NSHE leader doesn’t want regent to carry firearm in system office

Nevada’s higher education chancellor wants the authorization that allows Regent Byron Brooks to carry a concealed firearm on system property to be immediately revoked, citing concerns about her personal safety.

A Feb. 3 letter from Nevada System of Higher Education Chancellor Melody Rose’s attorney Daniel Polsenberg to Board Chair Carol Del Carlo — which also includes other regents — alleges Brooks brought a firearm into a Dec. 30 “legal briefing on NSHE matters” and his conduct was “unnecessarily aggressive.”

If steps aren’t taken to ensure a safe work environment by Thursday, Rose will “pursue all legal and equitable remedies available to her,” the letter says. “We hope that will not be necessary.”

The Review-Journal obtained a copy of the letter through a public records request.

The letter says Rose submitted a written report about the December incident to attorneys Ann Morgan and Leslie Bryan, who are investigating her complaint of a hostile work environment that was submitted in early October.

The status of a third-party investigation into Rose’s complaint and when an outcome will be made public is unclear. An NSHE spokesman declined to provide an update Monday on the chancellor’s complaint, saying the system doesn’t comment on personnel matters.

Former Board of Regents President Cathy McAdoo and former vice president Patrick Carter, who are named in the complaint, have temporarily stepped down from their leadership roles during the investigation but remain on the full board.

Brooks — who was elected in November 2020 and represents Clark County — requested permission around Aug. 24 to carry a firearm on NSHE property and received conditional approval from McAdoo on Sept. 29, according to the letter.

Brooks is a U.S. Army combat veteran, and previously worked for the U.S. Department of Defense and later the U.S. Department of State, according to his biography on NSHE’s website.

In a written statement Monday to the Review-Journal, Brooks said that in regard to the “unwarranted accusations” levied against him by the chancellor, “I will allow the official investigative report to speak for itself.”

Brooks also said he would no longer carry a firearm during official meetings.

The allegations

State law prohibits certain weapons — including firearms — on NSHE property, including college and university campuses. But a provision in the higher education system’s handbook says someone can submit a written request to a president for a specific campus or the chancellor for system administration offices.

Rose’s attorney said they’re aware of Brooks carrying a firearm onto NSHE property only one time — the Dec. 30 legal briefing. The chancellor was in attendance at the meeting.

“Regent Brooks’ conduct while armed during that meeting is extremely concerning,” Rose’s attorney wrote in the letter. “Just before the meeting, the Chancellor learned that Regent Brooks had chosen to carry his firearm into the NSHE building for the first time, which left her very uneasy as he had, on more than one occasion, spoken to her in an antagonistic and verbally intimidating manner.”

The letter alleges Brooks refused to sit next to Rose during the meeting, instead sitting directly across from her, and that he “became visibility agitated” that Rose was present.

Brooks argued the chancellor should be excluded for a “purported conflict” but she wasn’t the subject of the meeting, the letter alleges. “His conduct was unnecessarily aggressive and appeared designed to verbally and/or physically intimidate the Chancellor.”

The letter says Rose left the meeting “shaken, scared, and concerned for her personal safety.”

Brooks responds

In his statement Monday, Brooks said it’s “unfortunate and concerning to me that anyone in the systems office, particularly while attending a Regent meeting, would feel unsafe.”

Brooks said he made a request in August through the chancellor’s office seeking approval to extend his Nevada concealed carry firearm permit to include NSHE’s Las Vegas administration office.

The request came after receiving threat assessment briefings by University Police Services’ Southern Command director and “recognizing that the Chancellor was traveling with assigned protection,” he said.

“After discussion with multiple NSHE decision makers and complying with a background check and interview, I was granted approval to carry my firearm until a time when external security threats were alleviated,” Brooks said.

He said his request was approved with the acknowledgment of Rose, NSHE’s chief general counsel and interim chief of staff, board officers and the Northern Command police services director.

“Now that Director (Adam) Garcia has put into place additional safety protocols, there is no need for me to carry my firearms into the NSHE administrative office so I will no longer be carrying during official meetings and administrative gatherings,” Brooks said.

Brooks also provided the Review-Journal with documentation Monday that shows he was granted limited approval to carry a concealed firearm at NSHE’s Las Vegas and Reno system administration offices.

A Sept. 29 letter to Brooks from McAdoo and Garcia, vice president and director of University Police Services’ Southern Command, says Rose forwarded Brooks’ request for authorization to carry a concealed firearm at NSHE’s system administration office in Las Vegas.

“Given your position as a Regent and the need for an independent review of you request, our legal team has advised that it is appropriate for this review and decision to be made by the Chair of the Board,” the letter states.

The letter says that “due to recent threats” to the higher education system and its representatives, University Police Services was providing increased security at system administration offices and “especially during Board meetings.”

Garcia conducted a background check and a law enforcement review of the request, the letter states, and recommended limited approval.

The approval allows Brooks to carry at NSHE’s Las Vegas and Reno system administration offices and is valid through July 1. After that, a request for renewal would have to go through a new review process, according to the documentation.

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.