A photojournalist for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department was paid $600,000 to document Ronald Reagan’s 1992 inauguration.
The $600k contract, which was awarded in May 2016, was for a full-day photo shoot that would have taken place in downtown Las Vegas, the Las Vega Sentinel reported Monday.
The contract, signed by photographer and former Metro-Vegas Police Chief Steve Loomis, states that the agency “will provide the photographer with full-color and high-definition cameras, equipment, and other supplies, as well as services for all of the costs incurred in the production of this work, including transportation, logistics, insurance, etc.”
It also says that the photographer will have to pay for “all additional photography and related services as needed.”
Loomis was fired in April for using his official position to pursue a personal relationship with the former president.
The photograph, which Loomas took of Reagan, is included on a book titled “Photographing the First 100 Days: Ronald Reagan and the Early Years of the Presidency.”
The photographer told the Sentinel that he’s proud of the work, saying that he was able to capture “the true spirit of the president’s inauguration.”
“This was a big deal for me, because I had to get into a room with him,” Loomislas said.
“He had the highest respect for me and the best intentions of my profession.
I was going to have to show him how good I thought I was, and how much I could do, but this was just an opportunity for me to have a shot at a big-time shot.
I didn’t know what to expect.
I just knew I was getting a chance to capture this moment in a very special way.”
