Police help tenants of Las Vegas condo complex told to move out due to change in management

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (FOX5) – FOX5 spoke in June with residents of the Desert Garden Condominiums who had no choice but to pack up and leave due to a change in property management .

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and other community groups stepped in to ensure residents had help in the relocation process.

“It was great, it was necessary, for sure, because I didn’t know what to do,” tenant Donald Woodward said.

Donald Woodward, a Navy veteran, was grateful that Las Vegas police knocked on his door to ask if he needed help after learning he would need to find a new place to live.

“Once the police officer came and spoke to me and informed me of what was going on, which direction we could go and who we could use to get help, that made it a lot easier and less stressful,” Woodward said.

“We were really concerned about what was going to happen with a lot of these people who are part of this community,” said Las Vegas Police Captain Timothy Hatchett.

LVMPD’s community-oriented policing team is focused on providing solutions to people facing unforeseen circumstances, just like tenants living in Desert Garden Condominiums when told they needed to move.

“They basically manage every individual who has special needs and they sort of manage them,” Hatchett said.

However, the Las Vegas police do not do it alone, as other groups also offer their services.

“It can be anything from housing, to helping American vets, to counseling, help with school needs, help with resources, help with food. I mean, you name it and we have suppliers here,” Hatchett said.

The condominium complex has approximately 148 units. Of these, LVMPD along with other service providers, including the Southern Nevada Housing Authority, Blue Cross and Nevada Legal Services, were able to help 92 people. Thirty-eight of them were in the process of obtaining temporary accommodation.

“Our community-based policing team actually helped a family of 15 children who were in one of these units,” Hatchett said.

If Las Vegas police and other organizations hadn’t stepped in to help, resident Dondald Woodward said he and others at the resort would have nowhere to go.

“We would be on the street and that’s what no one wants,” Woodward said.

The Las Vegas police and other community providers will continue to help tenants until everyone has been helped.

According to police, the department’s community policing team has been in existence for about a year.

Las Vegas police said no additional funding was needed for the team as they developed and trained existing officers on how to move the program forward.

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