=Nevada salons, barbers are closed. But these officers can get haircuts==

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Despite a statewide shutdown that forced Nevada hair salons and barbershops to close, Las Vegas police officers can still have their hair cut this week at department headquarters and police substations.

The special arrangements were apparently approved by Gov. Steve Sisolak, according to a Las Vegas Police Protective Association memo obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The memo notes that the police union’s president and Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo have been in contact with Sisolak about the haircuts “due to department grooming standards.”

“None of these barbers or stylists will be in jeopardy of having sanctions imposed against them during this rare occurrence,” the memo reads.

In a statement, Sisolak’s office told the Review-Journal that the governor has been in contact with Lombardo regarding officer grooming standards, but noted “they are in agreement that bringing in stylists and barbers does not help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in Nevada.”

“In a past discussion with the union, the Governor expressed this same position,” the statement continues. “He was not aware of the memo being sent out by LVPPA.”

At least 19 barbers and hairdressers are offering Las Vegas police officers their services this week at various department properties, according to the union memo, including at the Clark County Detention Center and McCarran International Airport, where some officers are stationed.

“We will be practicing all social distancing guidelines,” the memo also reads, noting that the department will provide hairdressers and barbers with masks and gloves. “When you come in please make sure you wash your hands and sanitize before your appointment.”

The Metropolitan Police Department declined to comment, describing the haircuts as an “event” coordinated by the police union and referring any questions to the union. Steve Grammas, the union president, did not return a request for comment.

Salons closed

When Sisolak in March ordered that all nonessential businesses shut down, his directive affected “all salons that deliver hair, nail, skin, or other beauty-related services, regardless of square footage size of the business location,” according to a Nevada Board of Cosmetology memo dated March 18.

“The directive does not allow in-home beauty services,” the memo noted. “The directive is for your health and safety, along with the health and safety of your clients and co-workers.”

The cosmetology board also noted in the memo that sanitizer and disinfectant products are in short supply, and that without those essentials, “the risk of infection increases.”

The Nevada Barbers’ Health and Sanitation Board, which separately oversees barbering in the state, issued a similar memo after Sisolak’s order, noting that the directive “does not allow you to work at home or make house calls.”

“Please understand that this is for your own health and safety and the safety of our community,” the memo continues.

About 1,600 people in Nevada hold barber licenses, according to the barber board.

Separately, about 16,600 people in the state hold cosmetology licenses, which means they can offer hair, nail and skin services, according to the cosmetology board. In addition, about 750 can specifically offer hair services as licensed hair designers.

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‘Anywhere that is convenient’

Metro in March canceled social visits at the county jail, and on Monday, the department announced in a news release that the department is “limiting outside providers coming into detention facilities” as part of a series of enhanced measures to protect inmates.

In the union memo, officers were advised that to receive a haircut, they did not have to go the location where they typically report for duty, but instead could go “anywhere that is convenient to you” on the list of scheduled locations, including the detention center.

The haircuts are available to both men and women, with at least one hairdresser offering services only to women. It’s unclear if Las Vegas police grooming guidelines point to specific haircut requirements for women. A records request for a copy of any related policy was not immediately fulfilled.

Each haircut costs $25, according to the memo, and officers were instructed to pay hairdressers or barbers in “CASH ONLY” for unspecified reasons. The memo notes “first priority will be given to commissioned officers.”

Selection process

It’s unclear how the department selected which hairdressers can offer services at Metro properties this week. The memo included no information about an application process, noting only that the union “reached out to hairdressers/barbers to see if they would be willing” to provide haircuts at Metro properties.

Questions about whether the available hairdressers had any client history with Las Vegas police or any personal relation to any Las Vegas police officers were not answered.

The department also did not answer whether Metro considered relaxing department grooming guidelines amid the pandemic.

https://www.reviewjournal.com/investigations/nevada-salons-barbers-are-closed-but-these-officers-can-get-haircuts-2001566/

Despite COVID-19 restrictions, Hialeah chief orders haircuts for cops at a local shop

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Hialeah Police Chief Sergio Velazquez — a big believer that good grooming and good policing go hand in hand — worked out an arrangement with a local shop, Tony’s Barberia, to trim the hair and beards of cops, according to a memo sent to his department Tuesday.

Trouble is, under county and state coronavirus restrictions, keeping up officer appearances may also be breaking the law.

When Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez issued an emergency order for all non-essential businesses to shut down on March 19 to prevent the spread of COVID-19, barbershops were explicitly named as one of the shuttered services. A subsequent statewide stay-at-home order issued April 1 by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also did not make an exception for barbershops.

But there was no mention of that in the chief’s original memo, which was provided to the Herald. He stressed that grooming standards would not be relaxed, adding that protective masks fit better on neatly shaven faces — a point also stressed by health experts.

In a follow-up statement Wednesday, Velazquez argued that scruffy cops send the wrong message to the public: “Particularly in these unprecedented times of a global health pandemic which has caused tension and anxiety and disruption in our community, it is imperative that our law enforcement Officers project an image of command and authority.”

Earlier in the day, after the Herald first inquired about the grooming memo, Velazquez seemed to back off, issuing another memo without explanation that said simply: “The below has been rescinded.”

But in a statement a few hours later, he sounded still set on keeping his force well groomed. He defended his original memo and said he had the authority to issue that directive and did not acknowledge his subsequent decision to rescind it. Velazquez told the Herald that even though grooming services may be non-essential to the general public, “it is essential that our Officers be able to access these services as required by Departmental general orders.”

He did not immediately clarify what the department’s final order was on grooming during the pandemic.

In his original memo, the chief told officers there had been no relaxation of appearance or uniform standards. To get their hair and beards trimmed, he wrote, officers would need only to show city identification at Tony’s Barberia. The shop was to begin offering its services Wednesday with plans to be open from Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Three Hialeah city council members reached by phone Wednesday said they were unaware of any arrangement between police and Tony’s Barberia. Council member Oscar De la Rosa said he didn’t know about it until he was told by a Herald reporter.

“We have to be very careful with gatherings and which businesses are open,” De la Rosa said. “Obviously we have to promote small businesses, but right now, we want to make sure that the public … is taken care of.”

Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernandez did not respond to a request for comment.

A Hialeah police officer who asked to remain anonymous said the memo was real. He also said it seemed a bit strange because proper grooming has “never been an issue before.”

“Some guys wear their hair a little long. I haven’t had a haircut in a month, I’m going nuts,” the officer said.

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Reached by phone Wednesday, a man named Lazaro said he was the owner of Tony’s Barberia. He said at least two officers had already received haircuts prior to the chief’s decision to cancel the plan.

Lazaro said his barbers wore masks and gloves and that customers were instructed to wait for their turn outside the store. Asked about the county order to close barbershops, Lazaro said he was unaware and that “nobody told us.”

“We are taking precautions to serve the Hialeah police,” he said.

The memo from Velazquez on Tuesday said the barbershop “will be operating within the social distance rules and use of PPE,” but it didn’t make any reference to county and state orders requiring non-essential businesses to close.

As of Wednesday, Hialeah police said only one officer had tested positive for COVID-19, the deadly infection caused by the novel coronavirus.

Other local police departments reached Wednesday said facial grooming hadn’t even come up as an issue.

Miami-Dade Police Benevolent Association President Steadman Stahl, who represents the largest police staff in the Southeast U.S., said uniformed officers are usually not permitted to have beards, but that the policy is being relaxed during the pandemic.

Ron Papier, deputy police chief in Miami, said there is also a no-beard policy for his department’s 1,300 sworn police officers. But the issue of officers being publicly groomed during the pandemic has not come up.

Florida Division of Emergency Management spokesman Jason Mahon said the state doesn’t mandate any grooming practices for local law enforcement.

“We encourage all Floridians, including first responders to follow social distancing guidelines as much as possible and to heed the directions in all Executive Orders,” Mahon said in an email.

The leaked memo was sent to Hialeah police on the same day the city made national headlines over images that showed hundreds of residents lining up side-by-side to pick up paper applications to file for unemployment benefits. At least one of the four designated drive-thru sites had packed crowds lined up outside, and videos showed residents were not keeping proper distance stipulated by federal authorities.

Hialeah, the sixth-largest city in Florida with around 238,000 residents, has the third-most confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state: 637 as of Wednesday morning.