Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley said Thursday that city officials are taking last week’s fatal shooting involving two city maintenance workers very seriously.
Asked about allegations that the two men had been embroiled in a months-long dispute that included multiple complaints to human resources, Berkley said the city would leave no rock unturned in its effort to determine what led to the shooting.
“We are working very closely with Metro, so we can figure out exactly what transpired and why,” Berkley said during a news conference at City Hall. “We need to make sure that it never happens again, and the only way that you do that is to find out exactly what transpired.”
The Metropolitan Police Department said city employee Brysen Kim, 31, fatally shot his co-worker, Joey McLean, 41, at a maintenance yard in the 400 block of North Seventh Street, near East Mesquite Avenue, around 6 a.m. Friday.
McLean died at the scene.
An arrest report for Kim said the issues between Kim and McLean “have been brewing for approximately six months, all of which involved HR.”
Witnesses told police on the morning of the shooting that Kim and McLean were arguing when Kim attacked McLean, then shot him in the head.
Melvin Segovia, the pair’s supervisor, told police McLean was a “complicated worker” who had been in multiple arguments with Kim.
Segovia told police McLean recently returned to work after a 15-day administrative leave for refusing to work. He refused to work because he’d complained that city vehicles weren’t safe to operate, police said.
“He estimated they have been to HR approximately five (5) to six (6) times for the incidents,” police said. “Melvin stated that, as their supervisor, he would take the complaints and email his supervisors, along with HR, outlining some of the issues.”
Segovia said McLean was accused of unlocking Kim’s tailgate on Kim’s work truck, causing the tailgate to strike Kim. McLean sent texts to Kim after hours accusing him of taking steroids, according to their supervisor.
Kim complained that human resources hadn’t done anything about McLean, police said. Police said there was a plan in place to have the men work at different locations moving forward, but the shooting happened before it could be implemented.
Berkley said during the news conference that before the shooting, she was unaware of the feud, as employee grievances often do not rise to the level of notifying the mayor. However, she said that when Metro completes its investigation, she and the city manager, Mike Jansen, will look for any internal changes needed within HR.
“I always talk about what a wonderful work environment the city is,” Berkley said. “As a matter of fact, I’ve had a lot of jobs throughout my life, and I never worked in an environment that is as warm and welcoming as the city is, particularly with our employees that we value so much, so this is particularly difficult.”
Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com
