EXCLUSIVE: Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo admits he ‘marginalized other communities’ as law enforcement officer

Democratic opponent Aaron Ford calls Lombardo’s remarks “disqualifying” and points to racial disparities in police use of force during his tenure as Clark County sheriff.

Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo admitted to having a mindset of marginalizing communities, prompting a rebuke from his Democratic opponent.

According to an audio of Lombardo’s remarks obtained by theGrio, the Republican governor and former sheriff of Clark County said that throughout his law enforcement career, he has “marginalized other communities.”

At a closed-door July 2 meeting with U.S. veterans, Lombardo, who assumed office as governor in 2023, asked how his leadership philosophy has evolved since leaving the Sheriff’s office. In response, Lombardo said, “When you…got two feet into whatever you’re doing in your life, you tend to marginalize other communities, right?…The majority of my career has been in law enforcement, right? And I marginalized other communities as a result of that mindset.”

Lombardo further elaborated, “Law enforcement officers look at society completely different than the rest of us, right? They think the majority of society is bad, right? Because that’s who they deal with on a daily basis. It’s very rare that you encounter individuals that just needs help.”

Lombardo is seeking re-election in the midterm elections on Nov. 3 against Democratic nominee Aaron Ford, the current attorney general of Nevada.

Ford, who made history as Nevada’s first Black AG and is aiming to become Nevada’s first Black governor, said in a statement provided to theGrio, “Joe Lombardo’s disdain for the people who elected him to serve is disqualifying. Every Nevada family deserves to feel safe in their neighborhood and to know officers will treat them fairly.”

The Democrat continued, “Under Lombardo, families in Clark County were torn apart, and non-deadly use of force against Black people went up; his efforts to marginalize communities of color have caused severe damage to public safety and relationships between the community and law enforcement. That doesn’t make anyone safer.”

The Lombardo campaign did not immediately respond to a request by theGrio for comment on his remarks.

A report issued by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in 2021 shows that the use of non-deadly force by its officers surged by 22% over the previous five years of Joe Lombardo’s leadership as Clark County sheriff. Black people were the subjects of 43% of non-deadly use-of-force incidents, even though they made up only 12% of the population in Las Vegas. 

Black Americans have a long and well-documented history of being overpoliced dating back decades, and have been the victims of racial profiling and police brutality in cities across the country.

“As Nevada’s top law enforcement officer, my top priority is to keep every Nevadan safe — regardless of their personal identity,” Ford told theGrio. “As Governor, I’ll give law enforcement the training and tools to stop violent crime, hold dangerous offenders accountable, and rebuild trust in every neighborhood.”

The Democratic gubernatorial nominee, whom Lombardo has previously called a “crook” and “bad guy,” added, “Safety that only reaches some of us isn’t safety. Unlike Lombardo, I will stand up for the entire Nevada family, because the law works only when it protects everyone.”