LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A retired Henderson police lieutenant will answer an arrest warrant in justice court Tuesday on allegations of child abuse, neglect or endangerment, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned.
A criminal complaint filed in court by the Clark County District Attorney on Feb. 12 against John V. Bozarth, also known as “Jeb” Bozarth, says on Jan. 5 the longtime Henderson police officer grabbed a young woman by the “arm and/or neck,” “forcibly moving” her and “pinning” her to the wall while holding her “by the neck and/or yelling and/or screaming” at her. The Affidavit for Warrant, also filed in court and sworn out by the Henderson Police Department, indicated the young woman had two small bruises on her chest. The affidavit went on to say the victim “stated it felt like a ‘psychotic break’ with the way he [Bozarth] was acting and behaving.”
Bozarth retired on Jan. 12, five days after the alleged incident, according to information provided by a city spokeswoman. The spokeswoman confirmed Bozarth was hired by the Henderson Police Department in August 2006, and that the city classifies his leaving the department as a “regular retirement” with the rank of lieutenant. The 8 News Now Investigators had asked, among other things, whether Bozarth filed for an early retirement.
An interview with Bozarth’s wife before she got an attorney and stopped talking with police, part of the 13-page Affidavit for Warrant, provides what may be some context about her husband, saying Bozarth would come home from work “either angry or defeated due to stress of his retirement and issues with the current administration,” according to the affidavit. The woman also told police that after Bozarth’s retirement, he and his family were planning a move to Texas, the affidavit says.
Indeed, the administration of the Henderson Police Department is in a period of upheaval after its chief, Hollie Chadwick, was given an ultimatum last month: resign by March 6 or be fired.
Other details about the Jan. 5 incident include one person saying that “all of the” internal home security cameras at Bozarth’s home, “controlled by Jeb on his phone,” “had been removed after the incident.”
Bozarth’s attorney of record, Lance Maningo, filed a Motion to Quash the arrest warrant in which the attorneys ask the judge to allow Bozarth to come to court voluntarily on Tuesday and be released from police custody on his own recognizance.
One of Bozarth’s other attorneys, Robert Langford, provided the following statement to the 8 News Now Investigators, in its entirety:
“This is a serious allegation, the timing of which is still being investigated. At this time we have no comment and are looking forward to presenting the rest of the story which will clear Mr. Bozarth’s name but will sadly not restore his reputation. I would ask that the public be patient because allegations are just opinions. Sometimes they are outrageously wrong.”
8 News Now profiled Bozarth, who also owns a security consulting firm in Henderson, at a training exercise for first responders.
Additionally, Bozarth was cleared of any wrongdoing in the fatal 2009 police shooting of a man at the Sierra Campus of St. Rose Hospital in Henderson. At the time, 8 News Now reported that the victim, Charles Campbell, arrived at the hospital with a gun, telling people he wanted to donate his organs. Police said Campbell was threatening people and refusing to give up when Bozarth and another officer opened fire.
