Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, said on Thursday that Gov. Joe Lombardo should not have invoked his name during a Las Vegas traffic stop earlier this year.

Lombardo, a Republican who is running against Ford for a second term, was stopped by the Metropolitan Police Department on May 15 for a suspected red light violation, but he was let go without a citation, according to body-camera video.

“That bodycam footage just demonstrates what we already know,” Ford said at a campaign event in Las Vegas. “He absolutely abused his authority, invoking his name so that he did not even get a warning allowed to be provided by the officer.”

“He should not have invoked his name in order to get special treatment in order to try to avoid any liability that could have been coming his way,” Ford said.

Ford’s comments came after video from the traffic stop was released this week and went viral online. The video has been viewed thousands of times. Ford’s campaign earlier Thursday posted him at The Beverly Theater in downtown Las Vegas, cashing in on a promotion for a free movie ticket for saying “I’m Joe Lombardo” at the box office.

In a statement Thursday, Lombardo campaign spokeswoman Halee Dobbins called Ford’s comments a “desperate attempt” to distract from his own record. Dobbins noted Ford’s prior arrests and accused the attorney general of failing to prosecute Medicaid fraud, misleading Nevadans about millions in recovery dollars and taking vacations paid for by special interests.

“Aaron Ford is the last person who should be commenting on this,” Dobbins said in an email. “This manufactured outrage is nothing more than a desperate attempt to distract from Ford’s own record. … Governor Lombardo will remain focused on delivering results for Nevada families, while Aaron Ford continues searching for political distractions.”

Ford agreed with Sheriff Kevin McMahill, who said Wednesday the officer who stopped Lombardo had discretion not to issue a citation.

In video from the stop, which occurred near Mandalay Bay, Lombardo can be heard interrupting the officer and giving his name. Lombardo is the former Clark County sheriff.

The video shows a sergeant approaching Lombardo’s vehicle on the passenger side of the truck.

“Hello. How are you doing, sir?” the sergeant says.

“Good,” Lombardo responds.

The sergeant introduces himself and says, “The reason I’m stopping you is for the —”

“I’m Joe Lombardo,” the governor says before the officer can finish his sentence.

“I’m aware,” the sergeant says. “For the red light violation back there. Your right turn onto Giles —”

“Come on, man,” Lombardo interjects.

“You are good to go, sir. Appreciate you. Have a good day,” the sergeant tells Lombardo.

Lombardo’s campaign previously denied he was seeking special treatment and said he was introducing himself “as a matter of courtesy.”

Ford’s comments echoed his state party’s statement issued earlier in the week. He said the stop illustrates that Lombardo thinks he can live under a separate set of rules from the public. He also said members of the public can make their own judgment about the governor’s stop.

“I think people can judge with their own eyes what happened with that video,” Ford said. “Joe Lombardo was pulled over. Before the officer could finish his sentence, Joe Lombardo spoke up, interrupted him.”

In a news release sent before Ford’s event Thursday, the Nevada Republican Party noted that Ford was arrested multiple times in the 1990s, including for public intoxication in 1991, stealing less than $200 worth of tires in 1994 and twice for failing to appear in court. Ford was also investigated for a claim he trespassed into his now ex-girlfriend’s home in 1993 but was never charged.

The state GOP also criticized Ford for having three liens filed against him by the IRS for more than $185,000 in unpaid taxes, interest and penalties from 2010 to 2013.

“Taken individually, each incident raises serious questions, but together, they paint a troubling pattern of conduct and personal responsibility,” the GOP statement said. “Aaron Ford wants to be Nevada’s next governor, but his record tells a different story. Multiple arrests, failing to appear in court, theft, and years of unpaid federal tax liens point to someone who has repeatedly acted as though the law didn’t apply to him.”

Republican group lawsuit: Ford once used position to influence law enforcement

In 2018, the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) filed a lawsuit in Clark County District Court claiming the Metropolitan Police Department refused to release body-camera footage related to a Nov. 13, 2017, police response involving Ford, who was running for attorney general and was the state Senate majority leader at the time.

The Republican group said after it filed its lawsuit it received a tip that Ford used “that position of authority to influence an outcome with law enforcement.” According to the 2018 petition, Metro cited various reasons for not releasing body-camera footage, including because it involved juveniles.

Ford’s campaign at the time called the lawsuit “low and desperate” and said the interaction with Metro was the result of a “minor incident on private property” involving one of his preteen children.

District Court records show that Judge Kerry Earley in October of that year denied the Republican group’s petition seeking body-camera footage and other records from the incident with Ford’s son. In 2020, the Nevada Supreme Court affirmed the District Court’s decision to withhold body-camera footage but said the group could request other related records.

Following Thursday’s event, Ford campaign spokeswoman Prerna Jagadeesh said in a phone call that RAGA’s 2018 claim that Ford tried to use his position to sway the police had no substance.

“These guys sue all the time,” Jagadeesh said of the association. “It’s not news.”

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