Publisher’s note: Four people are running for the position of sheriff of Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. Their profiles will run May 4 and May 5.

Dan Coverley

Name: Dan Coverley

Age: 48 years old

Occupation: I am the administration captain with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. My office is in Stateline in the judicial building.

What groups, nonprofits, other civic involvement are you part of outside of work?: I am a member of the FBI National Academy Associates, I am a member of the Douglas/Carson Chapter of the Nevada Farm Bureau, member of the Nevada Cattleman’s Association, member of the Carson Valley Roping Club, soccer coach with the Carson Valley Soccer Club U-17 girls, member of the Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce, board member of the Family Support Council and board member of the Douglas County Partnership of Community Recourses.

What is your opinion about teachers having guns at school?: I believe that arming teachers is an option, but the level of training that should be required to be armed while at school should be on the level of a sworn law enforcement officer. If the individual teacher and school district is able and willing to participate and provide that level of training, then arming teachers is an option. I believe a better option is to provide sworn officers at the schools to serve as school resource officers. I also believe the relationship between the sheriff’s office and the school district needs to be strong and open lines of communication must exist in order to share information to stop violent threats that my occur. Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Douglas County School District currently have an excellent relationship and I would work to enhance and strengthen that relationship.

Vacation rentals are allowed at Lake Tahoe. Should they be allowed everywhere in Douglas County? Why or why not?: I believe that vacation rentals should be allowed in Douglas County.

How best to enforce vacation home rental regulations?: I also think that there should be an ordinance which would regulate the rentals. The ordinance should address disturbance complaints such as loud parties or excessive noise late at night or early in the morning. Also parking should be addressed to limit the number of vehicles allowed at each rental so as to not obstruct or prevent homeowner’s access or emergency vehicles, specifically fire trucks and ambulances.   rental owner who has numerous noise or parking complaints should be subject to a fine. Permanent residence should not have to suffer because their neighbor is a vacation rental. 

Why do you want to be sheriff?: Douglas County is a wonderful place to live and raise a family. I want to do everything I can to ensure that Douglas County stays the great place it is. The sheriff’s office plays a vital role in the safety and security of the residents and the quality of life we all enjoy. The sheriff is the only local law enforcement office in the Douglas County. As such the sheriff’s office must have and maintain the best relationship with the community as it can. The sheriff holds a key position in fostering and maintaining that good relationship. I believe I can continue and improve the good relationship that the sheriff’s office currently enjoys with the citizens of Douglas County. I have been a cop for 23 years, 21 years with Douglas County. I have worked in every division and held every rank up to captain. As sheriff I will work hard as I have always done as a deputy to keep the Douglas County safe and provide the best law enforcement service to the citizens. 

Why should someone vote for you over someone else?: The current sheriff, Ron Pierini, has endorsed me as his choice to be sheriff. I have received the endorsement of the deputies, South Lake Tahoe Police Department and the Tahoe Douglas Fire District. I believe I have received these endorsements due to the relationships I have developed with the men and women who work for the sheriff’s office and those agencies. I will use those collaborative relationships to be effective in enforcing the law and keeping the residents safe, thus ensuring the quality of life we have to come to know and love.

How are you going to deal with people driving under the influence of marijuana?: Driving while under the influence of any substance which may impair your ability to safely operate a motor vehicle is illegal.  Marijuana, while legal in Nevada up to an ounce, will be treated just like alcohol. Drivers who are contacted and based on their driving pattern, physical demeanor and the results of field sobriety tests, and are deemed to be impaired will be arrested in accordance with Nevada law. The legalization of marijuana just made it legal to use and possess in your home, but it did not make it legal to be under the influence and drive.

What do believe is needed for a good relationship between the sheriff’s department and county commissioners?: A good relationship between the sheriff and the county commissioners starts with developing a good relationship with them individually. It is maintained with good communication and an attitude of cooperation. The sheriff is a constitutionally elected official and as such, has autonomy and does not work for the commissioners, but does need to work with them as well as all county departments and other elected officials. 

If the commissioners cut your budget by 10 percent, what program or people would you cut? Please be specific.: If the budget was cut by 10 percent, I would have to cut personnel and equipment. I would eliminate the PIO position and one youth services deputy. I would also reduce the vehicle budget and make do with the vehicles we currently have, without replacing old vehicles in the fleet. Any cuts in the budget would almost certainly affect personnel, which is currently 80 percent of our budget.

What is your relationship with businesses at Lake Tahoe that work with the sheriff’s department on various events? If anything, what would you consider changing?: As the administration captain and having my office at the lake, I serve as a liaison between the sheriff’s office and the Lake Tahoe community. I have worked closely with the LTVA coordinating special events such as Celebrity Golf Tournament, Amgen bike race, Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve celebration. I also work closely with individual businesses to include, Harrah’s-Harveys, Hard Rock Casino, MontBleu, Zephyr Cove, Lakeside Inn and Edgewood who all host special events each year. I have worked with the Catholic church on Elks Point Road, Presbyterian Conference Center, Heavenly and the Ridge. I work closely with Tahoe Douglas Fire District, TRPA and all GIDs with any issues that come up. The only change I would make is to strengthen the relationship with lake business and community. The lake is a unique community in Douglas County that depends on tourism to a large extent. People need to feel safe so they will continue to visit and spend their vacation money in Douglas County.

Deputies use targets to practice marksmanship. Is there a better way to train people so not so many unarmed people are being shot? Please elaborate.: As a member of our range staff I feel we have an excellent firearms training program. All deputies qualify with all weapons four times a year. Three of the four qualifications are daytime shoots and one is a nighttime shoot. Non-mandatory firearms training is provided to all members of the sheriff’s office in the months between the mandatory qualifications.  Force on force training is provided utilizing less lethal munitions to put the individual deputy in a scenario of a shoot, no shoot situation to help them make the correct deadly force decision. We also use a firearms simulator to provide realistic training that requires the deputy to interact with the scenario.

If you could make the rules for New Year’s Eve at Stateline, what would they be?: As the incident commander for the last three years at Stateline during New Year’s I have worked closely with the Stateline casinos to ensure the event is safe for the celebrants, property owners and deputies. Douglas County prohibits bottles or cans on the street during the event. The casinos and restaurants cooperate by only serving alcohol in plastic containers. The sheriff’s office has taken a non-confrontational approach to policing the event, which has led to fewer arrests and less problems with the public. The event itself has changed and is not as well attended as it has been in the past, largely due to the SnowGlobe event in South Lake Tahoe.

Douglas County sheriff’s deputies make less than South Lake Tahoe police officers and El Dorado County sheriff’s deputies. Does this hamper efforts to recruit employees? Do you believe deputies should be paid more? Why or why not? If yes, how would you go about getting them more money?: Recruitment in law enforcement is always tough and competing with neighboring agencies that pay more doesn’t help. The sheriff does not set the wage or benefits package of the employees. That is done by the employees through their individual bargaining units. I believe the sheriff should be supportive of the deputies as they negotiate for the best contract that they can get. I think deputies should be paid a competitive wage that allows them to afford to live in the area they work.

What is lacking in the department right now in terms of personnel or equipment or other resources? How would you address those needs?: The sheriff’s office has done a good job keeping up with the advances in technology utilized in current law enforcement agencies. One item I will work hard at getting is license plate readers in both the valley and the lake. This will assist us in locating wanted persons, persons of interest in local crimes, potential terrorist threats and to locate and identify stolen vehicles. It allows us to know who is entering our community, which will help keep it safe especially during special events that are common at the lake. 

What do you think is the biggest issue facing Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and how do you plan to resolve it?: The biggest issue facing the sheriff’s office is the opioid epidemic. Heroin is much more prevalent in Douglas County than it was even 10 years ago. Heroin is a devastating drug that has a ripple effect with regards to crime in a community. The sheriff’s office must aggressively work to keep this drug at a minimum. The issue must be attacked on the patrol level by identifying users and possession, on the investigative level to identify sellers and traffickers and by education of youth to prevent use of the drug. 

Body cameras are about to be required throughout Nevada. What are the pros and cons?: I believe the pros of bodycams vastly outweigh the cons. Bodycams will aid in the prosecution of cases, transparency with the public and protect the deputies from false accusations. The cons are the cost of the program that the department has to absorb and the storage of the data. I believe they are a good thing and are worth the cost and any potential difficulties they may create.

Tell us something about yourself that people might not already know?: I have a twin brother who is an Idaho state trooper.