Sasha Larkin’s career in law enforcement is a testament to the power of resilience and determination. In a field where women remain underrepresented, especially in leadership roles, Larkin has defied the odds, forging a path for others to follow. Through her experiences, she has not only broken barriers but also redefined what it means to be a leader in law enforcement, advocating for wellness, transparency and the importance of mentorship for female police officers.
In this Q&A, Larkin, who recently retired after serving as assistant sheriff for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, discusses pivotal moments in her career, as well as her advice for women looking to enter law enforcement or advance their police careers.
You just retired as an Assistant Sheriff for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department where you were responsible for Homeland Security and Investigative Services. Eighteen hundred people worked beneath you. Before that, you spent several years as a deputy chief and a captain. What would you consider the defining point of your career?
October 1, 2017. 10:05 pm. The Route 91 Harvest music festival across from the Mandalay Bay Hotel. I was there for 20 hours straight. It was the most tragic and horrific night for all of us. A colleague was killed, and others were shot.
Can you describe the scene?
If you remember, the shooter fired more than 1,000 rounds from the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay. He had more than 12 long guns with bump stocks. I was captain of the Northwest Area Command. I got there in about 12-15 minutes after getting the call. The scene was tragic. Dozens were dead and hundreds were injured. People were running everywhere. It was incredibly chaotic.
I remember it being very windy. Thousands of dollars were blowing around, knocked out of tip jars. My role was to oversee evacuation, secure the scene, look for secondary assailants, search for survivors and confirm the deceased.
Thinking back on it, it was extraordinary on so many levels. My first thought after I had some distance was, how did we miss this? We spent years dissecting it.
How did you and your team recover from that?
The mental and emotional trauma on our people was tremendous. The sheriff took phenomenal care of us. He brought in trauma specialists to help us. We’d never had to look at trauma like this before.
More recently, I’ve tried to emphasize wellness both for myself and my team. I had a strong workout discipline before I entered law enforcement, but I didn’t know the importance of talking or therapy. In the past two years, I’ve started acupuncture, oxygen chambers and juicing because of accumulated trauma.
It is incumbent on leadership to normalize wellness and therapy to help officers shed layers of trauma and process it. It has to start at the top. There are so many resources, you can do it anonymously. We’ve removed the stigma.
What lessons did you learn from that horrific night?
There were several. We realized that hotels should have go bags for police. The bags should contain radios so we can talk to their security staff and proximity cards so we can access elevators without an escort. They should also contain a map of the hotel and some basic first aid provisions, such as tourniquets.
We also advised hotels to establish new practices or update older ones. For example, hotels shouldn’t wait days to check on a guest when housekeeping can’t enter their room, which Mandalay Bay did with the festival shooter. Nor should they let patrons use freight elevators. He brought many of his weapons up on freight elevators, sometimes with the assistance of hotel staff. He was smart only bringing up a few at a time. Otherwise, it would have raised suspicion.
How would you encourage women considering a career in law enforcement or trying to advance their careers?
With the 30x30 Initiative (30% female U.S. law enforcement officers by 2030), there’s never been a better time for women in law enforcement. One big barrier is the misconception about balancing motherhood, if that’s what you choose, and a career. You can do it. It’s not easy. You have to put boundaries in place, establish a support network, have a plan and stay true to that plan.
Assistant Sheriff Sendoff!
— LVMPD (@LVMPD) May 25, 2024
We want to wish Assistant Sheriff Sasha Larkin the best as she retires from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. She joined the department in 1999 and served this community for 25 years.
Thank you for your dedication and leadership! pic.twitter.com/OyasePhlfK
What’s your top suggestion for women preparing for leadership roles in law enforcement?
First, your work ethic has to be uncompromising. I don’t pretend to be the smartest. I get in earlier, stay later and work harder.
Second, you need the courage to make uncomfortable decisions, have uncomfortable conversations and try things that might fail.
Third, you must have a deep passion for the mission, ensuring that your community stays safe from harm. It’s this commitment that drives me to get out of bed at 4:30 a.m. every day, ready to make a difference.
Fourth, we should make ourselves visible to the public. We have held community events to show that law enforcement is diverse — we are mothers, sisters and daughters.
We must also operate with transparency and humanity. We have to inject humanity into every transaction we have. It’s the fiber of what we do.
What’s one change needed to support women’s advancement in law enforcement over the next decade?
Mentoring and development is essential. I try to mentor every woman I can. In 2008 I helped create Women of Metro, a mentorship group of women in policing.
I try to personally mentor anyone I can. I’m working with one woman who I’m sure will be the first woman in SWAT. She’s badass and deserves it. Other women have passed one or two parts of the test to become a SWAT officer — firearms proficiency and personal interview. No one has mastered the obstacle course. I think she’ll be the first. Years ago, I tried and didn’t succeed.
You did OK for yourself running the entire SWAT unit!
I’m so grateful. Although I was never able to become a member of the team, the universe brought me back in the most profound way.
