The sister of former Henderson police Chief Hollie Chadwick said Tuesday that she believes the public will eventually know more about why Chadwick was fired.
For now, said Las Vegas resident Cristi Chadwick Gatten, family members are waiting for answers.
On Feb. 13, the city announced Chadwick, the chief of the Henderson Police Department since 2023, had been put on leave. On March 6, the city announced Chadwick had been fired, though it didn’t shed much light about why.
“Since all this started, we’ve stuck together as a family and we’ve all been standing up in support of Chief Chadwick,” Chadwick Gatten said during a phone interview with the Review-Journal. “We’ve been waiting for the city to provide transparency and they’ve failed miserably to do that. When this happened, it was a complete surprise.”
During a Henderson City Council meeting Tuesday, the first since the announcement of Chadwick’s dismissal, there was not a police chief-related item on the agenda.
Three people spoke in support of Chadwick during a public comment period, but members of the City Council did not address the vacancy. Councilwoman Carrie Cox and Henderson City Manager Stephanie Garcia-Vause were not in attendance at the meeting.
After the meeting, Henderson Mayor Michelle Romero was asked about what will come next in the city’s search for a new police chief.
‘Up to the city manager’
“That’s up to the city manager,” Romero said. “She will make it public. She will release what the next steps will be and the involvement of the community. There’s always ways for the community, and for certain groups interested in what’s happening, to come in and be a part of the process. The city manager will articulate what that will be.”
While Chadwick Gatten did not attend Tuesday’s meeting, she did provide a statement to the council, which was read by Henderson resident and Chadwick family friend Jeani Adams.
“It is evident that this decision was not based on performance or misconduct, but rather on a difference in leadership styles,” Adams read from the prepared statement. “That is not, and should never be, a justifiable reason for termination — especially for someone who has given so much to this department and this community.”
In fact, in her public letter announcing Chadwick’s firing, Garcia-Vause did say that “vision and leadership styles” between the two were “not aligned.”
Garcia-Vause, in the letter, added that the decision “was not based upon any finding of specific misconduct by Chief Chadwick” and was not made “for cause.”
Sister believes more details will come out
Chadwick Gatten said she believes there are more details about the separation that will eventually become public.
“The truth will reveal itself in time,” she said.
Chadwick started as a police officer in Henderson in 2002. She was named police chief in May 2023.
Along with Adams and one other Chadwick supporter, Jeff Crampton, a Henderson real estate agent who previously served as a civilian board member for the Henderson Police Association, also addressed the council during public comment.
“Where there reasons for (Chadwick) being fired?” Crampton asked the council members. “Is there a plan to bring in a civilian consultant to supervise HPD, as is rumored?”
To that, Romero addressed Crampton by stating that council members cannot speak during the public comment portion of city council meetings.
Garcia-Vause previously stated that she plans to hire the new chief from within the department. For now, Henderson Deputy Chief Itzhak Henn is in the role of acting chief.
Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X.
