, Trooper Lee was informed by Trooper Jason Phillips

that Phillips had a conversation with Deputy Chief Sanchez regarding Trooper Lee’s

removal from the Northern Nevada Interdiction Task Force. Trooper Phillips stated

that Deputy Chief Brain Sanchez told him Trooper Lee had been removed because of

“politics”, and that Trooper Lee could not be “molded” by NHP Command. Trooper

Lee felt this was in retaliation for his OPR testimony regarding Trooper Allen

Young. Starting October 19th, 2011, Trooper Lee submitted a letter requesting

reinstatement to the Northern Nevada Interdiction Task Force. All requests were

denied.

317. On October 25th, 2011, Trooper Lee was on his regularly scheduled day off

and received a phone call from Sergeant Zapata informing him that an NHP team

will be at the Trooper’s residence within a short amount of time to pick up the

department kennel. Sergeant Zapata told Trooper lee to contact Sergeant Dave Lewis

for the details. This call was a total surprise as Trooper Lee had never been

approached by anyone in NHP regarding the removal of the department kennel or

transfer of his assigned K9. There was no emergency or exigent circumstance, and

Trooper Lee felt the surprise action was punitive. Trooper Lee informed Sergeant

Zapata that he was on a day off, had received no notification of the kennel removal,

and that he would be taking his pregnant wife (twins – 8 months pregnant) for

scheduled testing at the doctor’s office. Trooper Lee also informed his supervisor

that the kennel was in his secured back yard and that a crane (like those used to lift

hot tubs) was needed to lift the very heavy solid steel doghouse over the fence.

Several handlers had been required in the past to rent such a crane without

reimbursement in order to get the kennel in their back yards. Trooper Lee again

protested the destruction of his property. Trooper Lee immediately contacted


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Sergeant Dave Lewis via telephone. Trooper Lee asked him about the details of the

K9 kennel removal. Trooper Lee again protested the destruction of his property to

remove the Kennel. Sergeant Dave Lewis told Trooper Lee that they were coming

over anyway within 45 minutes and they would tear down his fence and landscaping

to remove the kennel, and that Trooper Lee could call anyone he wanted because

they were coming. A short time later NHP Lieutenant Johnson called Trooper Lee

and told him that his fence wouldn’t be torn down and that they would work out a

good time and method of retrieval at a later date.

318. On October 26th, 2011, Trooper Lee was on duty at NHP Northern Command

when he was informed in the morning by Sergeant Zapata a team from NHP were en

route to the Trooper’s residence to tear down his fence and retrieve the kennel.

Trooper Lee again repeated his protest that he didn’t want his fence torn down and

that he didn’t want his new landscaping destroyed, and that the destruction was

unnecessary. Trooper Lee repeated the information regarding the crane. Sergeant

Zapata told Trooper Lee the state would not pay for a crane and it was not an option.

Four uniformed and one plain clothes NHP staff arrived at Trooper Lee’s residence

in marked patrol units – much like a drug raid. Trooper Lee’s fence was torn down

resulting in substantial damage. Shrubbery was also dug out and ruined. Trooper

Lee’s neighbors witnessed the debacle and a local T.V. film crew recorded the event

for the nightly news. A crime report was taken by Reno Police Department. Trooper

Lee was thoroughly embarrassed in the eyes of his community.

319. Shortly thereafter, Trooper Lee filed a complaint with the NVDPS Office of

Professional Responsibility (OPR) in regards to the acts of creating a hostile work

environment, retaliation, and rude and discourteous comments by Sergeant Dave

Lewis.

320. On or about October 26th, 2011, NVDPS/ NHP Command had failed to

respond to egregious acts of misconduct and civil rights violations. The last two

veteran Ice Troopers, Shaun Martin and Gary Smith resigned. NHP’s complete

failure to appropriately respond to their witnessing of 4th Amendment violations

confirmed NHP’s overall belief that the number of conducted searches was the

priority and trumped the Constitution. Unwilling to compromise their integrity,

undermine the Constitution and/or face possible litigation the two very experienced

and successful drug interdiction experts requested transfers to traffic duty. Trooper


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Gary Smith was afforded the transfer to a shift of his choosing. Trooper Shaun

Martin was afforded the same to a position in the Indian Springs, Nevada post- the

same position and post that was recently denied to Trooper Moonin.

321. On October 28th, 2011, Las Vegas News Channel 3 show “Face to Face”

aired a probing segment exposing NVDPS/NHP Commands mismanagement of the

K9 Program and the retaliation against Trooper Lee.

322. November 1st, 2011, Trooper West started training new replacement handlers

in Reno as ordered. West trained the K9 Team for 2 days and was ordered to cease

all training.

323. On November 1st, 2011, Deputy Chief Tice, Southern Command, issued an

email notifying Moonin’s supervisors that he is no longer involved in K9 and that the

K9 program is no longer fiscally or logistically sustainable.

324. As a result of the October 28th, 2011, broadcast of “Face to Face,” Trooper

Moonin experience increased hostility and shunning by coworkers, supervisors, and

NHP command staff

325. On November 4th, 2011, Trooper West received phone call from Lieutenant

Mcafee notifying him that all K9 training is suspended indefinitely, and that Trooper

West will be transferred from Northern Command (Reno) to Southern Command

(Las Vegas) Traffic. Lieutenant Mcafee advised West that he could not discuss the

matter further as he and all other Command Staff were under a gag order issued by

NHP Command.

326. On November 4th, 2011, all three Central Command K9 Teams are notified

that they are to attend a mandatory meeting on November 7th, in Elko with

Northern/Central Command Deputy Chief Sanchez, Central Command Captain

Gallagher, and Central Command Lieutenant Mike Grigg. They were given a direct

order to keep the meeting secret on threat of termination.

327. On November 7th, 2011, Deputy Chief Sanchez chairs a secret meeting with

all 3 Central Command K9 Teams. Each Trooper/Handler is ordered to keep the

contents and discussions of the meeting secret, and a complete gag order under

penalty of termination is imposed on the handlers.

328. This is not the first time illegal gag orders have been issued by Command.

The gag complete order was in response to news media reports exposing

NVDPS/NHP incompetence and misconduct. The gag order was being used as an


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intimidation and bullying agent to prevent disclosure of official acts of retaliation,

official misconduct at high levels, negligence, malfeasance, and intentional

contradiction of state legislative direction and intent. The intent of this gag order

was clear.

329. On November 30th, 2011, Trooper Erik Lee was on Family Medical Leave.

Deputy Chief Sanchez, in violation of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA),

ordered Trooper Erik Lee to respond to the Reno NHP office to “fix” an issue

regarding DPS K9 “Petey’s” training records. Deputy Chief Sanchez accused

Trooper Lee of withholding K9 records from Assistant United States Attorney

(AUSA) Addington. Trooper Lee had been on Family Medical Leave since

November 21st, 2011, and had never been contacted by AUSA Addington or anyone

else from the United States Attorney’s Office. Upon arrival Trooper Lee found the

information requested by the AUSA was regarding a 2009 asset forfeiture case.

Trooper Lee found that his computerized training records for the entire month of

December had been curiously erased. Knowing NVDPS K9 records had been

sabotaged in the past, Trooper Lee had made a personal backup of the data and re-

entered the information. Trooper Lee felt intimidated and that this was in retaliation

for the recent October 28th, 2011, News Channel 3 “Face to Face” broadcast as well

as his personnel and criminal complaint against Sergeant Lewis and NHP Command

relating to the destruction of his residential property.

330. On December 9th, 2011, NHP Sergeant Dave Lewis was arrested by the

Washoe County Sheriff’s Office for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and refusing

to submit to testing. As a result Sergeant Lewis was placed on restricted duty (no

uniform, no driving department vehicles) pending the criminal DUI and OPR

investigation.

331. On December 13th, 2011, Trooper Moonin was again subject to humiliating

conduct by Trooper Ervin Raab and Trooper Ben Leonard. Trooper Moonin was

completing paperwork in the Report Writing Room of the NHP Southern Command

with several other Troopers present. Trooper Ervin Raab, one of the involved NHP

members accused of unconstitutional practices and subject of an OPR investigation,

entered the room with Trooper Ben Leonard. Both Trooper Raab and Leonard

occupied a position within a physical proximity of three to five feet of Trooper

Moonin, instead of utilizing another available area the room. Trooper Raab railed


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about how “fucked up,” it was that he had to handle an accident once a week to look

like he was being punished. He said he was just going along with it until he got put

back on the road. As he railed he would direct his conversation toward Trooper

Moonin. Trooper Leonard raised his voice and told Trooper Raab he better do his

work or, “I’ll be a whistle blower and get you fired!” Both Troopers continued to

sarcastically make taunting and harassing comments in reference to whistleblowing

in the workplace. Trooper Moonin avoided confrontation with both individuals, but

felt embarrassed, humiliated, and intimidated.

332. On or about December 15, 2011, Trooper Moonin received a Letter from

Captain Thom Jackson stating that the investigation into Trooper Moonin’s

complaint regarding Trooper Shook, had been completed. NDPS/NHP as a practice

never discloses the result of the internal investigation to the complaining party –

sworn or civilian. As a consequence, there is no accountability in the internal (OPR)

investigation process. The outcome of all OPR investigations is solely determined by

the Director of DPS. As a consequence, there are no checks and balances against

abuse, cover-up, or corruption.

333. On December 27th, 2011, Trooper Lee spoke to Trooper Greg Monroe, a

Nevada Highway Patrol Association (union) employee representative. Trooper

Monroe informed Trooper Lee he was advised by NHP Captain Pat Gallagher for the

second time, to avoid all K9 handler phone calls. Trooper Monroe advised Captain

Gallagher he was being contacted because he was an association representative.

Captain Gallagher “encouraged” Trooper Monroe not to answer calls from K9

Handlers Trooper Moonin and Trooper Lee.

334. On January 3rd, 2012, Trooper Lee was assigned under the direct supervision

of Sergeant Dave Lewis. Trooper Lee informed NHP Command that he was

concerned about retaliation from Sergeant Dave Lewis because Trooper Lee had

initiated OPR and Criminal complaints against Sergeant Lewis, and the outcome of

those investigations were still pending. Trooper Lee requested that he instead be

assigned to Sergeant Harkleroad because Sergeant Harkleroad’s traffic section had

two vacant positions available. This provided ample opportunity for Trooper Lee to

be reassigned. That request was immediately denied.

335. On January 5th, 2012 Deputy Chief Tice Issued a recruitment email for the

Interdiction Task Force. The email stated “The recent reassignments of Troopers


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Martin, Smith, and Moonin have left 3 vacancies, two of which are K9 Handlers.”

The naming of the three Troopers in a recruitment email is seldom if ever done in

law enforcement because of the high risk of ridicule for the departing officers. This

email was also an announcement and intended to intimidate any other Troopers

pondering disclosing misconduct by others. Trooper Moonin felt betrayed, defamed,

embarrassed, and intimidated.

336. On January 6th, 2012, Captain Jackson sent a retaliatory email to Trooper

Moonin’ s Lieutenant, Joseph A. Smith, detailing Trooper Moonin was to be written

a documented counseling for an allegation that occurred on Tuesday, September 20th,

2011. Trooper Moonin was given a Documented Verbal Counseling. Trooper

Moonin felt this was an unjust retaliation to the Las Vegas News Channel 3 show

“Face to Face” that aired on December 30th, 2011. The segment featured a lengthy

interview of Director Chris Perry and Lieutenant Colonel Todd Ellison by News 3

producer Dana Gentry. The interview challenged the integrity, honesty, and

management of Director Perry, Lieutenant Colonel Ellison and DPS/NHP staff.

Both Director Perry and Lieutenant Colonel Ellison were caught in lies and

misrepresentations by Dana Gentry. Perry and Ellison were clearly embarrassed and

under extreme pressure. The segment embarrassed and angered NVDPS/NHP

Command.

337. On January 17, 2012, during a meeting ordered by Lieutenant Haycox,

Trooper Moonin was sarcastically advised by Lieutenant Haycox to get ready to lose

K9 Teko and to have his family go ahead and say their goodbyes to her. The

statement caused Trooper Moonin significant embarrassment, anxiety, and sadness

for himself and his family.

338. On January 25, 2012, Trooper Moonin again requested a transfer to the

Indian Springs Duty Station through NHP Command. Trooper Moonin suffered

months of battling ongoing shunning and rumors from the majority of Traffic

Troopers surrounding his involvement and exit from the Interdiction Team and K9

Program. Trooper Moonin’s attempt to escape this harsh treatment went unanswered.

339. On or about February 1st, 2012, the selection of three NHP Troopers was

made to replace Trooper Moonin, Trooper Martin, and Trooper Smith. Trooper

Holman who had no K9 or interdiction experience was selected to take Trooper

Moonin’s place as K9 “Teko’s” handler. Trooper Donald Dice was selected to


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replace Trooper Gary Smith as K9 “Jaeger’s” handler. Trooper Dice, an admitted

friend and close confidant of Deputy Chief Tice had recently been the subject of a

sustained personnel complaint alleging the violation of citizens 4th Amendment

rights and violations of state and federal search and seizure laws. Trooper Dice was

one of the “box cutters” in the FedEx NHP/LVMPD box cutting incident. Trooper

Dice was therefore rewarded for his misconduct and encouraged to repeat that

misconduct with the reward of a police K9 and an increase in pay.

340. On February 3rd, 2012 Trooper Moonin went on Family leave for a newborn

baby under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

341. On February 9, 2012, while on family leave with a new born baby (6 days

old), Trooper Moonin received a phone voicemail at home from Lieutenant Dan

Solow. Lieutenant Solow stated that the department would like to pick up the

department kennel and K9 Teko from Moonin’s residence the next day, February

10th, 2012. Moonin called Lieutenant Solow back twenty minutes after the message

was received. Lieutenant Solow (who is not in Trooper Moonin’s chain of

command) informed Trooper Moonin that he was calling on behalf of Lieutenant

Charles Haycox. Solow further stated “I don’t know why Haycox is having me call

you instead of calling himself, but I think he is trying to distance himself from you

and the K9 situation”. Lieutenant Solow informed Moonin that a team to

disassemble and remove the department kennel and pick up K9 Teko would be at

Moonin’s residence the next day (2-10-2012) at 10:00 am. Trooper Moonin

informed Lieutenant Solow that he was on federal family leave caring for a sick new

born baby and that if they were going to pick up Teko and the kennel, the department

must adhere strictly to the schedule. The department’s demands forced Trooper

Moonin to cancel his new born baby’s scheduled doctor’s appointment because the

appointment conflicted with NHP’s pick up time. Trooper Moonin’s new baby was

inflicted with a serious illness that required almost daily doctor examinations.

Approximately one hour later, Lieutenant Solow left another voicemail for Trooper

Moonin informing him that the pickup had been cancelled and that it would be

rescheduled for some time between February 14 – February 16. Trooper Moonin

recognized the sudden demands and cancellations by Lieutenant Haycox while on

federal family medical leave as very similar to the intimidation strategy employed

against K9 Trooper Lee by Northern NHP Command. This caused Trooper Moonin


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extreme anxiety and fear that NHP Command was going to do to him and his family

what they did to Trooper Lee and his family.

342. On February 10th, 2012, News show “Face to Face” confirmed through The

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s Internal Affairs Bureau confirmed their

investigation revealed Narcotics Detectives slicing into FedEx packages to release

the scent of drugs to obtain a K9 alert. Also, LVMPD released a statement they are

allowing K9 Trainer Mel English to keep his outside job with Battle Born K9, but is

no longer purchasing dogs from Mark Rispoli and Makor Kennels because of the

appearance of conflict.

343. On February 13th, 2012, Lieutenant Dan Solow phoned Trooper Moonin and

informed him that the pick-up of K9 Teko and the department kennel was cancelled

indefinitely and that the department would notify him when it best fit the

department’s schedule. Trooper Moonin reiterated to Lieutenant Solow that he was

on family medical leave and re-informed him that he was caring for a very sick new

born that required nearly daily doctor visits.

344. On March 5, 2012, Lieutenant Haycox phoned Trooper Moonin and informed

him that a crew would be at Moonin’s residence the next day, March 6, 2012 at

10:00 am to pick up K9 Teko and the department kennel. Lieutenant Haycox asked if

they needed a crane to remove the kennel from Moonin’s rear yard - in contrast to

tearing down fences and trees as NHP Command had done to Trooper Lee. Trooper

Moonin informed Lieutenant Haycox a crane was not necessary. On or about March

6, 2012 NVDPS and DOT personnel, some in NHP uniform and some in civilian

clothes, arrived at Trooper Moonin’s residence earlier than the agreed time of 10:00

am, removed the department kennel, and picked up K9 Teko. Later that morning

Lieutenant Haycox and Donald Dice arrived at Trooper Gary Smiths residence to

pick up DPS K9 “Jaeger”. A crane was used to remove the NHP K9 kennel from

Trooper Smiths backyard, contrary to the incident at Trooper Lees residence.

345. On June 12th, 2012, Trooper Neil Ferguson, the former NHP K9 handler of

K9 Amanda, telephoned Amanda’s current handler, Trooper Hugh Shook, and left a

voicemail message inquiring as to Amanda’s well being and asking how Trooper

Shook was getting along with Amanda. Trooper Ferguson had taken Amanda

through her NHP drug detector dog-training academy and she had lived with him for


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at least 8 months. Trooper Ferguson made the onetime telephone call to Trooper

Shook because he and his family missed Amanda and simply wanted to know how

she was doing. 346. On June 15th, 2012, Trooper Ferguson received a text message in reply to his

voicemail from Trooper Shook. The text message stated “Please stop calling me. I

am not at liberty to discuss the HIDTA team or Amanda with you”. On the same

morning that he received the text message from Trooper Shook, Trooper Ferguson

was on duty attending classroom in service training at the NHP Southern Command

facility. During the class, NHP Sergeant Diamond summoned Trooper Ferguson out

of the in progress class into the station hallway. Sergeant Diamond advised Trooper

Ferguson that he, Sergeant Diamond, had been directed by NHP Command to order

Trooper Ferguson not to have any contact with any HIDTA members, including K9.

FIRST CLAIM FOR RELIEF

(First Amendment Violation)

Against Deputy Tice

347. Plaintiffs reallege and reincorporate each and every allegation set forth

above.

348. Plaintiffs, as citizens, are guaranteed under the First Amendment freedom of

speech and association; Plaintiffs’ state employment status does not eliminate

Plaintiffs’ constitutionally protected right to free speech and freedom of association.

349. On February 24, 2011, Deputy Tice issued and implemented a gag order

forbidding K9 staff from discussing the K9 Program with staff outside the K9

Program. The gag order required chain of command approve any such

communications prior to the communication occurring and that violations would be

considered severe insubordination.

350. The February 2011 gag order constitutes a prior restraint on speech since it

restricts speech until chain of command approval has been obtained granting the

chain of command total discretion in denying or granting requests to speak.

351. The issued gag order violated Plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights eliminating

Plaintiffs’ abilities as private citizens to speak on matters of public concern. The

areas of public concern the February 2011 gag order improperly restricted included,


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but may not be limited to, possible fraud and malfeasance of seized funds by NHP

Command, widespread occurrences of unconstitutional searches, NHP and

LVMPD’s acceptance unconstitutional searches and improper officer behavior, NHP

and LVMPD’s sabotage of the K9 Program and NHP and LVMPD’s intentional

decision to lower K9 training standards.

352. The issued gag order violated Plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights since it

granted the chain of command total power over speech failing to provide any

objective criteria to be used in granting or denying authority to speak.

353. The February 2011 gag order failed to have any lawful purpose. The gag

order was not intended to protect against a clear or present danger or protect against

a serious and imminent threat; instead, improperly, the gag order was issued in an

attempt to cover up the widespread misconduct and malfeasance of NHP and

LVMPD Command and improper officer behavior.

354. The February 2011 gag order was overly and unconstitutionally broad

restricting all communication about the K9 Program between K-9 staff and outside

individuals.

355. Even if a lawful purpose existed, since numerous less restrictive, yet effective

measures remained available, the gag order violated Plaintiffs’ First Amendment

rights.

356. At the time the gag order was created and implemented, Deputy Tice knew

the gag order was unconstitutional; Deputy Tice possessed full knowledge the gag

order had no lawful purpose, was unconstitutionally broad, failed to provide

objective criteria for decision making and/or that less restrictive means remained

available.

357. At the time the gag order was created and implemented, Deputy Tice knew

the gag order would violate Plaintiffs’ First Amendment Rights failing to overcome

the heavy presumption of unconstitutionality.

358. Deputy Tice was acting unreasonable in executing the gag order as a

reasonable official would understand his acts unlawful.

359. Deputy Tice, as a NHP officer and a state employee was acting under color of

state law in issuing the unconstitutional gag order.

360. As a direct and proximate result of Deputy Tice’s violation of Plaintiffs’ First

Amendment rights, Plaintiffs suffered damages in excess of $2,000,000.00.


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361. It has been necessary for Plaintiffs to incur costs and to retain counsel in

order to prosecute this action.

SECOND CLAIM FOR RELIEF

(First Amendment Violation)

Against Captain Jackson


above.

363. On May 23, 2011, Captain Jackson specifically ordered Plaintiff Moonin to

not talk to, or associate with another K9 trainer, Bill West.

364. Captain Jackson’s order constitutes a prior restraint on speech as it

improperly and totally forbids Plaintiff Moonin from associating or speaking with

Trainer West.

365. Captain Jackson’s order violated Plaintiff Moonin’s First Amendment rights

eliminating his abilities to speak on matters of public concern and/or associate freely.

Plaintiff Moonin was forbidden from speaking with Trainer West about the

constitutionality of witnessed searches, the relaxing of training standards facilitating

unconstitutional searches and/or sabotage or the K9 Program.

366. Captain Jackson’s order failed to have any lawful purpose since it was no

intended to protect against any danger or imminent threat.

367. Captain Jackson’s gag order was overly and unconstitutionally broad

restricting all communication and/or association with Trainer West.

368. Even if a lawful purpose had been intended, since numerous less restrictive,

yet effective measures, remained available, Captain Jackson’s order violated Plaintiff

Moonin’s First Amendment rights.

369. At the time the gag order was created and implemented, Captain Jackson

knew the order was unconstitutional; Captain Jackson possessed full knowledge the

gag order had no lawful purpose, was unconstitutionally broad and/or that less

restrictive measures were available.

370. At the time the gag order was created and implemented, Captain Jackson

knew the gag order would violate Plaintiff Moonin’s First Amendment Rights failing

to overcome the heavy presumption of unconstitutionality.


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371. Captain Jackson was acting unreasonable in executing the gag order as a

reasonable official would understand his acts unlawful.

372. Captain Jackson, as a NHP Officer and a state employee was acting under

color of state law in issuing the unconstitutional gag order.

373. As a direct and proximate result of Captain Jackson’s violation of Plaintiff

Moonin’s First Amendment rights, Plaintiff Moonin suffered damages in excess of

$2,000,000.00.



THIRD CLAIM FOR RELIEF

(First Amendment Violations)

Against LVMPD and GILLESPIE


above.

376. During a meeting on or about September 7, 2011, after a new report disclosed

the common, acceptable and unconstitutional practice of slashing FedEx boxes,

LVMPD Sgt. Zeil informed K9 officers that “narcotics detail is a covert mission”

forbidding all K9 officers from discussing “our business” with anyone outside the

unit.

377. LVMPD’s order violated First Amendment Rights to openly discuss matters

of public concern including, but not limited to, widespread, unconstitutional

searches, unconstitutional techniques utilized and NHP and LVMPD’s acceptance of

unconstitutional searches.

378. LVMPD’s order failed to have any lawful purpose since it was not intended

to protect against any danger or imminent threat; instead, LVMPD’s order was

improperly issued in an attempt to cover up the widespread unconstitutional searches

and LVMPD and NHP’s tolerance and acceptance of the constitutional violations.

379. Even if a lawful purpose could be found, since numerous less restrictive, yet

effective measures, remained available, LVMPD’s order violated First Amendment

rights.

380. At the time the gag order was created and implemented, LVMPD knew the

order was unconstitutional; LVMPD possessed full knowledge the gag order had no


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lawful purpose, was unconstitutionally broad and/or that less restrictive measures

were available.

381. At the time the gag order was created and implemented, LVMPD knew the

gag order would violate First Amendment Rights failing to overcome the heavy

presumption of unconstitutionality.

382. LVMPD’s express order, issued through Sgt. Zeil, constitutes an official

policy when enforced causes constitutional violations.

383. LVMPD enforcing constitutional law and acting with NHP state troopers and

NHP command, was acting under color of state law.

384. As a direct and proximate result of LVMPD’s unconstitutional behavior,

Plaintiffs suffered damages in excess of $2,000,000.00.



FOURTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF

(First Amendment Retaliation)

Against Sgt. Lewis, Lt. Stewart, Deputy Chief Tice, Capt. Jackson, Capt. Peterson, Sgt.Prosser, Lt. Haycox, Deputy Chief Sanchez, Trooper Shook, Officer Raab,

Officer Leonard, Zapata, Colonel Perry, Capt, Gallagher, Sgt. Zeil, Lt. Peterson, Capt. Ellison, Sgt. Higgins, Det. Jaeger, Sheriff Gillespie, Officer English, Sgt.

Higgins, LVMPD, NHP


above.

387. Plaintiffs properly utilized their guaranteed First Amendment Right reporting

and discussing numerous areas of public and community concern. Plaintiffs reported

widespread unconstitutional searches, improper officer behavior, command’s

acceptance of improper and unconstitutional officer conduct, and the many negative

impacts of implementing lower training standards. Plaintiffs discussed malfeasance

regarding the millions of dollars seized and the relaxing of K9 training and required

standards. Plaintiffs discussed the frustration, interference and sabotage of the K9

Program and the injury caused to the State as a result.

388. Plaintiffs’ words and/or discussions did not negatively impact or interfere

with the work environment or job efficiency. Plaintiffs’ reports and/or discussions

did not obstruct office operations of interfere with Plaintiffs’ duties.


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389. Due to Plaintiffs exercising their First Amendment Rights, Plaintiffs were

subjected to harsh and severe retaliation by a multitude of NHP and LVMPD officers

and command staff.

390. In addition to other retaliatory actions, Sgt. Lewis subjected Plaintiff Lee to

repeated, baseless disciplinary counseling sessions, was aggressively challenged by

his supervisor, informed he had a negative attitude and impacted co-workers

negatively, was commonly singled out in a negative manner and was openly blamed

for Unit discord. Sgt. Lewis openly and blatantly ignored Plaintiffs’ physical

presence and/or refused to respond to phone messages or requests for information.

Sgt. Lewis filed an utterly false complaint against Plaintiffs Yarnall and Lee

contending Plaintiffs planting drugs in cars and spread his false allegations

throughout the department. Sgt. Lewis baselessly and publicly criticized Sgt.

Yarnall’s training , Plaintiff Moonin’s skills and sought to eliminate Plaintiffs’

positions by pushing to utilize the substandard training practices implemented by the

Washoe County Sheriff’s Office. Additionally, as a direct supervisor, Sgt. Lewis

knew of the retaliation and failed to take any action; Sgt. Lewis had received

multiple reports of retaliation but in failing to act showed deliberate indifference to

Plaintiffs.

391. In addition to other retaliatory actions, Sgt. Stewart filed a false complaint

against Sgt. Yarnall alleging that Sgt. Yarnall was impersonating an NHP Trooper by

driving around NHP in a marked patrol vehicle dressed in a NHP Trooper uniform.

392. In addition to other retaliatory actions, Deputy Chief Tice explicitly

threatened retaliation if Plaintiff Moonin failed to remain silent about command

changes threatening if Plaintiff Moonin failed to remain silent, “It’s going to hurt;

it’s going to be painful.” Deputy Chief Tice openly and publicly threatened Plaintiff

Moonin’s employment with the K9 Unit and ordered Plaintiffs Moonin be placed at

the end of the overtime list. Deputy Chief Tice emailed a defamatory email

regarding Plaintiff Moonin’s reassignment.

393. In addition to other retaliatory actions, Capt. Jackson threatened Plaintiff

Moonin’s sought promotion and months after transferring out of the K9 Unit,

demanded Plaintiff Moonin be disciplined for alleged acts occurring four (4) months

prior. In response, a totally baseless Documented Verbal Counseling was placed in

Plaintiff Moonin’s personnel file.


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394. In addition to other retaliatory actions, Capt. Peterson threatened Plaintiff

Moonin’s reassignment and acted contrary to standard operating protocol by refusing

to place Plaintiff Moonin in the open position Plaintiff Moonin requested. Instead,

Capt. Peterson intentionally placed Plaintiff Moonin in the same unit as the most

egregious harasser of Plaintiff Moonin, Handler Shook and appeared to enjoy

Plaintiff’s Moonin emotional request to be transferred away from Handler Shook.

395. In addition other retaliatory actions, Sgt. Prosser subjected Plaintiff Moonin

to higher performance standards than other officers and baselessly found his

performance unsatisfactory. Sgt Prosser singled Plaintiff Moonin out for a larger

capacity, patrol car camera and intentionally interfered with Plaintiff Moonin’s

rightful promotion. Against proper procedure, Sgt. Prosser refused to address

Plaintiff Moonin’s formal request for transfer. Additionally, as a direct supervisor,

Sgt. Prosser knew of the retaliation and failed to take any action; Sgt. Prosser had

received multiple reports of retaliation but in failing to act showed deliberate

indifference to Plaintiffs.

396. In addition other retaliatory actions, Lt. Haycox subjected Plaintiff Moonin to

higher performance standards than other officers and baselessly found his

performance unsatisfactory. Lt. Haycox created a contrived situation with the sole

intention of setting Plaintiff Moonin “up” for some sort of disciplinary action and/or

termination.

397. In addition to other retaliatory actions, Deputy Chief Sanchez falsely accused

Plaintiff Lee of withholding records from the United States Attorney’s Office and

ordered Plaintiff Lee return to work while on approved leave to locate the records;

upon arriving at work, Plaintiff Lee found the records had been curiously deleted.

Deputy Chief Sanchez repeatedly frustrated Sgt. Yarnall’s abilities to skillfully

conduct K9 training repeatedly demanding Sgt. Yarnall perform unnecessary work in

the middle of training. Deputy Chief Sanchez facilitated significant delays in

Plaintiff Lee’s reimbursement claims.

398. In addition to other retaliatory actions, Handler Shook publicly and baselessly

challenged Plaintiff Moonin’s training abilities; Handler Shook falsely accused

Plaintiffs of accepting monetary kickbacks. Handler Shook intentionally facilitated

co-worker hatred and isolation of Plaintiff Moonin.


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399. In addition to other retaliatory actions, Captain Todd Ellison altered the

drafted K-9 Manual prior to submission jeopardizing the K-9 Unit and Yarnall, the

expert’s position.

400. In addition to other retaliatory actions, Officer Donald Dice filed a baseless

complaint against Plaintiff Moonin .

401. In addition to other retaliatory actions, Officer Raab filed a baseless

complaint against Plaintiff Moonin and aggressively approached Plaintiff Moonin

hostilely blaming Plaintiff Moonin for investigations into improper officer conduct .

402. In addition to other retaliatory actions, Officer Leonard aggressively

approached Plaintiff Moonin hostilely blaming Plaintiff Moonin for investigations

into improper officer conduct .

403. In addition to other retaliatory actions, Colonel Perry threatened the K9 Unit

and Plaintiffs’ positions within the unit; Colonel Perry repeatedly frustrated K9

training and Sgt. Yarnall’s ability to perform his employment obligations. Colonel

Perry advanced a false and vicious rumor about Sgt. Yarnall forcing Sgt. Yarnall to

defend his stellar skills and reputation. Colonel Perry repeatedly threatened Sgt.

Yarnall’s employment and likely facilitated the destruction of K9 files and the

vandalism of their office. Colonel Perry placed ridiculously high demands on Sgt.

Yarnall outside the boundaries of his employment contract and/or standard procedure

including, but not limited to, conducting handler training and instructor training

concurrently without any corresponding pay. Colonel Perry repeatedly delayed the

executing in Sgt. Yarnall’s employment contract, refused to execute the industry

standard and agreed upon 1 year extension and refused to afford the K9 Unit staple

necessities such as dog food. Colonel Perry facilitated Sgt. Yarnall working for

hours unpaid through oral promises prior to maliciously refusing to renew Sgt.

Yarnall’s contract. Colonel Perry’s overt hostility and frustration directed at

Plaintiffs’ and the K9 Program as a whole facilitated a complaint with OPR being

filed by the retiring Director.

404. In addition to other retaliatory actions, Captain Gallagher ordered Plaintiffs

Moonin and Lee’s Association Representatives to not return and/or accept their calls.

405. In addition to other retaliatory actions, Sgt. Zeil placed Plaintiff Moonin

directly in harm’s way violating explicit protocol ordering Plaintiff Moonin stop

vehicle without unit back up.


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406. In addition to other retaliatory actions, Sgt. Higgins created a contrived

situation with the sole intention of setting Plaintiff Moonin “up” for some sort of

disciplinary action and/or termination.

407. LVMPD refusal to take any disciplinary action against any of the officers

retaliating against Plaintiffs, and LVMPD repeatedly ignoring the blatant and hostile

retaliatory actions directed at Plaintiffs, was so widespread that although not

formally authorized by written law, was so well settled and permanent as to

constitute a custom or usage with the force of law.

408. NHP refusal to take any disciplinary action against any of the officers

retaliating against Plaintiffs, and NHP repeatedly ignoring the blatant and hostile

retaliatory actions directed at Plaintiffs, was so widespread that although not

formally authorized by written law, was so well settled and permanent as to

constitute a custom or usage with the force of law. NHP refused to address a

multitude of improper actions including, but not limited to, Captain Ellison’s

destruction of Sgt. Yarnall’s work, Sgt. Lewis’ blatant and egregious lies about Sgt.

Yarnall and the refusal to conduct any type of “real” investigation into the numerous

reports of unconstitutional searches.

409. The adverse actions taken by each named Defendant would deter a person of

ordinary firmness from continuing to engage in speaking on matters of public

concern such as the sabotage of the K9 Program by NHP Command, the routine

occurrence and acceptance of unconstitutional searches and sub-standard training.

410. The adverse actions taken by each acting Defendant was motivated at least in

part by Plaintiffs exercising their First Amendment rights and speaking about matters

of public concern.

411. As police officers, trained and required to uphold the law and the

constitution, all acting Defendants reasonably understood their actions violated

Plaintiffs’ First Amendment right to speak freely on matters of public concern

without reprisal.

412. As city and state police departments responsible for upholding laws and the

constitution, LVMPD and NHP reasonably understood their actions violated

Plaintiffs’ First Amendment right to speak freely on matters of public concern

without reprisal.


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413. As city and state police departments, working together and with state and city

officers and employees, all named acting Defendants were acting under color of state

law.

414. Each participating Defendant was acting in bad faith and unreasonable in

retaliating against Plaintiffs for exercising their First Amendment rights.

415. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ repeated and harsh

retaliation, Plaintiffs suffered damages in excess of $2,000,000.00.



FIFTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF

(Violation of Fourth Amendment)

Against NHP, LVMPD, Sheriff Gillespie, Sgt. Zeil, Sgt. Prosser


above.

418. The Fourth Amendment protects personal privacy and dignity against

unwarranted intrusion. In exercising searches of a citizen’s property, officers must

possess probable cause or consent to search.

419. NHP Command’s actions surrounding the K-9 Unit created and facilitated

widespread Fourth Amendment Violations.

420. LVMPD Command’s actions surrounding the K9 Unit created and facilitated

widespread Fourth Amendment Violations.

421. NHP Command acted with deliberate indifference to citizens’ Fourth

Amendment rights failing to act on the numerous, credible reports that

unconstitutional searches and racial profiling were routinely occurring.

422. Sgt. Prosser was notified of racial profiling and unconstitutional searches yet

acted with deliberate indifference by taking no action against any of the offending

officers.

423. LVMPD Command acted with deliberate indifference to citizens’ Fourth

Amendment rights failing to act on the numerous, credible reports that

unconstitutional searches and racial profiling were routinely occurring.


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424. LVMPD supervisor Sgt. Zeil witnessed unconstitutional witnesses occurring

yet acted with deliberate indifference failing to take any action against the offending

officers.

425. LVMPD utilized a K9 training system well-known to violate constitutional

safeguards.

426. NHP Command decided to relocate K9 training from a training program with

a proven track record of protecting constitutional rights to a training program proven

to violate constitutional rights. NHP Command’s decision was rendered after NHP

trained dogs tested with 100% success while the LVMPD trained dog failed

miserably.

427. NHP and LVMPD Command acted with deliberate indifference continuing to

utilize the subpar training possessing full knowledge the LVMPD trained dogs failed

to protect constitutional safeguards.

428. The LVMPD K9 training program is a standard program which NHP decided

to utilize by orders of the final policymaking authority.

429. Sgt. Zeil and Sgt. Prosser acted unreasonably and in bad faith by failing to

take appropriate action after witnessing and/or becoming aware of unconstitutional

searches being conducted.

430. As city and state police departments, working together with state and city law

enforcement officers and employees, all acting Defendants were acting under color

of state law.

431. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ failures, Plaintiffs suffered

damages in excess of $2,000,000.00.



SIXTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF

(State Civil Conspiracy)

Against Sgt. Lewis, Lt. Stewart, Deputy Chief Tice, Capt. Peterson, Sgt. Prosser, Lt.

Haycox, Deputy Chief Sanchez, Trooper Shook, Officer Raab, Officer Leonard, Colonel

Perry, Capt. Gallager, Sgt. Zeil, Lt. Peterson, NHP, LVMPD, Sgt. Higgins, Trooper

Dice, Sgt. Higgins


above.


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434. Each acting NHP and LVMPD officer conspired, agreed and intended to

force Plaintiffs’ constructive resignation and/or destroy the K9 Program and

Plaintiffs’ positions within the Program.

435. In addition to other acts furthering the conspiracy, Sgt. Lewis subjected

Plaintiff Lee to repeated, baseless disciplinary counseling sessions and openly

blamed Plaintiff Lee for Unit discord. Sgt. Lewis openly and blatantly ignored

Plaintiffs’ physical presence and/or refused to respond to phone messages or requests

for information. Sgt. Lewis filed an utterly false complaint against Plaintiff Yarnall

and Plaintiff’s Moonin and Lee contending the officers planted drugs; Sgt. Lewis

spread his false allegations throughout the department. Sgt. Lewis baselessly and

publicly criticized Sgt. Yarnall’s training, Plaintiff Moonin’s skills and sought to

eliminate Plaintiffs’ positions by pushing to utilize the substandard training practices

implemented by the LVMPD.

436. In addition to other acts furthering the conspiracy, Lt. Stewart filed a totally

false complaint against Sgt. Yarnall alleging that Sgt. Yarnall was impersonating an

NHP Trooper by driving around NHP in a marked patrol vehicle dressed in a NHP

Trooper uniform.

437. In addition to other acts furthering the conspiracy, Deputy Chief Tice placed

Plaintiff Moonin at the end of the overtime list and emailing a defamatory email

regarding Plaintiff Moonin’s reassignment.

438. In addition to other acts furthering the conspiracy, Capt. Peterson threatened

Plaintiff Moonin’s reassignment and acted contrary to standard operating protocol by

refusing to place Plaintiff Moonin in the open position Plaintiff Moonin requested.

Instead, Capt. Peterson intentionally placed Plaintiff Moonin in the same unit as his

most egregious harasser. Capt. Peterson appeared to enjoy Plaintiff’s Moonin

emotional request to be transferred away from Handler Shook.

439. In addition to other acts furthering the conspiracy Sgt. Prosser subjected

Plaintiff Moonin to higher performance standards than other officers and baselessly

found his performance unsatisfactory. Sgt Prosser singled Plaintiff Moonin out for a

larger capacity, patrol car camera and intentionally interfered with Plaintiff Moonin’s

rightful promotion. Against proper procedure, Sgt. Prosser refused to address

Plaintiff Moonin’s formal request for transfer.


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440. In addition to other acts furthering the conspiracy, Lt. Haycox subjected

Plaintiff Moonin to higher performance standards than other officers and baselessly

found his performance unsatisfactory. Lt. Haycox created a contrived situation with

the sole intention of setting Plaintiff Moonin “up” for some sort of disciplinary

action and/or termination.

441. In addition to other acts furthering the conspiracy, Deputy Chief Sanchez

falsely accused Plaintiff Lee of withholding records from the United States

Attorney’s Office and ordered Plaintiff Lee return to work while on approved leave

to locate the records; upon arriving at work, Plaintiff Lee found the records had been

curiously deleted. Deputy Chief Sanchez repeatedly frustrated Sgt. Yarnall’s

abilities to skillfully conduct K9 training repeatedly demanding Sgt. Yarnall perform

unnecessary work in the middle of training. Deputy Chief Sanchez facilitated

significant delays in Plaintiff Lee’s reimbursement claims.

442. In addition to other acts furthering the conspiracy, Officer Shook publicly

and baselessly challenged Plaintiff Moonin’s training abilities; Handler Shook

falsely accused Plaintiffs of accepting monetary kickbacks. Handler Shook

intentionally facilitated co-worker hatred and isolation of Plaintiff Moonin.

443. In addition to other acts furthering the conspiracy, Capt. Ellison altered Sgt.

Yarnall’s drafted K-9 Manual prior to submission.

444. In addition to other acts furthering the conspiracy, Officer Dice filed a totally

baseless complaint against Plaintiff Moonin .

445. In addition to other acts furthering the conspiracy, Officer Raab filed a totally

baseless complaint against Plaintiff Moonin and aggressively approached Plaintiff

Moonin hostilely blaming Plaintiff Moonin for investigations into improper officer

conduct .

446. In addition to other acts furthering the conspiracy, Officer Leonard

aggressively approached Plaintiff Moonin hostilely blaming Plaintiff Moonin for

investigations into improper officer conduct .

447. In addition to other acts furthering the conspiracy, Colonel Perry repeatedly

threatened and sabotaged the K9 Unit and Plaintiffs’ positions within the unit;

Colonel Perry repeatedly frustrated K9 training and Sgt. Yarnall’s ability to perform

his employment obligations. Colonel Perry advanced a false and vicious rumor

about Sgt. Yarnall forcing Sgt. Yarnall to defend his stellar skills and reputation.


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Colonel Perry repeatedly threatened Sgt. Yarnall’s employment and likely facilitated

the destruction of K9 files and the vandalism of their office. Colonel Perry placed

ridiculously high demands on Sgt. Yarnall outside the boundaries of his employment

contract and/or standard procedure. Colonel Perry repeatedly delayed the executing

in Sgt. Yarnall’s employment contract, refused to execute the industry standard and

agreed upon 1 year extension and refused to afford the K9 Unit staple necessities

such as dog food. Colonel Perry facilitated Sgt. Yarnall working unpaid through oral

promises prior to maliciously refusing to renew Sgt. Yarnall’s contract. Colonel

Perry’s overt hostility and frustration directed at Plaintiffs’ and the K9 Program as a

whole facilitated a complaint with OPR being filed against him by the retiring

Director.

448. In addition to other acts furthering the conspiracy, Capt. Gallagher ordered

Plaintiffs Moonin and Lee’s Association Representatives to not return and/or accept

their calls.

449. In addition to other acts furthering the conspiracy, Sgt. Zeil placed Plaintiff

Moonin directly in harm’s way violating explicit protocol refusing Plaintiff Moonin

any unit back up.

450. In addition to other acts furthering the conspiracy, Sgt. Higgins created a

contrived situation with the sole intention of setting Plaintiff Moonin “up” for some

sort of disciplinary action and/or termination.

451. Each acting Defendant acted in bad faith.

452. NHP and LVMPD furthered the overall conspiracy by acting with deliberate

indifference to all of the numerous reports of egregious actions taken against

Plaintiffs, was grossly negligent in supervising officers and acted in furtherance of

the overall goal of the conspiracy to force Plaintiffs’ constructive resignations and/or

destroy the K9 Program and Plaintiffs’ positions within the Program.

453. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ actions and conduct,

Plaintiffs suffered damages in excess of $2,000,000.00.




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SEVENTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF

(Conspiracy ;42 U.S.C.A. § 1985(1))

Against Sgt. Lewis, Lt. Stewart, Deputy Chief Tice, Capt. Jackson, Capt. Peterson, Sgt.Prosser, Lt. Haycox, Deputy Chief Sanchez, Trooper Shook, Officer Raab, Officer

Leonard, Zapata, Colonel Perry, Capt, Gallager, Sgt. Zeil, Lt. Peterson, Sgt. Cook, Sgt. Higgins


above.

456. Each enumerated Defendant conspired to, agreed to and acted to furtherance

to prevent Plaintiffs from performing their official, job duties and responsibilities.

457. Colonel Perry engaged in acts of force, threats and/or intimidation with the

intention of frustrating Plaintiffs’ job duties and performance. Some of such acts

include, but may not be limited to, Colonel Perry openly expressed hatred of the K9

Program and acted routinely with threats and intimidation in order to undermine

Plaintiffs and the Programs performance. At the kick-off of the K9 Program’s first

training, Colonel Perry threatened and intimidated Plaintiffs and the K9 Unit as a

whole stating the K9 officers were not wanted within the department and that the

officers should watch their backs. Colonel Perry continually frustrated Sgt. Yarnall’s

training performance demanding Sgt. Yarnall complete non-necessary work while

also conducting training; if Sgt. Yarnall failed to comply, Colonel Perry threatened

termination. Colonel Perry intimidatingly delayed salary payments and intentionally

spread vicious rumors about Plaintiffs successfully undermining Plaintiffs

credibility, facilitating extreme isolation and frustrating Plaintiffs job performance.

Colonel Perry implicitly threatened Plaintiffs and the K9 Program ordering covert

operations, investigations and vandalism of the K9 offices; Colonel Perry likely

ordered the destruction of K9 records. Colonel Perry refused overtime and lodging

for K9 trainees frustrating Sgt. Yarnall’s training and intimidating the Unit. Colonel

Perry repeatedly threatened termination of Plaintiffs and refused Sgt. Yarnall’s

rightful employment contract extensions. Colonel Perry ordered ridiculously

excessive extra job responsibilities on Sgt. Yarnall ordering either Sgt. Yarnall

accept the extra tasks for the same money or be terminated.

458. Deputy Chief Sanchez engaged in acts of force, threats and/or intimidation

with the intention of frustrating Plaintiffs’ job duties and performance. Some of such


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acts include, but may not be limited to, Deputy Chief Sanchez made serious and false

accusations to Plaintiff Lee alleging Plaintiff Lee withheld records from the Assistant

United States Attorney (AUSA) Addington. Deputy Chief Sanchez implied Plaintiff

Lee’s job was in jeopardy and demanded Plaintiff Lee immediately return to the

office, Plaintiff Lee was on FMLA leave, to locate the missing records. Upon

complying, Plaintiff Lee found the identified records suspiciously missing.

459. Sgt. Lewis engaged in acts of force, threats and/or intimidation with the


include, but may not be limited to, Sgt. Lewis falsely and solely for the purpose of

intimidation, filed a totally false complaint alleging Sgt. Yarnall and Plaintiff’s

Moonin and Lee were planting drugs. Sgt. Lewis forced Plaintiff Lee to endure

numerous, baseless disciplinary sessions each time threatening Plaintiff Lee’s

position. Sgt. Lewis intimidated Plaintiff Lee during one meeting in which Sgt.

Lewis intimidated Plaintiff Lee by letting him know that he could access Plaintiff’s

confidential testimony characterizing Plaintiff Lee’s confidential testimony in a

threatening manner as a betrayal on his co-workers. Sgt. Lewis falsely characterized

Plaintiffs’ meeting requests to NHP Command implicitly threatening Plaintiffs’ to

cease communicating with NHP Command.

460. Lt. Stewart engaged in acts of force, threats and/or intimidation with the


include, but may not be limited to, Lt. Stewart filed a complaint against Sgt. Yarnall

falsely alleging that Sgt. Yarnall was impersonating an NHP Trooper.

461. Deputy Tice engaged in acts of force, threats and/or intimidation with the


include, but may not be limited to, Deputy Chief Tice explicitly informed Plaintiffs

the sudden termination of two other K9 Troopers was a “warning” to simply do as

they were told and remain totally silent as to all the improper and illegal actions

occurring. Deputy Chief Tice explicitly threatened Plaintiff Moonin’s job if he did

not remain silent and simply comply with all orders contending if Plaintiff Moonin

failed to do so, “It’s going to hurt; it’s going to be painful.”

462. Lt. Peterson engaged in acts of force, threats and/or intimidation with the

intention of frustrating Plaintiffs’ job duties and performance. Lt. Peterson refused


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orders to develop a position intimidating Sgt. Yarnall and forcing Sgt. Yarnall to

work for no salary.

463. Sgt. Cook engaged in acts of force, threats and/or intimidation with the


include, but may not be limited to, forcing Plaintiff Moonin routinely out of critical

Instructor Training for minor, ministerial duties. Each time, Sgt. Cook forced

Plaintiff Moonin leave critical training to obtain documents, Plaintiff Moonin found

the documents suspiciously missing.

464. Sgt. Prosser engaged in acts of force, threats and/or intimidation with the


include, but may not be limited to, Sgt. Prosser baselessly threatened Plaintiff

Moonin’s position and performance. Sgt. Prosser forced Plaintiff Moonin to accept

higher standards than the other officers or face termination. Sgt. Prosser implicitly

threatened Plaintiff Moonin by subjecting Plaintiff Moonin to a higher capacity

vehicle camera.

465. Lt. Haycox engaged in acts of force, threats and/or intimidation with the


include, but may not be limited to, Lt. Haycox demanding Plaintiffs seize more

money implicitly contending the manner, i.e. the constitutionality, was irrelevant.

Lt. Haycox interrogated Plaintiff Moonin about his patrol unit’s camera threatening

disciplinary action. Lt. Haycox also attempted to facilitate “setting up” Plaintiff

Moonin to receive some sort of disciplinary action.

466. Capt. Jackson engaged in acts of force, threats and/or intimidation with the


include, but may not be limited to, threatening Plaintiff Moonin that he would

frustrate Plaintiff Moonin’s sought promotion; a few days later Capt Jackson

intimidatingly, personally contacted Plaintiff Moonin to tell him he had not received

the promotion.

467. Trooper Shook engaged in acts of force, threats and/or intimidation with the


include, but may not be limited to, Trooper Shook physically cornering, confronting

and threatening Plaintiff Moonin. Trooper Shook accused Plaintiff Moonin of


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corruption and accepting bribes yelling at Plaintiff Moonin in an extremely

threatening manner.

468. Sgt. Zeil engaged in acts of force, threats and/or intimidation with the


include, but may not be limited to, during a meeting with other officers Sgt. Zeil

implied Plaintiff Moonin was the media source. Sgt. Zeil ordered that actions in the

unit be thought of as covert directing the statement to Plaintiff Moonin. Sgt. Zeil’s

actions facilitated hostility, hatred, distrust and isolation directed by co-workers to

Plaintiff Moonin. Sgt. Zeil violated procedure forcing Plaintiff Moonin in harm’s

way without task force back up.

469. Troopers Ervin Raab and Ben Leonard engaged in acts of force, threats

and/or intimidation with the intention of frustrating Plaintiffs’ job duties and

performance. Some of such acts include, but may not be limited to, Troopers Raab

and Trooper Leonard approaching Plaintiff Moonin in a physically threatening

manner while Plaintiff Moonin was alone in a room completing paperwork. The

Troopers approached Plaintiff in a threatening manner and although no physical

touching occurred, the Troopers stood excessively close and railed about

“whistleblowers” and how “fucked up” the behavior was. The Troopers then

threatened to complain against Plaintiff Moonin contending they could file a

complaint and cause a firing.

470. Capt. Gallagher engaged in acts of force, threats and/or intimidation with the


include, but may not be limited to, intimidating Plaintiffs’ Union Representative to

not accept Plaintiffs telephone calls and requests for contract mandated, assistance.

471. Each enumerated Defendant conspired to, agreed to and acted in furtherance

of causing and facilitating injury to Plaintiff Lee’s property.

472. Sgt. Zapata engaged in acts of force, threats and/or intimidation with the

intention of causing Plaintiff Lee to suffer property damage. Some of such acts

include, but may not be limited to, Sgt. Zapata attempting to intimidate by lying to

Plaintiff Lee about the state refusing to pay for a crane and a crane was not an

option. Sgt. Lewis forcefully told Plaintiff Lee that that tearing down Plaintiff Lee’s

fence was a necessity and would happen. After Plaintiff Lee contacting his

supervisor, Sgt. Lewis backed off. Sgt. Zapata intimidatingly came to Plaintiff Lee’s


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residence with an excessive amount of squad cars and uniformed officers generating

a reasonable assumption by any witness that some illegal raid was occurring. Sgt.

Zapata again aggressively and falsely informed Plaintiff Lee the state would not pay

for the crane. Sgt. Zapata forced himself and other officers onto Plaintiff Lee’s

property. Sgt. Zapata and the officers he directed destroyed Plaintiff’s property.

473. Sgt. Lewis engaged in acts of force, threats and/or intimidation with the

intention of causing Plaintiff Lee to suffer property damage. Sgt. Zapata forced

Plaintiff Lee to accept the property damage and the characterization of events as

enumerated by Sgt. Lewis. Sgt. Zapata lied about the nonuse of the crane. Sgt.

Lewis intimidatingly informed Plaintiff Lee he could contact anyone in NHP, but

reasserted his threat that Plaintiff Lee’s fence and landscaping would be torn down.

474. NHP engaged in acts of force, threats and/or intimidation with the intention

of causing Plaintiff Lee to suffer property damage. Some of such acts include, but

may not be limited to, baselessly refusing to utilize a crane to remove the kennel on

Plaintiff’s property.

475. Each enumerated Defendant conspired to, agreed to and acted to in

furtherance of placing Plaintiff Moonin in harm’s way repeatedly attempting to cause

Plaintiff Moonin to suffer physical injuries.

476. Sgt. Zeil engaged in acts of force, threats and/or intimidation with the

intention of causing Plaintiff Moonin to suffer physical harm. During a meeting

with other officers, Sgt. Zeil implicitly enumerated Plaintiff Moonin as the source of

the media story disparaging the department. Sgt. Zeil’s intimidating behavior

towards Plaintiff Moonin permeated with the other officer and as Sgt. Zeil was well

aware, officers now distrusted Plaintiff Moonin and would isolate him and fail to

have his back in dangerous situations. Further, Sgt. Zeil forced Plaintiff Moonin to

stop a vehicle probably containing a high profile suspect transporting substantial

drugs without unit backup.

477. Troopers Ervin Raab and Ben Leonard physically approached Plaintiff

Moonin while alone in a room and menacingly approached Plaintiff Moonin causing

Plaintiff Moonin to fear for his physical safety. Although no physical contact

occurred, the Troopers threats caused Plaintiff Moonin to remain in fear at all times

the Troopers were present.


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478. The severe isolation and hostility caused and facilitated by NHP and NHP

Command placed Plaintiff Moonin, as an officer routinely acting in dangerous

situations with criminals, in physical jeopardy. Such specific actions include, but are

not limited to, Sgt. Lewis claiming Plaintiffs illegally planted drugs, Deputy Tice’s

explicit threats, Lt. Haycox setting Plaintiff “up” and Colonel Perry overt hostility.

479. Each acting Defendant was acting unreasonably and as a reasonable official

knew their actions were unlawful.

480. As city and state police departments, working together with state and city law

enforcement officers and employees, all acting Defendants were acting under color

of state law.

481. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ improper actions, Plaintiffs

suffered damages in excess of $2,000,000.00.



EIGHTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF

(Slander/Defamation)

Against Sgt. Lewis, Lt. Stewart, Deputy Chief Tice, Col. Perry


above.

484. Colonel Perry made a false statement of fact that Sgt. Yarnall had been sued

repeatedly for excessive force and civil rights violations during Sgt. Yarnall’s tenure

as Chief K9 Trainer for the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).

485. Colonel Perry made this false statement to Director Hafen who then launched

an investigation sharing the false statement with other officers including, but not

limited to, Deputy Chief Gagnon.

486. Colonel Perry made this false statement with either knowledge of their falsity

or with reckless disregard of their truth or falsity.

487. Since Colonel Perry’s defamatory communication imputed Sgt. Yarnall’s

business reputation and could have injured his business, Colonel Perry’s false

statements constitute defamation per se and damages are presumed.


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488. Sgt. Lewis made a false statement of fact that Sgt. Yarnall and Plaintiff Lee

were planting drugs in citizen’s cars during traffic stops in order to gain K9 positive

alerts.

489. Sgt. Lewis made this false statement to Deputy Chief Gagnon who then

launched an investigation which most likely resulted false statement being shared

with other officers.

490. Sgt. Lewis made this false statement with either knowledge of their falsity or

with reckless disregard of their truth or falsity.

491. Since Sgt. Lewis’ defamatory communication imputed Sgt. Yarnall’s

business reputation and could have injured his business, and challenged Plaintiff

Lee’s lack of fitness as a K9 Handler, Sgt. Lewis’ false statements constitute

defamation per se and damages are presumed.

492. Lt. Peterson made false statement of fact that Plaintiff Moonin’s K9 dog

“Teko” had no role in the seizure of the money and drugs in a specific case.

493. Lt. Peterson initiated and promoted this false statement of fact throughout the

department.

494. Lt. Peterson made this false statement with either knowledge of its falsity or

with reckless disregard of its truth or falsity.

495. Since Lt. Peterson’s defamatory communication challenged Plaintiff

Moonin’s lack of fitness as a K9 Handler, Colonel Perry’s false statements constitute

defamation per se and damages are presumed.

496. Lt. Stewart made a false statement of fact that Sgt. Yarnall was

impersonating an NHP Trooper, driving around NHP in a marked patrol vehicle

dressed in a NHP Trooper uniform. Lt. Stewart’s Sgt. Lewis

497. Lt. Stewart made this false statement to Major Sanchez who then launched an

investigation which most likely resulted in the false statement being shared with

other officers.

498. Lt. Stewart made this false statement with either knowledge of its falsity or

with reckless disregard of its truth or falsity.

499. Since Lt. Stewart’s defamatory communication imputed Sgt. Yarnall’s

overall fitness, undermined his business reputation and could have injured his

business, Lt. Stewart’s false statements constitute defamation per se and damages are

presumed.


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500. Deputy Chief Tice made a false statement of fact that Plaintiffs, as K9 staff

members, were materially identically to a group of officers who had been convicted

of unprovoked shootings, attempted murders, drug dealing, beatings, bank robberies,

falsifying evidence against citizens, stealing evidence and lying to cover up their

crimes.

501. Deputy Chief Tice made this false statement Alan Davidson, NVDPS Public

Information Officer and made materially similar statements to Trooper Davidson.

502. Deputy Chief Tice made this false statement with either knowledge of its

falsity or with reckless disregard of its truth or falsity.

503. Since Deputy Chief Tice’s defamatory communication imputed Plaintiffs’

fitness as officers and K9 handlers and trainers, and undermined their professional

reputations, Deputy Chief Tice’s false statements constitute defamation per se and

damages are presumed.

504. Colonel Perry and NHP Command made a false statement of fact that

Plaintiff Moonin was the media source for the news reports disparaging NHP.

505. Colonel Perry initiated and promoted this false statement of fact throughout

the department.

506. Colonel Perry made this false statement with either knowledge of its falsity

or with reckless disregard of its truth or falsity.

507. Since Colonel Perry’s defamatory communication imputed Plaintiff

Moonin’s reputation and fitness as an officer, Colonel Perry’s false statements

constitute defamation per se and damages are presumed.

508. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ defamation, Plaintiffs




NINTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF

(Failure to Train, 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983)

Against NHP, LVMPD and Sheriff Gillespie


above.


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511. LVMPD officially implemented, perpetuated and maintained a K9 training

program through trainer Mel English which was deficient, substandard and directly

caused widespread, unconstitutional searches.

512. NHP possessed full knowledge that LVMPD’s training program caused

unconstitutional searches yet NHP Command officially decided to relocate K9

training to the LVMPD program; NHP’s decision moved K9 training out of the

training program established under Sgt. Yarnall, which had been repeatedly proven

as beyond approach and constitutionally sound, to a training program proven

ineffective, repeatedly questioned and challenged.

513. LVMPD knew their training program was resulting in widespread, routine

unconstitutional searches yet took no action. Numerous, credible complaints were

made to LVMPD supervisors and LVMPD supervisors personally witnessed

unconstitutional searches; yet LVMPD took no action.

514. NHP received numerous, credible complaints that unconstitutional searches

and behaviors were occurring yet took no action. NHP knew the LVMPD training

program failed to afford proper constitutional protections yet chose to relocate NHP

K9 training to the LVMPD program.

515. The need for more or different training was obvious to NHP and LVMPD as

both entities possessed strong and irrefutable evidence that the current training was

resulting in widespread, constitutional violations. NHP and LVMPD’s failure to act

constitutes deliberate indifference.

516. LVMPD and NHP acting with state and city officers were acting under color

of state law.

517. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ improper actions, Plaintiffs




TENTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF

(Trespass)

Against Sgt. Zapata and NHP


above.


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520. On October 26th, 2011, Sgt. Zapata intentionally and without authority,

entered Plaintiff Lee’s personal land. Plaintiff Lee repeatedly informed Sgt. Zapata

he refused consent for Sgt. Zapata to be on his land to remove the kennel, yet Sgt.

Zapata continued entering Plaintiff Lee’s land.

521. On October 26, 2011, NHP officers intentionally and without authority

entered Plaintiff Lee’s personal land. Plaintiff Lee repeatedly informed all NHP

officers present consent was refused; yet the officers continued in entering Plaintiff

Lee’s personal land to remove the kennel.

522. Sgt. Zapata and NHP officers were acting in bad faith knowing they were

illegally trespassing.

523. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ trespass, Plaintiff Lee




ELEVENTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF

(Fraud)


above.

526. On Sgt. Yarnall’s last day under his employment contract, December 31,

2010, upon inquiring about his renewal/extension, Sgt. Yarnall was explicitly told by

Lt. O’Rourke the renewal/extension was waiting for Director Perry’s approval.

527. On January 1st, 2011, Colonel Perry assumed the position of Deputy

Director. (now referred to as “Director Perry.”).

528. Beginning on January 1st, 2011, and continuing until Sgt. Yarnall’s

employment was formally terminated, Lt. O’Rourke made material false

representations to Sgt. Yarnall regarding his employment contract. Lt. O’Rourke

maliciously informed Sgt. Yarnall his new employment contract would be timely

executed and signed by Colonel Perry. Lt. O’Rourke repeatedly quoted statistics

showing the huge success of the K9 Program explicitly informing Sgt. Yarnall that

his employment contract renewal would be executed soon.

529. At the end of March of 2011, Lt. O’Rourke informed Sgt. Yarnall that

Director Perry had personally decided not to renew his contract.


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530. Lt. O’Rourke knew or should have known his repeated guarantees regarding

contract execution were false.

531. Lt. O’Rourke made such false assertions in order to fraudulently induce Sgt.

Yarnall to remain working and traveling to further the scheduled handler training.

532. Sgt. Yarnall reasonably relied on Lt. O’Rourke’s false representations that an

employment renewal would be executed causing Sgt. Yarnall to continue working

without a salary and traveling at his own, personal expense.

533. Due to Defendant’s multiple, fraudulent misrepresentations and Sgt.

Yarnall’s reasonable reliance, Sgt. Yarnall suffered significant damages including,

but not limited to, losing over $63,751.50 in earned and rightful compensation.......

534. Lt. O’Rourke’s misrepresentations were made in bad faith, intentional and

malicious supporting an award of punitive damages.

535. As a direct and proximate result of Lt. O’Rourke’s fraudulent

misrepresentations, Sgt. Yarnall suffered damages in excess of $2,000,000.00.



TWELFTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF

(Unjust Enrichment)


above.

538. A significant benefit was conferred on NHP by receiving Sgt. Yarnall’s

services, skills and expertise for zero salary.

539. NHP fully appreciated such benefit and acted in bad faith.

540. It would be inequitable for NHP to retain such benefit without payment of

Sgt. Yarnall’s agreed upon salary and reimbursement for his travel expenditures.

THIRTEENTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF

(18 U.S.C.A. § 1962 - RICO)


above.

542. All named Defendants are associated in fact thereby creating an enterprise as

defined under 18 U.S.C.A. § 1961.


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543. The actions assumed and taken by all named Defendants constitutes a pattern

of racketeering as defined under 18 U.S.C.A. § 1961 since all acts were part of the

routine and regular way in which K9 training and operation within law enforcement

was conducted. Specifically in that, they conspired and cooperated in sub-standard

training and “cueing” training tactics which knowingly allowed and condoned

officers illegally violating citizens’ constitutional rights and thereby benefitting from

the seizure of property and money as well as obtaining federal funds for the

interdiction program.

544. The threat of future criminal conduct by all named Defendants is high since

they have developed a pattern and practice and K9 training program which trains the

dogs to illegally cue falsely, as conditioned by the handlers techniques and thereby

creating a program which is inherently criminal.

545. Defendants worked in concert to further this criminal conspiracy which

Plaintiffs objected to and refused to participate in, through the use of wire

communications constituting a RICO violation under 18 U.S.C.A. § 1343.

546. Defendants worked together to intimidate and coerce Plaintiffs to participate

in the extorting of property and funds that were illegally obtained, thereby

constituting a RICO violation under. 18 U.S.C.A. § 1951.

547. Throughout Plaintiffs’ employment, on information and reasonable belief,

Defendants conspired to do acts constituting a pattern of racketeering activity.

548. On information and reasonable belief, Defendants directly and/or indirectly

invested in and/or maintained an interest in and/or participated in an enterprise and

established necessary under 18 U.S.C.A. § 1962.

549. These activities affect interstate commerce as Defendants’ actions routinely

crossed state lines.

550. Plaintiff seek damages and attorney’s fees under 18 USCA § 1961 including,

but not limited to, lost earnings and lost earnings potential.

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WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs prays for relief as follows:

1. For maximum award of compensatory and/or punitive damages available;

2. For an award of economic damages according to proof;

3. For injunctive relief placing Plaintiff in his rightful, employment position.

4. For an award of costs and a reasonable attorney’s fee;

5. And for such other and further relief, including injunctive relief to force the

Defendant to adopt and enforce lawful policies regarding harassment and

discrimination, as the Court or jury may deem proper.

DATED this___26th_____ day of __June_____, 2012.

/S/ KEN MCKENNA Kenneth J. McKenna 544 W. First St. Reno, NV 89503 (775) 329-6373 Attorney for Plaintiffs


Moonin, Yarnall, and Lee v. Nevada

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Transcript of Moonin, Yarnall, and Lee v. Nevada