Their police chiefs were forced out. Now these residents want transparency

Resident Nick Alfonsetti told Mesquite council members that they ought to “do it right this time,” referencing the city’s need for a new police department head amid dramatic legal disputes with its recently fired chief, MaQuade Chesley.

“It seems like a lot of things are going on behind the scenes,” Alfonsetti said during a recent City Council meeting. “And the city’s talking. I mean, the things you hear are just incredible.”

Documents released by the city suggest that Chesley’s departure stemmed from a monthslong investigation into alleged misconduct. Meanwhile, another recently ousted chief of police, Hollie Chadwick, was fired from her position at the city of Henderson after officials pointed to a difference in leadership styles, officials have said.

Though these justifications were shared with the public, residents in both cities, roughly 100 miles apart, have begged their city officials for the same thing: transparency.

Experts such as David Cuillier, who directs the Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida, say this dynamic can confuse members of the public who deserve answers when government officials they have grown to love — or detest — are suddenly booted.

“Police chief positions are critical for the community, so people want to know what’s happening with them,” Cullier said. “I get it if they want to keep a secret to hide embarrassment or to protect someone’s reputation, but the public needs to know.”

Findings, conclusions and recommendations

By the start of the March 17 council meeting, a district court judge had twice ordered Mesquite to halt investigations into Chesley. Even so, the city met that evening for a special session to consider the fired chief’s character, misconduct, competence and health.

Four pages of a heavily redacted investigation report titled “Findings, conclusions, and recommendations” were released on the city of Mesquite’s website.

Although it was unclear who conducted the investigation, the report, which stated it had probed at least five complaints into Chesley’s tenure, appeared to have been completed Jan. 26. One of the complaints accused Chesley of threatening to cut the throat of an inferior officer.

Screenshots of late-January text messages between the fired chief, City Manager Owen Dickie and Mayor Jesse Whipple were also made public.

At the beginning of the Mesquite meeting, City Attorney Mike Branum told attendees that the meeting was not meant to be an investigation or interrogation.

“This is an opportunity for Mr. Chesley to present any information to the council that he thinks they should have before they make a decision,” Mike Branum said, adding that he did not see Chesley in the audience.

The council then signed off on Chesley’s firing. According to court documents, District Court Judge Nadia Krall has signed injunctions on March 14 and 17, allowing the city to proceed.

When Whipple asked the council if members had any motions or comments, Mayor Pro-Tem Gallo said she wanted nothing to do with the meeting.

“I am not going to be sued,” Gallo said. “The city was ordered not to put the documents online, yet they are still there. The result now is that the city is in ridiculously costly litigation.”

Two weeks after Chesley was fired Jan. 21, he and his lawyer, Ron Dreher, filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the city.

The lawsuit alleged, among other things, that the city violated what’s known as the Peace Officer Bill of Rights when it conducted an internal investigation into allegations of misconduct against Chesley.

“In using a non-peace officer and failing to provide required notifications when completing investigations into Plaintiff’s alleged misconduct, Defendant City willfully and knowingly violated” the statute, according to the lawsuit.

‘The people deserve better’

Referencing the lawsuit, Gallo also said the meeting should not have been held and called Branum, who is defending the city in the dispute, incompetent.

“Chief Chesley is going to be successful with this,” Gallo added. “I don’t blame Wes for leaving because this has not been fair to the police officers, Chesley, or the city. This is going to be so costly to us. I think the people of Mesquite deserve better than we’re getting.”

Similar sentiments were echoed during a Henderson City Council meeting Tuesday, the first since the announcement of Chadwick’s dismissal.

That night, no agenda items related to the police chief, but locals and Chadwick’s relatives used the public comment portion to rehash their concerns about how their chief was let go.

“It is evident that this decision was not based on performance or misconduct but rather on a difference in leadership styles,” said Jeani Adams, who read a prepared statement from Chadwick’s sister, Cristi Chadwick Gatten, at the meeting. “That is not, and should never be, a justifiable reason for termination — especially for someone who has given so much to this department and this community.”

In a public letter announcing Chadwick’s firing, City Manager Stephanie Garcia-Vause said that Chadwick’s “vision and leadership styles” were “not aligned” with the city’s needs. She added that the decision was not based upon “any finding of specific misconduct” and was not made for cause.

Andrew Regenbaum, the executive director of the Nevada Association of Public Safety Officers, said chiefs are typically “at-will” employees, meaning their employers can dismiss them for any reason without providing cause or warning. Regenbaum is also a lawyer who has represented unions in Mesquite and Henderson and brought complaints against their former chiefs.

“Chiefs are serving at the will of the city or county. So they don’t need to investigate them to fire them,” Regenbaum added, speaking generally about the role.

Documents filed in federal court, however, suggest that Chesley, at the start of his tenure as chief, signed a contract with the city that required “just cause” for his termination. It is unclear what the conditions of Chadwick’s contract were.

‘A high bar to clear’

Cullier said that government officials must balance privacy rights with the public’s right to know when making these decisions. If it’s tied, it goes to the public, he added.

“It has to be something so horrendously embarrassing with no legitimate public concern for privacy to win out,” Cullier said. “That’s a high bar to clear. You can’t just slap ‘personnel’ on it and call it secret.”

Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com. Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X.