LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — On some nights, just three, four, maybe five state police troopers are patrolling the entire Las Vegas valley, an area home to 2.3 million people and hundreds of thousands of tourists at once, leading to concerns about safety amid the department’s ongoing staffing shortage.
For decades, Nevada State Police have struggled to keep up with pay from local police departments and retirement benefits, leading to a decrease in staff.
“I don’t want to say that the people upstairs, the powers that be are not aware,” Dan Gordon, president of the Nevada Police Union, said. “I don’t think the priorities are in the right place.” The union represents about 1,200 state employees, including state police troopers.
For Gordon, it’s a simple fix: Get more troopers on the road — prevent people from dying on the road.
“It’s getting ridiculous,” Gordon said. “It’s an upward trend and it really shouldn’t be.”
412 deaths: ‘We just don’t have enough people’
In 2024, 412 people died on Nevada roads — some on the freeways and routes where 218 troopers patrolled statewide, according to the latest data available. The state budget calls for 392 trooper positions, leading to a nearly 45% vacancy rate.
The staffing shortage comes as death on Nevada’s roads continues to rise. In 2023, Nevada reported 1.4 deaths for every 100 million miles traveled versus the national average of 1.26, according to the department.
In 2022, the 8 News Now Investigators uncovered similar startling data where just a few troopers patrolled the entire valley on certain nights. There were more troopers in the Las Vegas area then than there are now. The statewide vacancy rate that year was slightly higher at 50%.
“We just don’t have the ability right now with our staffing levels to provide the best possible enforcement and keep our roads as safe as we possibly can,” Gordon said. “It’s a numbers game, right? We just don’t have enough people.”
“What’s it like for them?” 8 News Now Investigator David Charns asked Gordon about the troopers and their workload.
“Frustration is probably an understatement,” Gordon said. “There are days when it’s call to call to call. It’s incident to incident to incident. Especially during commuter hours. I mean it’s 24 hours a day, right?”
Staffing data the 8 News Now Investigators obtained through a records request reveals there were 51 troopers assigned in the entire valley as of last month. The figure does not include supervisors. In 2015, the number was 92.
“A true accurate representation of the population now, those numbers should probably be 200,” Gordon said.
“We should have 200 valley positions,” Charns replied.
“Correct,” Gordon said.
“And we have 51,” Charns said.
“Yeah,” Gordon said.
Repeated warnings
The shortage is leading to deadly consequences. On Saturday, Jan. 18 around 11:15 p.m., a caller alerted state police to a bus blocking a lane on a ramp in the Interstate 11-215 Beltway interchange, records said. At 1:37 a.m. — more than two hours later, Edy Hernandez-Roldan died when he collided with the back of the bus.
Documents the 8 News Now Investigators obtained reveal a trooper was finally able to respond to the disabled vehicle around the same time the fatal crash happened — 144 minutes after that first call.
Department leaders have repeatedly warned lawmakers in Carson City — both under Democratic and Republican leadership, governorships and control — about the safety risk. The Nevada Legislature only meets 120 days every two years.
“With fewer officers, we have fewer officers on the road at any time and they’re stretched further,” Sheri Brueggemann, the deputy director of the Nevada Department of Public Safety, said in 2019 — four legislative sessions ago.
A presentation given to the Nevada Legislature in 2021 included these startling statements: “Most highways are not covered on graveyard,” “Highway patrol may get to the point where they must turn away certain calls for service,” and “Response time to calls for service will continue to increase.”
That was three legislative sessions ago. This was last time: “If we can’t start stopping the bleeding this year, we’re not sure we’ll be around by next year,” Brueggemann said during a legislative hearing in 2023.
“Fewer troopers means slower response times, fewer impaired drivers stopped, faster speeds, deadlier crashes and more dangerous roads for everyone,” Lt. Col. Martin Mleczko said during a February hearing this legislative session.
In 2023, to encourage more applicants and fewer department separations, lawmakers passed a 23% pay increase in an attempt to level with other police agencies. That year, the 8 News Now Investigators reported a starting state trooper made $21.15 per hour, compared to the $26.25 average for all Nevada police agencies — a 24% difference.
For the first time since 2017, more people joined the department than separated in 2024, leadership said, noting recruitment efforts over the past year have been successful but that recruits tended to favor parole and probation over patrol.
“But unfortunately for that, a lot of that was playing catchup because we hadn’t received anything, we hadn’t kept up with the times in 20 years,” Gordon said.
Lawmakers will once again crash into an impending pay crisis because of another upcoming pay gap. Starting in July, the amount of money state police employees have to put into their state retirement accounts will erase those gains from two years ago.
The 8.75% increase will severely diminish trooper take-home pay, the union warned. The Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) sets the rates.
Amid the pay gap, some rural substations are empty. The 8 News Now Investigators first reported on this lack of staffing three years ago.
Substations in Hawthorne, along U.S. 95; and Lovelock, near Interstate 80, have no positions filled, according to data the 8 News Now Investigators obtained.
There are 27 offices where troopers work across the state, data said. Several have high vacancy rates:
Alamo: 20%
Austin: 50% vacancy
Battle Mountain: 80% vacancy
Beatty: No vacancy
Carson City: 56% vacancy
Elko: 40% vacancy
Ely: 71% vacancy
Eureka: 50% vacancy
Fallon: 63% vacancy
Fernley: 50% vacancy
Hawthorne: 100% vacancy
Indian Springs: No vacancy
Las Vegas: 42% vacancy
Laughlin: 33% vacancy
Lovelock: 100% vacancy
Mesquite: No vacancy
Pahrump: 50% vacancy
Pioche: No vacancy
Primm: No vacancy
Reno: 28% vacancy
Tahoe: 75% vacancy
Tonopah: No vacancy
USA Parkway: 40% vacancy
Wells: 33% vacancy
Wendover: 75% vacancy
Winnemucca: 57%
Yerington: 67% vacancy
“Our resources just keep diminishing,” Gordon said. “We keep losing people and the population keeps growing.”
The reduction in staff led the department to stop overnight coverage on some nights in the Reno area, the union said.
The future
8 News Now has repeatedly asked the department and Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo for on-camera interviews. The governor has rescheduled several times since an initial request last fall and his office did not respond to a repeated request regarding an interview.
The director of the public safety department has repeatedly declined interview requests from 8 News Now.
“The Nevada Highway Patrol Division remains committed to protecting lives and ensuring the safety of everyone on Nevada’s roadways,” director George Togliatti said in a statement. “Our troopers work around the clock to enforce laws and hold dangerous drivers accountable. Speeding and impaired driving remain two of the leading contributors to fatal crashes across the state, with devastating consequences for individuals, families, and communities. Every choice behind the wheel matters — drive sober, slow down, and remember that lives depend on it.”
Two legislative committees heard from state police on Feb. 14 about their required budget. It was not immediately clear when the budget and the possibility of addressing the staffing shortage would next come before lawmakers.
8 News Now Investigator David Charns can be reached at dcharns@8newsnow.com.
