Joe Lombardo

Joseph Michael Lombardo (born November 8, 1962) is an American politician and former law enforcement officer serving since 2023 as the 31st governor of Nevada.

The son of a United States Air Force veteran, Lombardo was born in Sapporo, Japan, on November 8, 1962.

Born in Japan, Lombardo moved to Las Vegas in 1976 and holds degrees from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

He lived in Japan for over a decade before moving to Las Vegas in 1976.

Lombardo graduated from Rancho High School in 1980.

Lombardo attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, from which he received a bachelor of science in civil engineering and a master of science in crisis management.

After graduating from high school in 1980, Lombardo joined the United States Army.

During his time in the Army, he served in the Nevada National Guard and in the United States Army Reserve.

He ended his military service in 1986.

He served in the United States Army before becoming an officer in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in 1988.

Lombardo joined the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department as an officer in 1988.

He rose through the ranks, becoming a sergeant in 1996, a lieutenant in 2001, and a captain in 2006.

Lombardo had made appearances on the TV show Cops during the early 2000s.

He also completed the 227th session of the FBI National Academy in 2006.

Lombardo also sat on the board of directors of the LVMPD Foundation from 2007 to 2014.

He was promoted to assistant sheriff in 2011.

As assistant sheriff, Lombardo was in charge of the law enforcement services group, which included the department's divisions in charge of technical services, information technology, radio systems and professional standards.

On December 4, 2013, Lombardo announced his candidacy for sheriff of Clark County to succeed the retiring Doug Gillespie.

He won the primary election and narrowly defeated the Democratic nominee, retired LVMPD captain Larry Burns, in the November 4 general election.

He was elected sheriff in 2014 and reelected in 2018.

He retired from the police force after 26 years of service and stepped down from the foundation's board of directors in 2014 after being elected sheriff.

A member of the Republican Party, he was the 17th sheriff of Clark County from 2015 to 2023, capping a 34-year career in law enforcement.

Lombardo took office on January 5, 2015.

As sheriff he was head of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the combined law enforcement agency of Las Vegas and Clark County and Nevada's largest law enforcement agency, overseeing more than 5,000 officers.

After becoming sheriff, Lombardo began the decentralization of LVMPD's detective operations, shifting detective operations from centralized crime-specific units to distribution of detectives throughout LVMPD area commands.

In 2016, Lombardo connected the Las Vegas crime increase to a California law called Proposition 47, which is meant to reduce prison overcrowding.

Later that year, he responded to questions about a recent spike of violent crimes in Las Vegas, saying that the surge "keeps me up at night".

He later disagreed with FBI director James Comey's statement attributing a recent spike in violent crimes in Las Vegas to a so-called Ferguson effect.

In December 2016, Lombardo supported a high-capacity magazine ban, a call supported by the Las Vegas Sun editorial board.

As sheriff, he oversaw the investigation into the 2017 Las Vegas shooting.

He won the Republican nomination for governor of Nevada in 2022 and defeated incumbent Democratic governor Steve Sisolak in the general election; he took office on January 2, 2023.

By February 2017, Lombardo had concluded that the number of homicides in Las Vegas increased by an average of 20 each year.

In September 2017, following the arrest of Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett in Las Vegas, Lombardo dismissed Bennett's allegations that two police officers who arrested him used excessive force and made vulgar threats, claiming video evidence of the arrest did not corroborate the allegations.

Following the 2017 Las Vegas shooting at Mandalay Bay and Route 91 Harvest, in which 59 people died and 527 were injured—the deadliest mass shooting in the modern U.S. history—Lombardo oversaw the investigation into the shooting and into the perpetrator, Stephen Paddock.

Lombardo won the 2018 primary election with 73% of the vote, defeating four challengers.

He was sworn in to a second term on January 4, 2019, and during the ceremony touted an expansion of the LVMPD's staff levels during his tenure (an increase of more than 900 officers and 280 corrections officers).

Later that year, Lombardo's department issued a report recommending many changes to improve the police response to future critical incidents.

In June 2020, amid the George Floyd protests, the LVMPD arrested six people observing a protest along the Las Vegas Strip.

Governor Steve Sisolak called for an investigation.

Lombardo defended the department's actions by releasing body-cam videos of the six engaging in "antagonizing behavior" and obstructing officers.