Northwest valley park to honor slain Metro officer

The city of Las Vegas broke ground on a new park Thursday to honor the memory of a Metropolitan police officer slain in the line of duty.

The Igor Soldo Memorial Park will be at Iron Mountain Road and Alpine Ridge Way in the Skye Canyon community. The park pays tribute to Soldo, who along with partner Alyn Beck, were fatally shot in an east Las Vegas pizzeria in 2014.

“Outside of the uniform, outside of the things he did at work, we know he was a husband, a father, a brother,” Undersheriff Andrew Walsh said of Soldo. “Had this tragedy never struck, had this evil never made its way into our community that day, Igor would have been celebrating 20 years on the Police Department.”

Walsh said Soldo came to the United States from Bosnia and graduated from the University of Nebraska. He moved to Las Vegas and joined Metro.

“He was more than a patrol officer,” Walsh said. “He took pride in being a firearms instructor. He taught several young officers at the police academy how to pass the firearms exams. He was a mentor to a lot of young people.”

Soldo and Beck were killed by anti-government extremists Jerad and Amanda Miller as the officers sat for lunch at Cici’s Pizza on North Nellis Boulevard. A third person, Joseph Wilcox, was also killed in the attack when he tried to stop the killers at a nearby Walmart.

A park honoring the memory of Beck is at 9220 Brent Lane, near Skye Canyon Park Drive and West Iron Mountain Road.

Soldo’s family could not be in attendance at the groundbreaking Thursday, but they are expected to be in attendance when the city opens the park in early 2027.

City Councilwoman Nancy Brune said the park will feature a splash pad, a playground, soccer fields and pickle ball courts. The park is made possible through a partnership with the city and Century Communities.

Century Communities Division President Shane Markuson said the homebuilder is “honored to be a part of this project.”

Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley said the park is a good example of how the city and Southern Nevada support law enforcement.

“It says a lot about our community and what our values are,” Berkley said. “This is a very special occasion for all of us.”

Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@reviewjournal.com.