A Henderson towing company that has hauled vehicles for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department since 2016 says it was dropped from its contract without warning, putting close to 100 jobs in jeopardy. SNAP Towing's removal, which the company says happened in September, has drawn community members, labor unions and a state lawmaker into a fight over how the new deal was awarded.
SNAP Towing had served as one of Metro's towing providers since 2016, and company co-owner Danny Thompson says the business was removed from its contract without being given a reason. As reported by KTNV, Thompson says SNAP had no contract violations and had tried for more than a year to meet with Metro, but its calls and letters went unanswered. Thompson says the Metro contract accounted for about 60 percent of SNAP Towing's business, while the company itself says the work made up more than half its business over the past decade, generating roughly $1 million per month and supporting nearly 100 employees.
Metro's Fiscal Affairs Committee voted unanimously to award the towing management contract to Autura, a software company that acts as a middleman coordinating dispatch between Metro and tow operators, according to KTNV's reporting. The move fits a broader pattern in how Metro has handled towing for years: a 2021 report from Nevada Current described a system in which AutoReturn, not Metro, selected tow companies and storage yards, and designated SNAP Towing, Ewing Bros. and Walker as subcontractors under that earlier arrangement.
A Contested Vote and Calls for a Public Hearing
Sheriff Kevin McMahill was accused by Thompson and others of bypassing Fiscal Affairs Committee oversight when the new contract was executed, and speakers at the meeting pressed the committee to pull the item from its consent agenda for open discussion before any vote. The committee did not hold a public discussion before voting, per the KTNV account, and Commissioner Jim Gibson was questioned about a possible conflict of interest but did not address those concerns during the meeting.
Community members packed Metro's Fiscal Affairs Committee meeting Thursday morning to press for transparency. Jaren Gray, with the Urban Chamber of Commerce, said a public review would reveal whether the process was handled properly, and other attendees urged the committee to hold an open hearing on the contract rather than letting it pass quietly. Corey Moreland told the station the contract loss affects drivers, families and children, and said SNAP had not been told why it was removed.
Nevada's open-meeting law is clear on one point relevant to the dispute: under NRS Chapter 241, no action can be taken on a matter raised during public comment unless it has been specifically placed on an agenda as an item the body can vote on. Whether that standard applies to how this contract reached the committee is not addressed in the available record.
Metro Defends the New Dispatch Model
Metro CFO Rich Hoggan said at least three qualified tow companies will receive work under the new, neutral dispatch rules, comparing the system to a rideshare app that routes jobs rather than relying on a single assigned provider. Metro also said it rewrote its request for proposals this year to address conflict-of-interest concerns and that SNAP Towing submitted no proposal for inclusion in Autura's new contract, as reported by KTNV.
The 2026 solicitation itself, issued May 6 with proposals due May 28, sought a central Tow Dispatch Management Service to coordinate multiple licensed tow providers, according to a notice on highergov.com. Metro struck a five-year renewal with AutoReturn as of 2021. The RFP specified the work would be performed primarily in Las Vegas within Metro's jurisdiction.
The contract's history carries some unresolved threads. Nevada Current's 2021 reporting traced AutoReturn's authority to select tow companies and storage yards back to a 2016 Metro contract, while Autura's own help center states it was awarded a five-year contract in 2015 to manage dispatch, towing and impound services for Metro, as noted by Autura. The available record does not clarify whether Autura and AutoReturn are the same company, successor entities, or something else — both names appear across different sources describing what seem to be related arrangements.
Response Times and the Road Ahead
Per KTNV's reporting, the new towing contract sets a 30-minute response time, ten minutes longer than the 20-minute window required under the old contract. Christian Solomon told the station SNAP Towing had handled critical incidents including submerged vehicles in Lake Las Vegas and a burning lithium-battery truck on Interstate 15, an incident Solomon said shut down the freeway for nearly two days.
Thompson, speaking on behalf of co-owner Van Le, says SNAP Towing plans to pursue all options, including a possible lawsuit against the department, and says he was shocked the company was not given a public hearing before the switch. Thompson also said 98 employees in Commissioner Gibson's district could lose their jobs as a result. Le has said he wants transparency and accountability in Metro's contract process and has pointed to more than $713,000 in community and humanitarian giving tied to the company, KTNV reported at KTNV.
SNAP employee Pamela Rios told the station she valued coming to work and respected her colleagues. The company says it has received support letters from a wide range of local institutions, including the Clark County Fire Department, the Sheriff's Protective Association, Foothill High School Theatre, Graymar Environmental, Nevada Assembly Majority Leader Sandra Jauregui, the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, IBEW Local 396, St. Paul's Bishop Chris Moran, the Las Vegas Rescue Mission, the Injured Police Officers Fund, Laborers Local 872, Teamsters 631 and CWA of Nevada.
