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As I’ve said on other threads, and gotten heat from the cop-lovers for: The LVMPD has a history, and it isn’t good.

They’re not exactly the most professional force out there, and they have a history of hating CCW licensees. Their actions during the legislative hearings when Nevada went to a shall-issue CCW system showed that they were either:

a) stupid. I’m talking “as stupid as a truckload of stump holes” stupid here. Flagrant stupidity about firearms safety that calls into question their competence to possess and use same.
b) mendacious.
c) Both of the above.

They were happily sweeping the legislature with the scary guns they were pulling out of their paper shopping bag at the hearing. They were making absurd claims about what people would be packing with a CCW - showing off things like one of those sub-gun wanna-be pistols, and from where I was sitting, it looked like a Tec-9. This was their scare tactic to get gun registration on the CCW card - that you could qualify with only two types of handguns, and the LVMPD wanted the make, model and serial number of the gun which you were “qualified to use” on your CCW license. LVMPD is still the driving force behind limiting CCW’s as much as possible, and their most recent tactic is to refuse reciprocity based on their criteria.

One thing that many out-of-Vegas CCW holders don’t know is that Las Vegas requires you to register your handgun:

http://www.lvmpd.com/permits/firearms_registration.html

I would NB for those who are unfamiliar with the history of this in Las Vegas spoken to by this:

“If a board of county commissioners in a county whose population is 400,000 or more has required by ordinance or regulation adopted before June 13, 1989, the registration of a firearm capable of being concealed, the board of county commissioners shall amend such an ordinance or regulation to require:”

The Nevada Revised Statutes are riddled with these “county whose population is XXX” clauses to tailor statutes to Clark only, Clark & Washoe, or Clark, Washoe, Ormsby (now called Carson City) counties.

The county code used to read that if you were in Clark County for more than 24 hours and you had a handgun with you, you had to register it. If you did not register your handgun while in Vegas/Clark County (regardless of where you were from, whether you had a CCW, etc), and you got into any issue with the LEO’s in Vegas and could not show a “blue card,” they popped you for an unregistered firearm. This was their “get back at the rural counties” thing, and wholly inspired by their mob connections. This was changed in 2007 to the language you see today.

The rest of the state LEO’s with whom I’ve talked are supportive of CCW’s, and I’ve been stopped by cow counties’ LEO’s when I’ve had loaded handguns in the car, in full view. Never, ever had a problem. Every LEO warned me tho, that “while it is legal... do NOT drive around with a handgun in plain view in Vegas... because being legal and dead just doesn’t work out too well.” In Nevada, you can drive around with a loaded handgun in your car in plain view (ie, not concealed), or locked out of view without a CCW. As soon as you have a loaded handgun in a car on your person, you’d better have a CCW.

NB that none of this constitutes legal advice. North Las Vegas and Boulder are known to have their own codes WRT firearms.

LVMPD has a history. This incident is entirely consonant with their history. Guys like Neville are right in line with the mendacious stupidity I’ve seen from LVMPD in the past.

In Nevada, you can drive around with a loaded handgun in your car in plain view (ie, not concealed), or locked out of view without a CCW. As soon as you have a loaded handgun in a car on your person, you’d better have a CCW.

I think you've got a typo here or something. It's not very clear.

In a car, in plain view, a loaded handgun on the seat beside you when you're driving... you need a CCW or not?

It used to be not. When I lived in LV years ago I used to go target shooting "outside of town" (in quotes because those areas are now inside of town, such has the town grown).

My brother, who still lives there and doesn't have a CCW, was driving to a range a few years ago and had a gun on his front seat and made a questionable left turn. A couple of motorcycle cops pulled up beside him to pull him over and saw the gun and went hysterical and ballistic, yelling at him to whatever (I forget the details)... but they didn't shoot him and he ended up going on his way with his gun still on his front seat. I don't even think he got a ticket. He says it's because they were sheepish at their own over-reaction. I don't know. I wasn't there.

As far as their "history" goes, you're probably right, though I don't have anything specific to add about that.