By Akiya Dillon
Las Vegas Review-Journal
LAS VEGAS —The police union voted against his ability to lead the police department, alleging nepotism and patterns of retaliatory behavior. The city fired him two months later. Now, the former Mesquite police chief, Maquade Chesley, is suing.
The complaint, filed in federal court on Monday, said the city of Mesquite fired Chesley without a pre- or post-termination hearing and refused to meet with him to discuss his appeal.
Additionally, the lawsuit alleged that the city violated a state statute, more commonly known as the Peace Officer Bill of Rights, as it conducted an internal investigation into allegations of misconduct against Chesley.
“In using a non-peace officer and failing to provide required notifications when completing investigations into Plaintiff’s alleged misconduct, Defendant City willfully and knowingly violated” the law, according to the suit.
“In failing to permit Plaintiff to review the complete investigation file and to provide a written response before imposing punitive action, Defendant City willfully and knowingly violated” the law, the suit said, alleging that the city acted in bad faith.
Chesley was fired on Jan. 21, according to the lawsuit and a previous emailed statement from Mesquite City Manager Edward “Owen” Dickie. In December, a lawyer for the city’s police union told the Review-Journal that Chesley had been placed on administrative leave.
The lawsuit said Chesley had worked for the Mesquite Police Department since 2007.
“Maquade Chesley’s employment as the Chief of Police for the City of Mesquite was terminated. The city will have no further comment on this matter at this time,” Dickie said last month.
No confidence vote
The development followed a vote of no confidence held against the chief in late November. Andrew Regenbaum, executive director of the Nevada Association of Public Safety Officers, told the City Council in its Nov. 26 meeting that the Mesquite Police Officers Association had held a vote of no confidence and that a “strong majority” had voted against Chesley’s ability to lead the Mesquite Police Department.
Back then, the MPOA alleged, among other things, that Chesley had created a hostile work environment. However, the city declined to share the reason(s) behind its decision to terminate Chesley.
However, a Jan. 21 letter from Dickie to Chesley, which was submitted as an exhibit, or evidence for the lawsuit, described events leading up to the chief’s firing.
The letter, titled “Notice of Intent to Terminate,” said Chesley had been accused the week prior of secretly recording a private conversation in June 2024 . An investigation into the allegation produced “three credible statements” confirming them, Dickie wrote.
“As you are aware, surreptitious recording of a private conversation is a felony in the State of Nevada,” Dickie said in the letter.
Chesley will appeal, lawyer says
Another exhibit showed that Chesley’s lawyer, Ron Dreher, emailed the city’s HR director to say that Chesley “vehemently and specifically denies violating any statute or policy related to the accusation in the notice.” Dreher also said that he and his client would appeal the termination.
Mesquite City Attorney Mike Branum responded to Dreher’s email, saying Chesley failed to report to meetings with the City Manager and Mayor on Jan. 21, according to the lawsuit’s exhibits.
“Mr. Chesley’s failure to report during normal business hours to scheduled meetings with his immediate supervisor and the Mesquite City Mayor constituted two separate incidents of insubordination sufficient to terminate Mr. Chesley’s employment. Had he presented himself, he could have offered his defenses to the underlying credible allegations of felonious conduct,” Branum said.
Federal court records also show that Dreher applied for a temporary restraining order against the city of Mesquite on Chesley’s behalf.
Chief Judge Andrew P. Gordon will hear a motion for the temporary restraining order on Monday, Jan. 10 , the documents said. Meanwhile, Mesquite City Council is scheduled to consider Chesley’s “character, misconduct, competence, or health” and ratify his termination during a closed session on Tuesday, Jan. 11, according to an agenda on the city’s website.
When asked about the allegations made in the lawsuit, Dickie said on Thursday that the city “is unable to make comment on matters which are the subject of ongoing litigation.”
—
Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com
©2025 Las Vegas Review-Journal. Visit reviewjournal.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
