One of Nevada's top cops—who provided training for law enforcement across the state—gave a master class in how not to act during a traffic stop when he was pulled over for distracted driving in a state vehicle on August 18.
Chief investigator for the office of Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, William Scott Jr.—a retired Las Vegas Metro Police Department (LVMPD) captain—did almost everything a person shouldn't do: arguing, name dropping, threatening retaliation, getting out of his vehicle to confront the traffic officer, and verbally berating and mocking the officer while using a homophobic slur.
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Ironically, one of the classes Scott teaches is "Preventing Police on Police Confrontations."
Scott was stopped by a Las Vegas Metro traffic officer for using his cell phone while driving, a violation of distracted driving laws across the country. In Nevada, it is illegal for drivers to "physically hold or manipulate a cell phone" for any communication, including "talking, texting, using the internet, or programming GPS."
Las Vegas CBS affiliate KLAS' 8 News Now broke the story last Wednesday, October 1.
In response to their report, Las Vegas Police Protective Association (LVPPA) union president Steve Grammas told KLAS the organization was "appalled and frankly, disgusted, with the choice of words used by a retired LVMPD captain."
Grammas added:
"While expressing displeasure with a car stop is the right of all people, using verbiage like we saw in the Body Worn Camera, by a former leader at LVMPD and current investigator at the attorney general’s office, toward an officer doing their job, is something that is extremely hard to comprehend."
"Holding his own personal judgment of our officer and using language the way he did should at minimum warrant a personal apology to our officer and potentially even an internal investigation by Attorney General Ford."
You can watch bodycam footage here:
When the officer asked for Scott's identification, he replied:
"I’m retired police captain with Metro—and I am the chief of investigations right now with AG’s Office."
Scott retired from LVMPD in 2019 and was appointed to his paid position with the Nevada AG's office in 2020.
As it became clear his name dropping and threat to call the LVMPD traffic officer's superior wasn't going to get him out of a ticket, Scott got verbally abusive.
After being given his ticket, Scott snapped:
"Bye, I have enough money to pay for mine, [f slur for gay men]!"
The officer replied:
"OK, very classy. I’m so glad that you’re retired and not with the department anymore."
Before news of his behavior broke, Scott's ticket for driving distracted was reduced to a parking violation with a fine of $119 by the Las Vegas Municipal Court.
Scott's LinkedIn profile states he teaches law enforcement classes including the aforementioned "Preventing Police on Police Confrontations,: as well as "Policing with Pride and Ethics in Leadership."
People were appalled that such a high ranking law enforcement official would behave in such a manner.
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When asked for comment on October 1, the state Attorney General’s office said they were conducting an investigation into Scott's behavior on August 18.
As of October 3, the AG's spokesperson stated Scott was "no longer employed" by their office.
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