6 Metro officers honored for innovation, community policing
Six Metropolitan Police Department officers were honored with distinguished service awards for community policing innovation, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
Officers James Bryant, Darling Mapes, Luis Vid and Strahinja Pavlovic, as well as detectives Traves Humpherys and Detective David Shive, of Las Vegas’ Bolden Area Command are among the 23 officers nationwide who will receive the fourth annual Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Policing – Innovations in Community Policing.
Bolden Area Command covers the area bordered by West Cheyenne Avenue, West Charleston Boulevard, South Rainbow Boulevard and Interstate 15.
Bolden officers were specifically recognized for the Bolden Little League, a baseball team that encourages mentorship and trust between officers and local children. The league’s first pitch was thrown in 2017 and now encompasses 14 teams and nearly 200 youths in the area.
“The league focused on reducing violent crime by building trust and positively affecting the children and families involved; and the success was in the numbers, with the neighborhoods surrounding the (Doolittle Park) posting a 76 percent reduction in violent crime from 2018 to 2019,” according to the Justice Department statement.
The officers were chosen among 355 nominees. Bryant and Pavlovic have been with Metro since 2016; Humphreys since 2009; Mapes since 2015 and Shive and Vidal since 2014.
“Peace officers in Nevada continue to work hard to build trust and confidence with the communities they serve and protect,” said U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Trutanich. “National recognition from the Attorney General for Metro’s innovation in police work is well deserved, reflecting the positive impact that innovative youth prevention programs – like the Bolden Little League – have had throughout the Las Vegas area.”
Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.
