The Henderson Police Department did not formally notify the City Council of an inmate’s December 2024 death until two months later, violating a state reporting requirement, according to the city.

The department, then led by Chief Hollie Chadwick, was required to report the death within 48 hours, a city spokesperson said.

Chadwick, who was fired as Henderson police chief in March 2025, is now running for mayor of Henderson against incumbent Michelle Romero.

“Under former Chief Chadwick’s leadership, the department was not in compliance with the NRS notification protocol,” said the spokesperson, who did not provide their name, in a Sept. 24 email.

NRS is short for Nevada Revised Statutes, or the state’s laws. NRS 211.117 states that the person appointed to administer a city jail is required to report a prisoner’s death to the city’s governing body within 48 hours. The Henderson Detention Center is operated by the Henderson Police Department.

Jaime Chrusch, 36, died six days after he used a cord from a wall-mounted telephone to hang himself while in a holding cell at the Henderson Detention Center on Nov. 30, 2024, according to a lawsuit filed by Chrusch’s family in August. The Clark County coroner’s office ruled his death a suicide.

“Upon learning that the Police Department was non-compliant in this NRS requirement, City Leadership took the necessary steps to ensure the Police leadership corrected the issue and remained in compliance,” the statement said. “The Henderson Police Department is now in compliance with the 48-hour reporting requirement pursuant to the law.”

Chadwick said in an Aug. 20 interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal that she notified the Henderson city attorney’s and city manager’s offices as soon as she learned about the death.

“As soon as I was notified, I notified my bosses,” Chadwick said. “Those notifications happened immediately after I found out.”

It was not clear exactly when Chadwick learned about the death, and efforts to reach Chadwick for comment for this story were unsuccessful.

Documents previously released by the city showed Chrusch’s death prompted a Feb. 6, 2025, apology email from Chadwick to Councilwoman Monica Larson and City Manager Stephanie Garcia-Vause.

“My apologies that this notification is beyond the 48 hours. I take full responsibility and moving forward it will not happen again,” Chadwick said in the email, which included an attachment titled “In Custody Death - Chrusch, J..pdf.”

Chadwick’s email was the first official notification of Chrusch’s death, according to the city’s Sept. 24 statement.

The department also did not issue a news release announcing Chrusch’s death, according to Henderson public records officer Gina Waters. In contrast, the Metropolitan Police Department, which runs the Clark County Detention Center, and the Nevada Department of Corrections typically issue news releases following in-custody deaths.

Henderson Police Chief Reggie Rader, a former Metro deputy chief, confirmed that the Henderson department has changed its procedures regarding public notifications of in-custody deaths at the city jail.

Rader told the Review-Journal after Wednesday’s State of the City address that the department issued a news release following the Sept. 29 death of Henderson Detention Center inmate Jacob Toroian to align with what he said are industry “best practices.”

He added that the department takes in-custody deaths “very seriously” and said it is important for police to be up-front about jail fatalities.

“Transparency can’t be when it’s convenient,” Rader said. “If it’s a medical reason, it could be a process improvement — we want to know if it’s good, bad or ugly because we don’t want those things to happen. Unfortunately, the nature is that these things do happen all across the country. But we are not going to shy away from it.”

Toroian, 49, was found dead by corrections officers during a routine inmate check, according to the department’s Sept. 30 news release. Authorities have not yet released a cause or manner of death for Toroian, who was being held on a failure-to-appear warrant related to a 2025 misdemeanor petit larceny charge. Rader said police were still awaiting Toroian’s autopsy and toxicology reports.

Henderson spokesperson Madeleine Skains clarified Thursday that the new procedure for issuing a news release after an in-custody death took effect after Rader became chief in July 2025 but before Toroian’s death. Moving forward, the city will issue news releases following all officer-involved shootings and inmate deaths, she said.

Chris Peterson, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, said it is particularly important for detention centers to notify the public about in-custody deaths because doing so holds administrators accountable and can help reveal patterns about procedures harmful to inmates.

“When people die in their custody, the burden really is on these jails to explain why these people died, and, in turn, that it wasn’t something the jail did or did not do that caused that death,” Peterson said. “These are closed places that are often resistant to oversight, and the people in their care have little to no control over their environment.”

On March 6, 2025, Chadwick was fired as Henderson police chief. Throughout her campaign, Chadwick has defended her record as police chief.

Larson said Wednesday she could not recall whether the delay in notifying city leaders about Chrusch’s death was a factor in Chadwick’s dismissal and said there were “multiple reasons” for the former chief’s firing.

“You would have to get the specifics from Stephanie Garcia-Vause,” who was Chadwick’s direct supervisor, Larson said.

Garcia-Vause said in an email to the Police Department after Chadwick’s firing that she had lost confidence in Chadwick’s ability to improve the department’s culture and operations. In the email, she said the firing “was not based upon any finding of specific misconduct by Chief Chadwick” and that it was not made “for cause.” Garcia-Vause did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

If you’re thinking about suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, help is available 24/7 by calling or texting the Lifeline network at 988. Live chat is available at 988lifeline.org. Additionally, the Crisis Text Line is a free, national service available 24/7. Text HOME to 741741.

Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Casey_Harrison1 on X.