Sheriff’s private emails not subject to disclosure, judge rules

Most of the emails sent by Sheriff Joe Lombardo on a government cellphone to his political team are private, and thus not subject to disclosure under the state’s public records law, a Clark County judge has ruled.

But another four emails that pertain to public business are considered public and must be disclosed to an opposition research firm that sought a large volume of records from the police department.

However, they won’t be handed over until an appeal is heard.

Clark County District Court Judge Maria Gall’s ruling — issued Thursday — is the latest twist in a battle between Due Diligence Group LLC and the Metropolitan Police Department, headed by Lombardo, who is the Republican nominee for governor.

The firm requested a swath of emails written by Lombardo on his department-issued phone and sent to two political consultants. But the judge denied most of the request, saying the plain meaning of “public record” forecloses emails that are personal.

“The Court finds that nearly all the e-mails are personal in nature, do not concern the provision of public services, were not required to be made and kept by law and/or were not made in the course of the performance of the Sheriff’s duties,” Gall’s ruling reads. “There are, however, a few e-mails the Court finds to concern the provision of public services and/or were made in the course of the performance of the Sheriff’s duties.”

Gall ruled those four emails should be disclosed but automatically stayed that ruling while the department takes an expected appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court.

Although Due Diligence Group’s attorneys suggested in court papers that Lombardo had violated the law by sending personal emails on a government device during work hours, Gall in a footnote to her ruling said she made no finding as to whether any violations occurred. But papers filed in the case show personal emails were sent on Lombardo’s work phone.

Under the police department’s manual, employees are prohibited from using equipment for political reasons. “It is the policy of this department that its facilities, equipment and on-duty personnel will not be used by political candidates seeking public office for ANY political purpose,” the manual reads. “Department issued cellular telephones will not be used for ANY unofficial purpose related to political activities.”

A request for comment from the police department’s outside counsel wasn’t returned by deadline. But Lombardo’s political campaign called the lawsuit “frivolous” and accused Sisolak of trying to divert attention from a company that contracted with local officials in Nevada for COVID testing that turned out to be inaccurate.

“Democrats are desperate to distract from Northshore Steve’s scandals, so they’ve resorted to frivolous lawsuits against LVMPD,” said Lombardo spokeswoman Elizabeth Ray in a statement. “What Nevadans actually care about is getting answers from Steve Sisolak about why he allowed a shady company associated with a major donor to receive $165 million taxpayer dollars and why he then covered up his COVID-19 testing scandal for months.”

Sisolak has said he had no discussions with anyone about the selection of Northshore Labs for COVID testing contracts, although he is friends with the father of two of Northshore’s Nevada partners. He called the company’s testing record “despicable.” The governor’s office also said it would assist a federal investigation into the company.

The Sisolak campaign fired back with allegations of its own: “This isn’t the first time Lombardo’s been caught campaigning on taxpayers’ dime and abusing his office for political gain,” spokesperson Molly Forgey said in a statement. “He’s under an ethics investigation for using his badge and uniform to advance his campaign, he’s traveling the state while crime is on the rise, and he’s wasting millions in taxpayer dollars to settle out of court. Nevadans deserve better than another politician who’s only out for himself.”

Contact Steve Sebelius at SSebelius@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253. Follow @SteveSebelius on Twitter.

Due Diligence Group LLC v. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Dept. ORDER by Steve Sebelius on Scribd