American Civil Rights Icon and longtime United State Congressman John B. Lewis died on July 17 and he was buried on July 30. Eulogizing the Congressman in person were former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton with a letter from Jimmy Carter read, along with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Congressman Lewis wrote the below essay shortly before his death to be published by the New York times upon the day of his funeral:

“While my time here has now come to an end, I want you to know that in the last days and hours of my life you inspired me. You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great American story when you used your power to make a difference in our society. Millions of people motivated simply by human compassion laid down the burdens of division. Around the country and the world you set aside race, class, age, language and nationality to demand respect for human dignity.

That is why I had to visit Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, though I was admitted to the hospital the following day. I just had to see and feel it for myself that, after many years of silent witness, the truth is still marching on.

Emmett Till was my George Floyd. He was my Rayshard Brooks, Sandra Bland and Breonna Taylor. He was 14 when he was killed, and I was only 15 years old at the time. I will never ever forget the moment when it became so clear that he could easily have been me. In those days, fear constrained us like an imaginary prison, and troubling thoughts of potential brutality committed for no understandable reason were the bars.

Though I was surrounded by two loving parents, plenty of brothers, sisters and cousins, their love could not protect me from the unholy oppression waiting just outside that family circle. Unchecked, unrestrained violence and government-sanctioned terror had the power to turn a simple stroll to the store for some Skittles or an innocent morning jog down a lonesome country road into a nightmare. If we are to survive as one unified nation, we must discover what so readily takes root in our hearts that could rob Mother Emanuel Church in South Carolina of her brightest and best, shoot unwitting concertgoers in Las Vegas and choke to death the hopes and dreams of a gifted violinist like Elijah McClain.

Like so many young people today, I was searching for a way out, or some might say a way in, and then I heard the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on an old radio. He was talking about the philosophy and discipline of nonviolence. He said we are all complicit when we tolerate injustice. He said it is not enough to say it will get better by and by. He said each of us has a moral obligation to stand up, speak up and speak out. When you see something that is not right, you must say something. You must do something. Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself.

Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble. Voting and participating in the democratic process are key. The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.

You must also study and learn the lessons of history because humanity has been involved in this soul-wrenching, existential struggle for a very long time. People on every continent have stood in your shoes, through decades and centuries before you. The truth does not change, and that is why the answers worked out long ago can help you find solutions to the challenges of our time. Continue to build union between movements stretching across the globe because we must put away our willingness to profit from the exploitation of others.

Though I may not be here with you, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe. In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to let freedom ring.

When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide.

The link to the New York Times essay is here:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/opinion/john-lewis-civil-rights-america.ht

The following news article was published on July 29 by the on line news outlet ABQReports and was written by its editor Dennis Domrzalski:

HEADLINE: Auto theft falls in ABQ; Metro Area drops to second place

July 29, 2020 by Dennis Domrzalski

There’s some good news for Albuquerque on the crime front, and that is that auto thefts in the four-county metro area are down in actual numbers and in the rate of thefts per 100,000 residents. According to a new report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau, auto thefts in the metro area totaled 6,399 in 2019, a 10 percent drop from 2018, and a 36 percent decline from 2016 when auto thefts peaked at 10,001.

And, in 2019 the metro area, which includes Bernalillo, Sandoval, Valencia and Torrance counties, lost its title as the car theft capital of the nation, falling to second place behind Bakersfield, Calif. Last year, Bakersfield had 726 auto thefts per 100,000 residents, while the Albuquerque area had 697 per 100,000 people. Albuquerque had been the nation’s auto theft leader since 2016.

According to the NICB, car theft is down nationally. “For the last two years, auto thefts nationally have fallen according to the latest ‘Hot Spots’ report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau,” the NICB said. “The NICB report for 2019, the most recent data available, showed national thefts topped out at 794,019, down from 819,988 in 2018 and 833,740 in 2017.”

The bad news is that New Mexico is the nation’s top state for auto theft.

“Like the national rate, New Mexico has also witnessed consecutive years of declining thefts, however the state tops the list with a theft rate near 448 vehicles per 100,000 people,” the NICB said. “Similarly, Bakersfield, California saw a decline from 2018 to 2019, however it moved from number three to the number one Metropolitan Statistical Area. California has the dubious distinction of placing 10 in the top 20 nationally.”

Albuquerque Police Department spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said the decrease in auto thefts is due to the hard work of APD officers. Here’s a news release Gallegos issued on Wednesday:

The Albuquerque Police Department continues to drive down auto thefts, as a new national ranking shows the metro area moved out of the top spot for vehicle theft rates for the first time in years. APD has worked with the state Office of Superintendent of Insurance and the New Mexico State Police to target auto theft.

“This dubious distinction has been a sore spot for Albuquerque, so we’re actually glad that we finally climbed out of the number one ranking for the first time in years,” said Mayor Tim Keller. “While it shows just how deep the hole is that we’re working to get out of, this progress is a result of the hard work of officers to cut auto theft by over a third. We clearly still have challenges but hopefully residents will continue to see the positive changes.”

Since 2016, the metro area, which includes a four-county region, was ranked worst for auto theft, according to the Hot Spot report by the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

The new report, based on 2019 data and released this month, shows the Albuquerque metro area with 697 thefts per 100,000 people. That represents an 11% decrease from 2018, and a 36% decrease over the past two years, according to the NICB report based on data from the National Crime Information Center.

The NICB’s Hot Spots report examines vehicle theft data obtained from the National Crime Information Center for each of the nation’s Metropolitan Statistical Areas. These are designated by the Office of Management and Budget and often include municipalities other than the cities for which Metropolitan Statistical Areas are named. For example, Bakersfield, CA includes the entire county of Kern, not just the city of Bakersfield.

Here’s a look at the metro area’s auto theft history over the years [as compiled by the national Insurance Bureau]

Four County Metro Areas

2007 – 6,845
2008 – 6,182
2009 – 4,815
2010 – 3,862
2011 – 3,861
2012 – 3,730
2014 – 4004
2015 – 4754
2016 – 6,657
2017 -10,011
2018 – 9,989
2019 – 7,146
2020 – 6,399

Albuquerque Auto Thefts per 100,000 residents

2007 – 820
2008 – 730
2009 – 561
2010 – 435
2011 – 430
2012 – 414
2014 – 443
2015 – 525
2016 – 733
2017- 899
2018 – 1,096
2019 – 780
2020 – 697

Here is a look at the ABQ Metro Area’s rank in auto thefts among U.S. metro areas over the years.

2019: 2
2018: 1
2017: 1
2016: 1
2015: 2
2014: 12
2013: 20
2012: 20
2011: 15
2010: 20
2009: 10
2008: 8
2007: 7

And here’s a look at New Mexico’s four major metro areas for 2019:

City National Rank No. of Thefts Rate per 100,000 Residents

Albuquerque: National Rank: 2; No. of Thefts: 6,399; Rate per 100,000 Residents: 697
Las Cruces: National Rank: 93; No. of Thefts: 603; Rate per 100,000 Residents: 276
Santa Fe: National Rank: 121; No. of Thefts: 371; Rate per 100,000 Residents: 247
Farmington: National Rank: 236 No. of Thefts: 188; Rate per 100,000 Residents: 152

As a population-based survey, an area with a much smaller population can have a higher theft rate than an area with a greater number of thefts. Creating a theft rate, or number of thefts per 100,000 people, enables analysts to compare large regions, such as Los Angeles, with small regions, such as Hot Springs, Arkansas.

The link to the Alb Reports with graphs article is here:

https://www.abqreport.com/single-post/2020/07/29/Auto-theft-falls-in-ABQ-Metro-Area-drops-to-second-place

A link to Albuquerque Journal coverage can be found here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1480766/albuquerque-falls-from-top-auto-theft-spot.html

CORRECTED STATISTICS FOR 2018

Mayor Tim Keller can take very little comfort with Albuquerque’s rankings when it comes to auto theft given the city’s rising high crime rates in all other categories. On Thursday, July 2, 2020, APD officials held a press conference to release the Albuquerque crime statistics for 2019. A report on the city’s crime statistics had not occurred for over a year because it was discovered that Mayor Keller during his first 18 months in office had disseminated false statistics as a result of a change in computer software categories to comply with FBI crime reporting.

In February, 2019 APD reported very different numbers to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting program. The data reported showed violent crime had actually increased 3.7% between 2017 and 2018 during Keller’s first full year in office driven by aggravated assaults.

The adjusted statistics released for the year 2018 reflected the following:

Aggravated assault increased 21%, rather than decreasing 8% as announced during Keller’s July, 2019 news conference.
Rape increased by 3%, rather than decreasing 3% reported by Keller.
Auto theft decreased 14%, not the 31% reported by Keller.
Homicides remained basically the same decreasing by a single murder.
Robbery decreased 32% and Keller reported it decreasing by 36%.

The final numbers for all of 2018 showed violent crime actually increased, and in many categories the crime rates only dropped in single digits and not the double digits reported by Mayor Keller. At an October meeting of the City Council, APD provided the revised statistics but failed to report that the numbers had changed drastically. Mayor Keller also did not hold any kind of a press conference to correct nor announce the corrected statistics.

The corrected statistics reported in October, 2019 for 2018 were as follow:

Auto burglaries decreased 16%, not the 38% as previously announced
Auto theft decreased 22%, not 39% as Keller reported
Commercial burglary decreased 3%, not the 27% Keller reported
Residential burglary decreased 16%, not 39% as Keller reported
Homicide decreased 2.5%, not 18%, but homicides have since increased substantially and the city has tied the all-time record of 71.
Rape decreased 3%, not the 29% Keller reported
Robbery decreased 30%, not 47% reported by Keller
Aggravated assault decreased 7.5%, not 33% reported by Keller
Aggravated assault increased 21%, rather than decreasing 8% as announced during Keller’s July news conference
Rape increased by 3%, rather than decreasing 3%
Auto theft decreased 14%, not the 31% reported by Keller
Homicides remained basically the same decreasing by a single murder
Robbery decreased 32% and Keller reported it decreasing by 36%

https://www.abqjournal.com/1335502/crime-declining-in-albuquerque-new-numbers-show.html

https://www.petedinelli.com/2019/11/25/kellers-3rd-plan-in-9-months-to-reduce-violent-crime-hollow-effort-aggressive-sustained-law-enforcement-tactical-plans-needed-reorganize-apd-dismiss-casa/

ABQ’S CRIME STATISTICS IN A NUTSHELL UNDER MAYOR KELLER

Given Mayor Keller’s words as to whose job it is to address crime, a synopsis of the statics during Mayor Tim Keller’s tenure is in order before the disclosure of the 2019 statistics by APD. The synopsis is required in order to focus on the statistics because the categories were changed to comply with FBI crime reporting.

HOMICIDES

In 2018, during Mayor Keller’s first full year in office, there were 69 homicides.
In 2019, during Mayor Keller’s second full year in office, there were 82 homicides. Albuquerque had more homicides in 2019 than in any other year in the city’s history. The previous high was 72, in 2017 under Mayor RJ Berry. Another high mark was in 1996, when the city had 70 homicides.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1405615/apd-reports-record-82-homicides-for-2019.html#:~:text=Gilbert%20Gallegos%2C%20a%20police%20spokesman,high%20was%2072%2C%20in%202017.

On July 14, 2020, it was reported that 5 homicide investigations had been commenced within 48 hours. As of July 14, there have been 33 homicides reported in Albuquerque for 2020.

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/apd-launches-5th-homicide-investigation-in-past-48-hours-at-coronado-park/5791153/?cat=500

HOMICIDE CLEARANCE RATES

For the past two years during Mayor Keller’s tenure, the homicide clearance percentage rate has been in the 50%-60% range. According to the proposed 2018-2019 APD City Budget, in 2016 the APD homicide clearance rate was 80%. In 2017, under Mayor Berry the clearance rate was 70%. In 2018, the first year of Keller’s term, the homicide clearance rate was 56%. In 2019, the second year of Keller’s term, the homicide clearance rate was 52.5%, the lowest clearance rate in the last decade.

VIOLENT CRIMES

In 2017, during Mayor RJ Berry’s last full year in office, there were 7,686 VIOLENT CRIMES. There were 4,213 Aggravated Assaults and 470 Non-Fatal Shootings.

In 2018 during Mayor Keller’ first full year in office, there were 6,789 violent crimes There were 3,885 Aggravated Assaults and 491 Non-Fatal Shootings.

https://www.petedinelli.com/2019/11/21/city-matches-homicide-record-high-of-72-murders-mayor-keller-forced-to-defend-policies-makes-more-promises-asks-for-more-money/

In 2019, the category of “Violent Crimes” was replaced with the category of “Crimes Against Persons” and the category includes homicide, human trafficking, kidnapping and assault.

In 2019 during Keller’s second full year in office, Crimes Against Persons increased from 14,845 to 14,971, or a 1% increase. The Crimes Against Person category had the biggest rises in Aggravated Assaults increasing from 5,179 to 5,397.

DRUG OFFENSES

“Crimes Against Society” include drug offenses, prostitution and animal cruelty.

In 2018 During Keller’s first full year in office, total Crimes Against Society were 3,365
In 2019 during Keller’s second full year in office, total Crimes Against Society increased to 3,711 for a total increase of 346 more crimes or a 9% increase.

AUTO THEFTS

On June 26, 2019 the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) released its annual list of cities with the most stolen vehicles reported. Despite a 28% reduction in auto thefts over a two-year period, Albuquerque ranked No. 1 in the nation for vehicle thefts per capita for the third year in a row.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimgorzelany/2019/06/27/these-are-the-cities-with-the-highest-car-theft-rates/#7c42e7d35146

On July 30, 2020, as reported above, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) reports that Albuquerque is now ranked #2 in the nation for auto theft.

911 EMERGENCY RESPONSE TIMES

In 2009, under Mayor Martin Chavez, the average 911 emergency response time to calls, whether it was a life or death emergency or a minor traffic crash,was 8 minutes 50 seconds.
In 2011, under Mayor RJ Berry the average response times to 911 emergency calls was 25 minutes.
In 2018 and 2019, under Mayor Tim Keller, the average response times to 911 emergency calls spiked to 48 minutes.

The 2019 crime statistics released during the July 2 press conference revealed the following:

OVERALL CRIME

Overall Crime decreased in 2019. The reduction was driven by “Crimes Against Property” which include burglary, fraud, robbery and motor vehicle theft. Between 2018 and 2019, there was a single digit 7% drop, not a double digit drop as reported by Keller, in overall crime, from 75,538 incidents to 70,223.

CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS

Crimes against persons include homicide, human trafficking, kidnapping and assault, remained constant.

Crimes Against Persons increased from 14,845 to 14,971, or a 1% increase.

The Crimes Against Person category had the biggest rises of the 3 categories as follows:

Aggravated Assaults increased from 5,179 to 5,397.
In Homicide Offenses, justifiable homicides decreased from 16 to 6
There was a rise in “Negligent Manslaughter” from 3 to 8.

Statutory rape jumped from 1 incident to 10 incidents.

There were 80 murders reported in 2019, compared to 69 to 2018, both years Keller has been in office.

CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETY

Crimes Against Society include drug offenses, prostitution and animal cruelty.

In 2018 During Keller’s first full year in office, total Crimes Against Society were 3,365 and increased 2019 during his second year to 3,711 for a total increase of 346 more crimes or a 9% increase.
Crimes Against Society had the biggest jumps in drug offenses, from 2,515 to 2,796, Animal Cruelty Offenses went from 11 to 32. There was a decrease in prostitution offenses from 130 to 70.

CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY

Total Crimes Against Property in 2018 were 57,328 and in 2019 51, 541 for a total reduction of 5,787 or a 10% reduction.
The largest drops in property crime were in Auto Theft, Burglary and Fraud offenses aside from identity theft, which skyrocketed from 7 to a whopping 437.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1472154/property-crime-decreased-in-2019-other-categories-increased.html

HOMICIDE CLEARANCE RATES OUT OF CONTROL

For the past two years during Keller’s tenure as mayor, the homicide clearance percentage rate has been in the 50%-60% range, a dramatic decline from previous years. According to the proposed 2018-2019 APD City Budget, in 2016 the APD homicide clearance rate was 80%. In 2017 the clearance rate was 70% and the clearance rate for 2018 was 56%. The clearance rate for 2019 is 52.5%, the lowest clearance rate in the last decade.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1405615/apd-reports-record-82-homicides-for-2019.html

RESPONSE TIMES OUT OF CONTROL

The time it takes for APD to respond to priority 1 calls has a major impact on increasing physical injury to victims or callers. On February 20th KOAT TV Target 7 reported on an investigation into the Albuquerque Police Department’s (APD’s) response times. In 2011, the average response time to all calls, whether it was a life or death emergency or a minor traffic crash was 25 minutes. In 2019, that time period spiked to 48 minutes in the average response time. Since 2011, there has been a 93% increase in 911 response times with 48 minutes now being the average time of arrival.

https://www.koat.com/article/apd-response-times-continue-to-climb/31028667

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

In August, 2017, New Mexico State Auditor Tim Keller, candidate for Albuquerque Mayor, had this to say about crime:

“It’s unfortunate, but crime is absolutely out of control. It’s the mayor’s job to actually address crime in Albuquerque, and that’s what I want to do as the next mayor.”

In 2017, Candidate Tim Keller campaigned to get elected Mayor on the platform of implementing the Department of Justice (DOJ) mandated reforms, increasing the size of APD, returning to community-based policing and a promise to bring down skyrocketing crime rates.

Keller has already made it known he is seeking a second 4 year term as Mayor in 2021. Despite all of his new programs to combat violent crime, increases in budgets and millions spent, violent crime is still very much out of control. Simply put people do not feel safe in their own homes. Voters are very fickle and unforgiving when politicians make promises they do not or cannot keep. Sooner rather than later people demand and want results.

Mayor Keller no doubt sincerely thought he could do a better job than his predecessor and he could actually make a difference. The truth is, he has not and crime in the city has only become worse since Tim Keller has taken office, especially in terms of violent crime. Mayor Tim Keller can take very little comfort that the statistics show that auto theft is down and that Albuquerque is now ranked number 2 in auto thefts. What overshadows the #2 ranking in auto theft is that crime “is absolutely out of control.”

On Friday, June 12, the Albuquerque Journal ran a front page story that Albuquerque City Council Pat Davis and the city council had come up with a plan to overall the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) where police officers would not be responding to many calls involving a mental health crisis, homelessness and other behavioral health-related issues. The council proposal would change multiple levels of the department, from reorganizing the police budget and officers’ jobs on the street to emphasizing behavioral health assistance and studies to determine the best route for community engagement.

Under the City Council plan, sweeping changes to APD’s operations would be mandated. APD operates a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT), trained to respond to tense behavioral health calls. Davis said CIT functions could be diverted to Albuquerque Fire Rescue or some other public health role. Davis said:

“We totally divest the idea of behavioral health and law enforcement unless there’s a critical incident, that’s a real thing we can do.”

The link to the full Albuquerque Journal article is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1465979/council-leader-unveils-police-reform-proposal-ex-more-community-engagement-rerouting-of-some-calls-included.html

MAYOR KELLER DETERMINED NOT TO BE OUTDONE BY DAVIS

As if not to be done by City Councilor Pat Davis, over the Saturday, June 13 weekend, Mayor Tim Keller and his Chief Administrative Officer Sarita Nair contacted the Albuquerque Journal and other news outlets by phone, including The Washington Post, to announce he was creating a new Albuquerque Community Safety Department (ACSD). The City Department would send trained professionals to respond to certain calls for help in instead of armed APD Police Officers or AFRD Firefighters and paramedics.

According to reports, the Albuquerque Community Safety Department (ACSD) will have social workers, housing and homelessness specialists and violence prevention and diversion program experts who would be dispatched to homelessness and “down-and-out” calls as well as dispatched to those who are having a behavioral health crises. The Department is to respond 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to 911 calls involving behavioral health, homelessness, addiction and other social issues. Keller said the new department could respond to “nonviolent and noncriminal” welfare checks.

In his Sunday phone interview with the Albuquerque Journal, Keller said “down and out” calls usually end up with someone going to jail or to a hospital. According to Keller:

“And the determiner of [going to jail or the hospital] is either firefighter or police [officer]. … Neither of them should be making that initial call, unless it’s a situation of violence. … We’re just expecting them to solve every individual’s problem, and I think that’s totally unfair to them and their training. … We should have trained professionals do this, instead of folks with a gun and a badge. But in general, that’s what we have to fix.”

One goal for Keller’s new department is to connect people in need with services to help address any underlying issues. The department personnel would be dispatched through the city’s 911 emergency call system. The intent is to free up the first responders who typically have to deal with down-and-out and behavioral health calls.

WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE

On June 15, 2020, the Washington Post reported:

“As calls to defund law enforcement reach a fever pitch nationwide, New Mexico’s largest city is answering concerns about its police department by forming an alternative.

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller (D) announced on Monday the formation of a new public safety department designed to relieve stress on the city’s police. Instead of the police or fire departments responding to 911 calls related to inebriation, homelessness, addiction and mental health, the new division will deploy unarmed personnel made up of social workers, housing and homelessness specialists, and violence prevention coordinators.

The department, called Albuquerque Community Safety, may be the first of its kind, experts say. A spokesperson for the mayor told The Washington Post the new department was partially the city’s response to the “defund the police” movement.

“There is a huge portion of our community that doesn’t necessarily want two officers showing up when they call about a situation with respect to behavioral and mental health,” the mayor said in an interview Sunday. “So this is a new path forward for us that has been illuminated because of what we’ve learned during these times. Look, there’s political will; there was not political will to make this huge of a step three weeks ago.”

Albuquerque’s plan for a new branch of public safety comes amid a nationwide movement to slash police department funding after George Floyd’s death in police custody in Minneapolis.

The national protests fueled by racial tensions spilled into the streets of Albuquerque, where black or African American people make up less than 3 percent of the total population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
…
Keller’s announcement of the new department comes as the police department for the Southwestern city of more than half a million faces federal oversight because of its problematic history with use of force.

… .”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/06/15/wake-calls-defund-police-albuquerque-creates-an-alternative-department/

JUNE 15 FORMAL ANNOUNCEMENT

On June 15, the Keller Administration issued a formal announcement on the creation of the statement on the creation of the Albuquerque Community Safety Department. The formal announcement states that “the Albuquerque Community Safety department will restructure thousands of calls on homelessness, addiction and mental health into the hands of trained professionals and keep officers focused on core police work and reform efforts.”

Following is the statement in part:

CAPTION: MAYOR TIM KELLER TO REFOCUS MILLIONS IN PUBLIC SAFETY RESOURCES WITH FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND CIVILIAN RESPONSE DEPARTMENT

“In a groundbreaking first that puts our community at the forefront of a national conversation on public safety, Mayor Tim Keller announced today that he is creating a third department of first responders at the City of Albuquerque. Albuquerque Community Safety, a cabinet-level department, will serve alongside the Albuquerque Police Department and Albuquerque Fire Rescue to deliver a civilian-staffed, public health approach to safety. The new department is the culmination of two years of preliminary work to change the way Albuquerque handles public safety, and comes amid nationwide calls to move resources away from armed police response as a one-size-fits-all answer.

Albuquerque Community Safety (ACS) will include trained professionals such as social workers, housing and homelessness specialists, violence prevention and diversion program experts. The department will give 9-1-1 dispatch an option when a community safety response is more appropriate than a paramedic, fire-fighter, or armed police officer. The City will be working with community members, experts and City Councilors over the next two months to map out the details of the department, which will reallocate millions of dollars. These efforts will bolster expanded investments in violence intervention, diversion programs and treatment initiatives.”

LONG ON PUBLIC RELATIONS, SHORT ON DETAILS

During the June 14 press conference announcing the new department it was reported that very few details had been worked out and the new department was still in the planning process. During the press conference, Keller said rough estimates suggested the new Community Safety Department will need 32 people for each its 6 area commands, staffed around the clock, to respond to tens of thousands of calls a year. The Keller Administration intends to submit a final fiscal year budget in August for City Council budget hearing.

During the June 14, press conference, Chief Administrative officer Sarita Nair had this to say:

“Now that we’ve said ‘let’s create this third response department [in addition to APD and AFRD], we’ll begin the process of really getting into the weeds of what it’s going to look like, how it’s going to affect dispatch, how this is going to look in terms of staffing, what are the [standard operating procedures] going to look like. … We have to think through all of these issues now, and that’s where the input from community and experts is going to be really critical.”

Links to related news articles are here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1466317/mayor-proposes-public-safety-department.html

https://www.abqjournal.com/1466672/details-about-mayors-public-safety-proposal-remain-scarce.html

WELFARE CHECK ESCALATING INTO APD KILLING IMPETUS TO DEPARTMENT

In late March, two APD police officers were dispatched to do a welfare check on Valente Acosta-Bustillos, 52. The man’s family was worried because he had not shown up for work nor answered his phone in several days. Before arriving at the man’s residence, the officers ran a background check and found Acosta-Bustillos was wanted on a felony warrant for failing to appear in a court hearing and the police offers then decided to try to arrest him. The Acosta-Bustillos arrest warrant stemmed from A conflict with a neighbor that resulted in an altercation. Acosta-Bustillos was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

APD lapel camera video shows that APD officers chased Acosta-Bustillos inside the house to arrest him. Acosta-Bustillos armed himself with a shovel presumably to resist arrest. Acosta-Bustillos began swinging at the officers whereupon they shot him. Acosta-Bustillos was mortally wounded and died at a hospital.

Mayor Keller was asked about the Acosta-Bustillos shooting and asked it played any part in creating the new department. Keller responded that had the new department been in place in March, its staff could have performed the welfare check instead of police officers and he said:

“In general, yes, that’s a big reason why we’re doing this department. … We know that in Albuquerque we have to respect the core police work that we need in our town. … But we also have to include the fact that we have to prioritize non-law enforcement alternatives.”

WHERE WILL FUNDING COME FROM

Keller emphasized that the city will not divert money from core police work or the Department of Justice (DOJ) reform efforts that the APD has been undertaking for the last 6 years. In 2014, a DOJ investigation found that APD had a “culture of aggression” and had a pattern of excessive force and deadly force against the mentally ill.
According to Keller:

“We can do this with the existing budget, because these groups – our Homeless Advisory Council, our Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council, One Albuquerque Kid’s Cabinet – they have all been working and talking about this issue for several years.”

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REFORMS DEAL WITH MENTALLY ILL

On April 10, 2014, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Civil Rights Division, submitted investigation report on an 18-month civil rights investigation of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD). Based on the investigation and the review of excessive use of force and deadly force cases, the DOJ found that a “culture of aggression” existed within APD. The DOJ found “reasonable cause to believe that APD engage[d] in a pattern or practice of use of excessive force, including deadly force, in violation of the Fourth Amendment … . A significant number of the use of force cases reviewed by the DOJ involved persons suffering from acute mental illness and who were in crisis.” The investigation found APD’s policies, training, and supervision were insufficient to ensure that officers encountering people with mental illness or in distress do so in a manner that respected their rights and in a manner that was safe for all involved.

On November 10, 2014 the City and APD entered into a federal Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) mandating sweeping changes to APD policy and training on the use of force and deadly force. Under the consent decree, two major reforms have been implemented to deal with the mentally ill by APD:

1.“Constitutional policing” practices and methods, and mandatory crisis intervention techniques and de-escalation tactics with the mentally ill have been implemented with all sworn police officers having received 40 hours of mandatory crisis management intervention training.

2.A Mental Health Response Advisory Committee has been created. Its purpose is to provide guidance to the City of Albuquerque Police Department on the DOJ reforms. The committee consists of members from all walks of life and are committed to improving the lives of those with mental illness and their interactions with law enforcement in Albuquerque. The committee include providers, the Police, the court system, advocates, family members and consumers. The Mental Health Response Advisory Committee analyzes and recommends appropriate changes to policies, procedures, and training methods regarding police contact with persons who may be mentally ill or experiencing a mental health crisis.

ENACTED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE TAX

On February 26, 2015, the Bernalillo County Commission approved a 1/8 % gross receipts tax increase on a 3-2 vote to fund new behavioral and mental health services to improve access to mental and behavioral health care services in the county. The tax generates approximately $20 million annually.

The intent of the tax is to invest the funding “in proven ways to better manage the high cost of addiction, homelessness and mental health problems”. According to a county commission announcement, “these issues impact families throughout the community and drive up the cost of public services, especially at the Metropolitan Detention Center.” The gross receipts tax costs shoppers one cent on a $10 purchase of goods and services.

https://www.bernco.gov/uploads/files/BH%20news%20release%20PDF.pdf

The 1/8th% gross receipts tax is be used for the purpose of providing more mental and behavioral health services for adults and children in the Albuquerque and Bernalillo County area. The intent is to provide a safety net system for those in need of mental health not otherwise funded in New Mexico.

Since enactment of the tax in 2015, the tax has generated $91.6 million. The county has spent $20 million of the money but has earmarked the bulk of what it amassed for one-time expenditures. Those expenditures include $30 million for a new crisis triage center, $12 million for supportive housing and $4 million for the Bernalillo County CARE campus, formerly known as the Metropolitan Assessment and Treatment Services center, or MATS. The renovations to the CARE campus when complete will create an outpatient behavioral health clinic and living room space for peer-to-peer counseling sessions.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1401895/county-detox-center-evolving.html

DUPLICATION OF EFFORTS

Mayor Tim Keller’s new Public Safety Department is an attempt to duplicate the Bernalillo County Behavioral health tax and plan and programs on many levels. The tax and the programs are both county and citywide. According to the Bernalillo County “Public Health Projects” webs site, there are 5 projects that have been approved and committed annual funding of each of those projects are as follows:

1. Mobile Crisis Teams – $1 million BC/$340,000 ABQ

“The mobile crisis teams will respond to individuals experiencing a nonviolent behavioral health crisis that necessitates a 911-response. Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT) are to be dispatched and will consist of a crisis intervention unit deputy paired with a masters’ level, behavioral health clinician.”

2. Transition Planning and Re-entry Resource Center – $1,341,188 in year one; $1,041,188 annually thereafter.

“On a daily basis, the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) releases individuals back to the community who suffer from a variety of mental illnesses and substance abuse disorders, among other complications. The lack of a system for coordinated care as incarcerated individuals’ transition from jail to community contributes to recidivism and impedes efforts to generate more positive health outcomes for these individuals. The project includes funding transition planners at MDC and creating a Re-entry Resource Center (RRC) for an effective front door into a network of services.

3. Expansion of the County’s Community Connections Supportive Housing Program – not to exceed $1 million.

“This expansion will focus on individuals with behavioral health issues residing in the community who are homeless or precariously housed and is estimated to provide a minimum of 55 housing vouchers with case management service.”

4. Community Connections Re-entry Supportive Housing – $1.3 million from Bernalillo County; $503,000 from City of ABQ

“This project provides intensive case management and services linked with scattered site housing to a target population of homeless or precariously housed persons with mental illness or co-occurring disorders or other disabilities and whose lack of community-based services have resulted in criminal justice system involvement.”

5. Community Engagement Team

“Community Engagement Teams (CET) help people and their families voluntarily cope with the effects of mental illness and substance abuse disorders, whether individual or co-occurring, in the comfort and familiarity of their homes and communities. The CET helps individuals avoid the criminal justice system and emergency mental health systems whenever possible. The CET in Bernalillo County requires an individualized, recovery-focused approach that promotes wellness, self-management, personal recovery, natural supports, coping skills, self-advocacy and the development of independent living skills. CETs can be considered part of a continuum of services rendered outside institution walls that include assertive community treatment, the crisis intervention unit, crisis outreach and support team, public inebriate intervention, and law enforcement response.”

BERNALILLO COUNTY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH BUSINESS PLAN

On December 15, 2015 the Behavioral Health Business Plan was release by the Community Partners, Inc. (CPI). CPI was selected to provide consultation and develop a business plan for a cohesive, regional system of behavioral health care, with an emphasis on coordinated crisis services. The business plan was done in part to help make decision on how to use the funding generated by the county commission Behavioral Health Tax.

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH BUSINESS PLAN FRAMEWORK

The Behavioral Health Business Plan outlines a framework for a comprehensive system of care for people living with mental illness and or substance use disorders in the greater Bernalillo County – Albuquerque area. The Bernalillo County Behavioral Health Business Plan is based on national best-practice guidelines for mental health crisis-care systems to develop a comprehensive, coordinated system for crisis stabilization.

According to the business plan:

“An integrated treatment program requires collaboration across disciplines with treatment planning that concurrently addresses both mental illness and substance use disorders. Treatment services that address both conditions at once are associated with lower costs and better outcomes including:

1. Decreased hospitalizations
2. Fewer arrests
3. Improvement in psychiatric symptoms
4. Reduced substance use
5. Improved quality of life.”

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ACTION PLAN

The Bernalillo County Behavioral Health Action Plan has 13 major objections or goals in allocating money already accumulated from the behavioral tax enacted by the Bernalillo County Commission. The highest priority is the creation of a crisis network that provides high-quality and coordinated care to anyone experiencing a psychiatric crisis, including those with a substance abuse condition.

Following are the recommended steps and components of a system based on recovery-oriented care, assessment of current local and state services, and unmet needs identified:

“1. Establish an Administrative Structure as defined by the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Government Commission (ABCGC).

2. Expand Crisis Stabilization Services while exploring the potential for future development of a Crisis Stabilization Center.

3. Establish a Crisis Call Center with a single telephone number for a crisis line and expanded services that include three-way calling, 911 transfers on non-emergency mental health calls, and dispatch of mobile crisis teams to the community.

4. Create Crisis Mobile Response Teams to respond to people experiencing a psychiatric crisis in the community, independent of and/or in concert with Albuquerque Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Unit (CIU) or Crisis Outreach and Support Teams (COAST).

5. Develop Crisis Respite Care services for adults and youth, providing continued support and crisis stabilization after discharge from a higher level of care.

6. Create Intermediate Levels of Care for adults with co-occurring disorders requiring clinically managed care for up to six months, as needed. Services are designed to help connect the person to community supports and services that promote recovery, as defined by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM).

7. Expand Transitional Living Services for female adolescents struggling with substance use issues, providing treatment, education, life skills training, case management and employment-support services in a therapeutic setting for up to six months.

8. Develop Intensive Case Management Teams for adults and youth that help them remain in their current place of residence through their recovery process, linking them to community and treatment resources.

9. Create a Forensic Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) Team to work in concert with the adult detention center’s discharge planner and the Supportive Housing Program, providing 24/7/365 treatment and support services for inmates recently released into the community who received mental health and/or substance abuse treatment while incarcerated.

10. Develop Substance Abuse Outpatient Services for adults who require clinically managed outpatient care, also as defined by ASAM.

11. Establish a pilot Community Engagement Team (CET) to conduct outreach to individuals with serious mental illness who are challenged to live safely in the community, and engage them voluntarily in treatment and/or other services. CET goals include reducing the individual’s rate of law-enforcement interventions and decreasing hospitalizations.

12. Develop Crisis Transportation Services providing urgent, unscheduled transportation to individuals and families needing immediate access to crisis stabilization care, including crisis respite care. This service is critical to people getting the right care at the right time, thus reducing access barriers.

13. Expand School-based Substance Abuse Intervention services in the high schools to ensure each school has at least one dedicated substance abuse therapist who works with students and parents/guardians providing treatment, education and prevention strategies for reducing the student’s substance use.

14. Establish a pilot program for Early Prevention and Family Intervention services that address the needs of infants and children up to age 5 and their families, with a specialized, home-based treatment program to prevent or minimize the effects of childhood psychiatric disorders and/or traumatic events.”

https://www.bernco.gov/uploads/files/PublicSafety/Bernalillo%20County%20BH%20Business%20Plan%20Amended%20w%20Budget%2012%2028%2015.pdf

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Mayor Keller’s creation of a Public Safety Department may be in his words a “first of its kind cabinet level department”. The words no doubt made for good press, locally and nationally. The truth is that an entire new “cabinet level department” is really not needed, other than for show. When you review the June 15 press conference in its entirety, it is as if Chief Administrative Officer Sarita Nair and Mayor Tim Keller read the Bernalillo County Behavioral Health Action Plan, changed a few words, and then slapped a Keller’ “One Albuquerque” logo on it. Political plagiarism is the highest form of flattery.

Mayor Keller is creating and entirely new city department that is on equal footing with all the other 16 city department, including APD and AFRD, that have hundreds of employees and separate functions, tasks and services. By Mayor Keller’s own admission, the new department will have 32 people for each its 6 area commands, or a total of 192 employees at a minimum, ostensibly working 3 separate 8 hour shifts to be able to respond 24 hours a day, 7 days a week as proposed, with none to have law enforcement powers of arrest. The Department will also require the hiring of a cabinet level Director that Keller will pay well over $100,000 a year. When Keller tells the Washington Post “There is a huge portion of our community that doesn’t necessarily want two officers showing up”, it is doubtful the same people will want 4 others dressed in white coats to do the same thing. If that is indeed the case, the city will have to divert considerable resources to hire trained mental health care professionals, social workers and crisis intervention councilors to assume the responsibilities and handle the calls for service that were before handled by APD officers and Firefighters.

The proposed Department of Public Safety ostensibly is a department that is nothing but a solution to reduce APD’s calls for service involving mental health calls and to transfer such calls to another civilian department with mental health experts to deal with those in crisis. The Public Safety Department as envisioned does not address behavioral health care solutions, but only involves “pickup and delivery” of people in crisis to take them either to jail or to a hospital. Regrettably, the Mayor’s new department is lacking to deal with the city’s long-term behavioral health system needs and programs that are desperately needed.

Bernalillo County’s efforts for behavioral health programs is superior and is critical to addressing the city and counties behavioral health care needs and in turn the states. New Mexico now is ranked number one in the country in suicides. For that reason alone, Bernalillo County needs to explore expansion far more outreach programs, especially with our youth to deal with high suicide rates. Such programs need to include working with the city and the Albuquerque Public Schools to offer counseling services to our youth.

It’s too bad Mayor Keller rushed his announcement of a new Public Safety Department as an obvious response to the City Council’s plan. Mayor Keller and his Chief Administrative Officer would have been better served to confer with Bernalillo County and find out how its really done to deal with the City’s long-term mental health care services that are lacking. More importantly, the City needs to explore how is can cooperate and partner with the county to implement the Bernalillo County Behavioral Health Action Plan. That will require Mayor Keller to share the press coverage, something he is not known or willing to do on any level, especially now that he has made it known he is running for a second term as Mayor.

Links to related blog articles:

NM Suicide Rate Highest In Country; A Long Road Ahead Before Behavioral Health System Restored

NM’s Mental Health Crisis; APD’s Handling Of Behavioral Heath Calls; Rebuilding A Decimated Behavioral Health Care System

On July 5, the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) reported that New Mexico’s suicide rate is the highest in the nation based on the raw numbers of suicides in 2018. The New Mexico Department of Health disputes the number one ranking but nonetheless reports that based on its own calculations New Mexico’s suicide rate is the second highest in the country.

According to the New Mexico Department of Health, the AAS uses raw data to analyze suicide rates, while the New Mexico Department of Health’s method for comparing suicide among different populations is to use “age-adjusted rates.” Looking at age-adjusted death rates in 2018, the New Mexico Department of Health found that New Mexico had the second highest rate of suicide of 24.95 suicides per 100,000 residents, behind Wyoming, which had 25.23 deaths per 100,000 residents.

The New Mexico Department of Health (DOH) reported a total of 535 New Mexico residents committed suicide in 2018. The year 2018 is the most recent year for which nationwide data is available for comparison and includes increases in more than half of the age categories. The comparison includes both male and female populations, and across other demographics.

According to the American Association of Suicidology (AAS), the national average for suicides is 14.8 suicides per 100,000 people.

In 2017, New Mexico was 4th in the nation with 491 suicides which is a rate of 23.5 suicides for 100,000 residents. New Mexico was behind Montana, Wyoming and Alaska at the time.

In 2018, New Mexico had a 9% increase in the number of suicides. The number of suicides in the state went from 491 to 535 in one year. The increase in suicides in the state for the year resulted in the state being listed as number one in the country with a suicide rate of 25.6 suicides per 100,000 people.

The American Association of Suicidology reported one more suicide in New Mexico than New Mexico’s Department of Health. According to the association’s data, Wyoming in 2018 was second in suicides in the country with 147 suicides resulting in 25.4 suicides per 100,000 people.

The 3 other top contenders for highest suicide rates , like New Mexico with small populations, had substantial drops in suicides from 2017 to 2018. Montana saw 46 fewer suicides, Wyoming saw 10 fewer, and Alaska saw 16 fewer. The reduction in suicides in the other states is in sharp contrast to New Mexico, which had its highest number of suicides since the state began keeping track of suicides in 1999.

SUICIDE METHODS IDENTIFIED

The New Mexico Department of Health has identified 4 major categories for the commission of suicide: fall, firearm, poisoning, and suffocation. The statistics released by the New Mexico Department of Health showed that every category defining the cause of death increased, but interestingly, made up the same percentage as the year before.

In both the years of 2017 and 2018 a firearm was used in a little more than half of the suicides. Suffocation was the cause of death in just under 30%. Poisoning was the cause of death in 13% to 14% of deaths. Falls made up less than 2% of the suicides reported.

MALES HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER SUICIDE RATES

The statistics released by the New Mexico Department of Public Health (DOH) for 2018 are summarized as follows:

The number of suicides rose in 5 of the 9 age groups. Three-quarters of the New Mexico residents who killed themselves were male.

The number of women who died by suicide increased 22% from 109 in 2017 to 133 in 2018.

The number of men who died by suicide increased 5% from 382 in 2017 to 402 in 2018.

For youth ages 5 to 14 the suicide rate increased 88% from 2.5 deaths per 100,000 to 4.7. The hard numbers remain small with 7 suicides in this age group in 2017 and 13 in 2018. The state’s rates of suicide jumping in the youngest age group is also nationwide trend.

For people ages 25 to 34, the rate increased 25% from 29.6 to 37.9 deaths per 100,000. In 2017 there were 84 suicides in this age group, and there were 108 in 2018.

For people ages 35 to 44, the rate increased 13% from 27.1 to 30.6 deaths per 100,000. In 2017 there were 67 suicides, and there were 77 in 2018.

For people ages 55 to 64, the rate increased 49% from 19.5 per 100,000 to 29.1. There were 54 suicides in 2017 and 80 in 2018.

For people ages 65 to 74, the rate increased 9% from 29.7 to 32.5 deaths per 100,000. There were 63 suicides in 2017 and 71 in 2018.

The four remaining age groups had a decrease in the rate of suicides.

There was a substantial increase in the number of suicides among Native Americans. In 2017 there were 47 suicides reflecting a rate of 24.6 per 100,000. In 2018 there were 67 suicides reflecting a rate of 37.9 per 100,000.

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico-news/report-new-mexicorsquos-suicide-rate-is-highest-in-the-nation/5783023/

INADEQUATE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES

New Mexico Department of Health spokesman David Morgan explained that studies have found that in New Mexico there are 2 major contributing factors to high suicide rates:

1. New Mexico’s has a high rate of “adverse childhood experiences” that are associated with depression and higher rates of self-harm and suicide.

2. Limited access to behavioral health services. Behavioral health services are especially unavailable in the more rural parts of New Mexico.

Studies have found that New Mexico’s relatively lax firearm laws and higher rate of gun ownership are reflected in the state’s suicide rates. In 2017, 261 people killed themselves with a firearm and in 2018, 280 people used a firearm to take their own life.

According to Morgan, the New Mexico Department of Health (DOH) reestablished a coalition of advocates and organizations who will meet and discuss how to address suicide. The first meeting of the New Mexico Suicide Prevention Coalition occurred in October, 2019. Attending were upwards of 60 people from across the state from state and county agencies, nonprofits, higher education and behavioral health groups. The group discussed suicide awareness, prevention, intervention, post-vention, crisis services and surveillance.

The DOH is also working with emergency departments in various hospitals to implement a “secondary suicide prevention program” to provide treatment and support for patients who can be discharged and go home.

In an email to the Albuquerque Journal, DOH spokesman Morgan had this to say:

“The intervention includes a safety intervention plan that is patient centered, includes discussion on limiting access to lethal means, connects the patient to a crisis response center, and provides a quick referral to a behavioral health clinician. the intervention also provides support post discharge in the form of caring phone calls and/or letters to express concern to the suicide attempt survivor.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/1472695/new-mexicos-suicide-rate-is-highest-in-us.html

DESTRUCTION OF NEW MEXICO’S BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SYSTEM

It should come as absolutely no surprise that behavioral health services in New Mexico are limited and are especially unavailable in the more rural parts of New Mexico. The New Mexico Department of Health (DOH) is no doubt reluctant to talk about the biggest reason for poor behavioral health care in New Mexico and suicide prevention efforts. All New Mexico residents can give a big thanks and shout out to our former Republican Governor “She Who Shall Not Be Named” who was in office for a full 8 years and who almost single handedly destroyed New Mexico’s behavioral health care system.

The single cruelest thing that former Republican Governor “She Who Shall Not Be Named” did was when she ordered an “audit” of mental health services provided by nonprofits in New Mexico. She did so based on questionable information. The audit eventually devastated New Mexico’s behavioral health care system.

In June 2013, under the direction of the former Republican Governor, the Human Services Department (HSD) cut off Medicaid funding to 15 behavioral health nonprofits operating in New Mexico. In 2014, more than 160,000 New Mexicans received behavioral health services, with most of those services funded by Medicaid. After the audits were completed, the former Republican Administration said that the outside audit showed more than $36 million in over billing, as well as mismanagement and possible fraud. Under the orders of the Republican Governor, Human Services Department agency brought in 5 Arizona providers to take over from New Mexico providers.

In early 2016, following exhaustive investigations, the Attorney General cleared all 15 of the healthcare providers of any wrongdoing and exonerated all of them of fraud. Even though the New Mexico Attorney General found no fraud and cleared the nonprofits of fraud, the damage had been done to the nonprofits. With the Medicaid funding freeze, many of the 15 nonprofits could not continue and just went out of business leaving many patients without a behavioral health service provider especially in rural New Mexico. Lawsuits against the state were initiated by the mental health care providers.

Three of the five Arizona providers brought in by the previous Republican Administration in 2013 to replace the New Mexico nonprofits pulled out of the state. New Mexico’s mental health system is still struggling to recover.

https://www.abqjournal.com/749923/third-arizona-behavioral-health-provider-to-pull-out-of-state.html

BERNALILLO COUNTY’S EFFORTS TO REBUILDING BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE

There is grounds for hope to address New Mexico’s high suicide rates and its happening in Bernalillo County. On Feb. 26, 2015, the Bernalillo County Commission approved a 1/8 % gross receipts tax increase on a 3-2 vote to fund new behavioral and mental health services to improve access to mental and behavioral health care services in the county. The tax generates approximately $20 million annually. The intent of the tax is to invest the funding “in proven ways to better manage the high cost of addiction, homelessness and mental health problems”. According to a county commission announcement, “these issues impact families throughout the community and drive up the cost of public services, especially at the Metropolitan Detention Center.” The gross receipts tax costs shoppers one cent on a $10 purchase of goods and services.

https://www.bernco.gov/uploads/files/BH%20news%20release%20PDF.pdf

The 1/8th% gross receipts tax is be used for the purpose of providing more mental and behavioral health services for adults and children in the Albuquerque and Bernalillo County area. The intent is to provide a safety net system for those in need of mental health not otherwise funded in New Mexico.

Since enactment of the tax in 2015, the tax has generated $91.6 million. The county has spent $20 million of the money but has earmarked the bulk of what it amassed for one-time expenditures. Those expenditures include $30 million for a new crisis triage center, $12 million for supportive housing and $4 million for the Bernalillo County CARE campus, formerly known as the Metropolitan Assessment and Treatment Services center, or MATS. The renovations to the CARE campus when complete will create an outpatient behavioral health clinic and living room space for peer-to-peer counseling sessions.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1401895/county-detox-center-evolving.html

GUEST COLUMN BY COUNTY MANAGER AND CAO OF UNM HOSPITALS

On July 25, the Albuquerque Journal published a guest column authored by Bernalillo County Manager Julie Morgas Baca and Chief Executive Officer for UNM Hospitals Kate Becker. The guest column addressed the $20 million-a-year gross receipts tax dedicated to funding behavioral health services in Bernalillo County passed by county voters in 2014.

Following are edited excerpts from the column:

“… Bernalillo County and its community partners on a daily basis are … delivering the caliber of crisis triage services the tax was intended to support: a broad suite of behavioral health services to meet community needs … and a crisis triage center. These community-based programs, funded to the tune of $24 million over the past three years, have already benefited more than 80,000 people who were not otherwise being served.

… Voter approval of the gross receipts tax spurred the creation of the Behavioral Health Initiative (BHI) in 2015. This landmark collaboration of Bernalillo County, the city of Albuquerque and the University of New Mexico recognized there were significant unmet behavioral health needs in our community.

Over the past five years, the BHI tax has helped fund multiple initiatives, including:

The mobile crisis teams
Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion
The Resource Reentry Program
Community Connections supportive housing
Youth Transitional Living services
Reduction of Adverse Childhood Experiences,
Suicide prevention [efforts]
Behavioral health training and education
Peer Case Management
Peer Support Drop-In Centers and most recently
The Crisis Stabilization Unit located on the CARE Campus

(EDITORS NOTE: For a listing of 9 projects and funding from the Bernalillo County Behavioral Health tax see postscript to this blog article.)

These services provide the full continuum of support required to meet community behavioral health needs. Unfortunately, many of these needs went unmet after the state’s behavioral health safety network was realigned in 2013, and it has taken considerable time to rebuild needed resources.

In addition to funding these critical safety net services, Bernalillo County has worked closely with UNM Hospital to develop the Crisis Triage and Adult Psychiatric Center. This center would help those in crisis who don’t meet the criteria for psychiatric hospitalization, but whose mental health or substance abuse problems might lead them to jail or an emergency room.

… Bernalillo County and UNMH have executed a memorandum of understanding for the crisis triage center, reflecting an appropriation of $20 million from the county, to be matched by $20 million from UNMH. Earlier this month UNMH identified potential sites for the county to review in advance of the design-and-build process.

In addition to this much-anticipated new facility, UNMH and Bernalillo County staff continue to address additional needs, including partial hospitalization, expansion of behavioral health services at the UNM Psychiatric Center, living room model services and expanded behavioral health services for young people.

… [T]here is tremendous need in our community for these services. We are committed to thoughtful, data-driven decision-making, relying on best practices and community involvement to ensure that BHI tax receipts are expended in a way that achieves the result we all wish to see.

The Behavioral Health Initiative can take credit for putting our community on the right track at long last.

Going forward we will not rest on our laurels, and we will never lose sight of our overarching goal: to improve lives and serve the people of Bernalillo County.

The link to the guest column is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1479350/bernco-made-good-on-behavioral-crisis-promise.html

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

It is a very difficult for any elected official or for that matter any New Mexico resident to acknowledge and make an effort to solve the state’s high suicide rates given that the state is confronted with so many other serious problems it is dealing with including poverty, high crime rates, drug addiction, high unemployment and a poorly performing educational system just to mention a few.

According to the most recent state rankings compiled by US News and World Reports, New Mexico is at the bottom in many of the rankings:

#34 in Health Care
#49 in Education
#47 in Economy
#48 in Opportunity
#47 in Fiscal Stability
#49 in Crime & Corrections
#50 in Child Welfare (Last place for a third year in a row according to Kids Count 2020 Data Book measuring economic well-being, education, health and
family and community)

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/new-mexico

The County Commission has available millions in tax revenues generated from the behavioral tax assessed. In 2015, when the Bernalillo County Commission approved the tax, it did not develop a plan on how all the money would be used, including not identifying services to be provides, location of facilities and qualifiers to obtain the services offered. Approved programming should eventually cost the county $18.9 million annually, but more than $70 million in tax revenue has accumulated and the amount is growing. The County Commission has now enacted “Request For Approval” (RFP) plan to solicit plans from health care providers and others.

Notwithstanding all the rankings, Bernalillo County’s efforts for behavioral health programs is critical to addressing the city and counties behavioral health care needs and in turn the state’s. For that reason alone, Bernalillo County needs to explore expansion far more outreach programs, especially with our youth to deal with high suicide rates. Such programs need to include working with the city and the Albuquerque Public Schools to offer counseling services to our youth.

_______________________________

POSTSCRIPT

According to the Bernalillo County “Public Health Projects” webs site, link provided below, 9 projects that have been approved and committed annual funding of each of those projects are as follows:

1. Transition Planning and Re-entry Resource Center – $1,341,188 in year one; $1,041,188 annually thereafter.

“On a daily basis, the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) releases individuals back to the community who suffer from a variety of mental illnesses and substance abuse disorders, among other complications. The lack of a system for coordinated care as incarcerated individuals’ transition from jail to community contributes to recidivism and impedes efforts to generate more positive health outcomes for these individuals. The project includes funding transition planners at MDC and creating a Re-entry Resource Center (RRC) for an effective front door into a network of services.

2. Mobile Crisis Teams – $1 million BC/$340,000 ABQ

“The mobile crisis teams will respond to individuals experiencing a nonviolent behavioral health crisis that necessitates a 911-response Crisis Intervention teams are to be dispatched and will consist of a crisis intervention unit deputy paired with a masters’ level, behavioral health clinician.”

3. Expansion of the County’s Community Connections Supportive Housing Program – not to exceed $1 million.

“This expansion will focus on individuals with behavioral health issues residing in the community who are homeless or precariously housed and is estimated to provide a minimum of 55 housing vouchers with case management service.”

4. Community Connections Re-entry Supportive Housing – $1.3 million from Bernalillo County; $503,000 from City of ABQ

“This project provides intensive case management and services linked with scattered site housing to a target population of homeless or precariously housed persons with mental illness or co-occurring disorders or other disabilities and whose lack of community-based services have resulted in criminal justice system involvement.”

5. Community Engagement Team

“Community Engagement Teams (CET) help people and their families voluntarily cope with the effects of mental illness and substance abuse disorders, whether individual or co-occurring, in the comfort and familiarity of their homes and communities. The CET helps individuals avoid the criminal justice system and emergency mental health systems whenever possible. The CET in Bernalillo County requires an individualized, recovery-focused approach that promotes wellness, self-management, personal recovery, natural supports, coping skills, self-advocacy and the development of independent living skills. CETs can be considered part of a continuum of services rendered outside institution walls that include assertive community treatment, the crisis intervention unit, crisis outreach and support team, public inebriate intervention, and law enforcement response.”

6. Youth Transitional Living Proposal – not to exceed $650,000

“This is a new service intended for at-risk youth who are precariously housed or homeless with a mental health or addiction diagnosis. The funding provides youth transitional living services for clients with behavioral health diagnosis who are not currently under any state Children Youth and Families Department, Bernalillo County or other third party-funded program. This funding is available for non-third-party reimbursement.”

7. Reduction of “Adverse Childhood Experiences” (ACES) – not to exceed $3 million

“Bernalillo County is seeking to develop a cohesive system that utilizes all available resources to assist children who have been identified as at-risk by using adverse childhood experiences (ACE) scoring methodology. The goal is to develop a system that maintains a strong collaboration of professionals who work with children across the full continuum of services for at-risk children and families including primary prevention, identification, early intervention, support and treatment, harm reduction, outreach, and services in children’s homes and within communities. The funding is to pay for services and family supports not currently reimbursed by Medicaid or third-party payers.”

8. Behavioral Health Advisor – up to $140,000 per year

“The behavioral health advisor will provide guidance on the development and implementation of the behavioral health initiative.

9. UNM’s Institute for Social Research (UNM/ISR) Contract – not to exceed $246,553 per year.

“Bernalillo County seeks to implement a behavioral health system that measures the effectiveness of implemented programs and constantly strives to improve the performance of programs

https://www.bernco.gov/health-and-public-safety/behavioral-health-approved-projects.aspx

A link to a related blog article is here:

New Mexico’s Disgraceful Legacy Of Being Dead Last In Child Well Being Continues, Despite Gov. MLG’s Pledge To End Child Poverty Within One Year; New Child Well Being Agency Major Step To End The Disgrace

Sheriff Manny Gonzales was born and raised in the South Valley and attended Albuquerque public schools. He is married and he and his wife Elaine are both life-long residents of Albuquerque. The couple are raising their three teenage children, two sons and one daughter, in the same community where they were raised in the South Valley. Gonzales is a United States veteran, having served honorably in the United States Marine Corps.

EDUCATION AND BACKGROUND

Sheriff Gonzales has an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Central New Mexico Community College and a Bachelor’s Degree in Management with two Minors (Occupational Education/ Specialization in Law Enforcement). His Law Enforcement Executive Development consists of FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development – Command Institute for Law Enforcement Executives, Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff and Command, Western States Sheriff’s Association – Leadership, The Southern Police Institute- Chief Executive Leadership Course, The National Sheriff’s Institute – Executive Level Management Education and Training, and the New Mexico Department of Public Safety Executive

LAW ENFORCEMENT CAREER

Sheriff Gonzales began his law enforcement career on August 14th, 1989 with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office. Over the span of 24 years, Sheriff Gonzales served in all divisions, commands, and shifts within the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department. He worked his way through the ranks of the department and was promoted to Sergeant, Lieutenant, and Captain.

On November 30th, 2009 Sheriff Gonzales was unanimously appointed Sheriff by the Bernalillo County Commission, when the sitting Sheriff resigned. He has been Sheriff for six years. Sheriff Gonzales was elected Sheriff on November 6, 2018 with 54.7% of the vote and garnering 126,606 votes county wide. His current term expires January 1, 2023.

Sheriff Manny Gonzales is very personable and well liked as evidence by the landslide vote he received in 2018. No one has any right to try and humiliate him by demanding his resignation in order to circumvent his continued service in a job he was elected, but that is what has happened to him.

HIGHER AMBITIONS BY SHERIFF MANNY GONZALES

On September 6, 2019, BCSO Sheriff Manny Gonzales upset the Mayor Tim Keller Administration when he made it known he was planning on running for Mayor against Keller in 2021. The question arose after Gonzales hired a former spokesman for Michelle Lujan Grisham’s campaign for governor. The spokesperson became embroiled with a controversy of his own accusing the Governor of sexual harassment and threatening a lawsuit.

Gonzales hedged when asked about running for Mayor and said he had not made a “formal decision” about running for mayor against Keller, but he did tell the Albuquerque Journal he had not ruled out campaigning for higher office and said:

“When I first took office, they asked me the question what are my political aspirations and this is what I voiced and I’m still the same. … I said my intentions are to run for sheriff and hopefully get reelected and I’ve done that. After my performance there I said I would look at other options and if people supported me because I did a good job then I would consider higher office. And I still stand by that. … My campaign right now and my focus is keeping people safe. … My campaign is to follow through with what I promised the people I would do.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/1363025/sheriff-no-formal-decision-on-mayoral-run.html

DEMANDS FOR RESIGNATION

On Tuesday, July 21, Sheriff Gonzales announced he would be meeting with President Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday, July 22. Gonzales failed to give any more information about his Washington trip, simply saying he would brief the public upon his return. Sheriff Gonzales immediately came under severe criticism from Democratic city and state elected officials for meeting with Trump.

It turned out what Gonzales attended was a White House press conference where he did not say a single word. The purpose of the Trump press conference was for Trump to announce he was sending 35 law enforcement agents to Albuquerque from various federal agencies to help deal with violent crime offenders.

SENATOR MARTIN HEINRICH DEMAND

Before the press conference, in an interview exhibiting hostility, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich called for the resignation of Bernalillo County Sheriff Manny Gonzales. Heinrich claimed Gonzales was inviting federal law enforcement agents to Albuquerque calling the law enforcement being sent the president’s “storm troopers”

In a statement, Heinrich said:

“I believe that it is time for Sheriff Gonzales to step aside and make room for someone who will make maintaining the peace and promoting the safety and protection of Bernalillo County residents our law enforcement’s top priority. … Instead of collaborating with the Albuquerque Police Department, the Sheriff is inviting the President’s storm-troopers into Albuquerque. … If we can learn anything from Portland [Oregon], it’s that we don’t need this kind of ‘help’ from the White House. The President is currently using federal law enforcement agents like a domestic paramilitary force. That’s precisely how fascism begins and none of us should ever encourage it or accept.”

ACLU DEMAND

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Director Peter Simonson also chimed in with Senator Heinrich and demanded Sheriff Gonzales to resign. The ACLU gave sparse rational for the resignation demand. No doubt the resignation demand has most to do with the Sheriff’s opposition to lapel cameras and recent law suites the ACLU has filed against the Sheriff’s Department for racial profiling of African Americans.

Further, a settlement was announced in March for $4 million dollars involving the killing of a 28 year old mentally ill girl by two of BCSO Deputies who shot her 21 times. The lawsuit alleged the use of deadly force and also went on to allege Sheriff Gonzales has fostered a “culture of aggression” within his department. The “culture of aggression” is one that the ACLU is particularly concerned about because of its involvement as a stakeholder in the federal Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) mandating sweeping reforms of APD.

MAYOR TIM KELLER

In a statement, Mayor Tim Keller said President Trump was ready to incite violence in Democratic cities and is forming a reelection strategy “built on gas lighting immigrants and people of color ”. Keller said:

“We always welcome partnerships in constitutional crime fighting that are in step with our community, but we won’t sell out our city for a bait and switch excuse to send secret police to Albuquerque. Operation Legend is not real crime fighting. It’s politics standing in the way of police work and makes us less safe. … There’s no place for Trump’s secret police in our city. … If this was more than a stunt, these politicians would support constitutional crime-fighting efforts that work for our community, not turning Albuquerque into a federal police state.”

https://www.dailylobo.com/article/2020/07/update-trump-announces-operation-legend-is-being-expanded-to-albuquerque

APD CHIEF MICHAEL GEIER

APD Chief Michael Geier had this to say:

“We coordinate with our federal law enforcement partners every day. … What is being described is not real crime-fighting; it’s politics standing in the way of police work.”

CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT PAT DAVIS

On July 21, Democrat Albuquerque City Council President Pat Davis also unloaded on Sheriff Manny Gonzales over his plans to met President Trump and had this to say:

“Now we see that the President is planning to looking at Albuquerque to send federal officers for help, we are not asking for and don’t need and now the sheriff is going to the White House to tell him all about how the president can help us in Albuquerque, and quite frankly we don’t need either of their help for this”.

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/councilman-davis-puts-bcso-sheriff-on-blast-opposes-deployment-of-federal-agents-to-abq/5801886/?fbclid=IwAR0hn_tWRRxygLl_2z5VXtJlGpoZSrmzlYLLxlpK56Z3nvedbBZMC7Q18ZU#.XxfCo0ed4AU.facebook

On July 21, Davis had this to say on TWITTER:

“On the same days news reports announce the Trump’s ICE is looking to send Portland-style feds to ABQ, our Sherriff makes plans to visit Trump in-person to “update” him on ABQ NEEDS. If these feds show up here, know who to blame.”

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Thirty-five (35) law enforcement agents from various federal agencies assigned to target violent felons in Albuquerque do not constitute “Storm Troopers”, “secret police” and it is not “turning Albuquerque into a federal police state” nor is it “gaslighting immigrants and people of color”. It sure hell is not “politics standing in the way of police work”. These are all inflammatory quotes from Heinrich, Keller and Geier used before federal agents have even arrived to the city. According to New Mexico’s FBI Agent in Charge and the United States Attorney for New Mexico, the agents will be in plain clothes and will not be performing protective service of Federal Government Buildings like that in Portland, Oregon.

The offer of sending federal law enforcement agents to Albuquerque is the identical offer made back in December and Keller and Geier had no problem back then but got offended when Attorney General Barr did not invite them to his press conference with the federal agencies and the New Mexico US Attorney. In December, the program was called “Operation Relentless Pursuit” and Trump and Attorney General Barr renamed it at the press conference as “Operation Legend.”

A link to a December, 2019 blog article on Operation Relentless Pursuit is here:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2019/12/19/doj-operation-relentless-pursuit-includes-albuquerque-city-needs-to-ask-ag-barr-and-doj-to-dismiss-casa/

A link to a blog article on Operation Legend is here:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2020/07/23/devil-in-the-details-of-operation-legend-heinrichs-storm-troopers-accusation-over-the-top-trump-lies-and-albuquerque-is-not-portland-progressive/

Mayor Keller’s remarks can be dismissed with the Spanish term “envidia” by the Mayor and Chief and by not giving Sheriff Gonzales any credit for being able to secure help from the federal government to deal with the City’s high violent crime rates. High violent crime rates have plagued Keller for 3 years ever since he promised to bring down the city’s crime rates once elected Mayor which he failed to do. Mayor Keller’s and APD Chief Michael Geier’s condemnation of Gonzales is hypocrisy as both touted federal law enforcement assistance back in November of 2019 when they announced a 4th plan they called the “Violence Intervention Plan” (VIP) to deal with the cities violent crime rates. The VIP program was announced after the murder of Jacquelyn Vigil. Keller and Geier both said in a news conference that partners on the VIP program included the federal Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureaus of Investigation (FBI), the United States Marshal for New Mexico and Homeland Security, the very same federal agencies that are now sending law enforcement agents to the city.

A link to the news coverage is here:

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/mayor-keller-touts-new-plan-to-tackle-violent-crime/5561150/

WHITE PRIVILEGE EXPOSED

One glaring problem that was revealed by the trip Sheriff Gonzales made to the White House is that the “white privilege” progressive leadership of Heinrich, Keller and Davis within the Democratic party have a complete intolerance of anyone they perceive as not agreeing with them or who may oppose them for elective office. The problem of intolerance was on full display when Senator Martin Heinrich, Mayor Tim Keller, Albuquerque City Council President Pat Davis, APD Chief Michael Geier and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Director Peter Simonson all went after and all piled on Sheriff Gonzales with a vengeance.

Senator Martin Heinrich’s and American Civil Liberties Union Director Peter Simonson demanding the Sherriff’s resignation was just plain wrong. It is one thing to be disappointed in Sheriff Gonzales because of his support of conservative causes and even to condemn his trip to the White House to participate in a Trump photo op, but demanding the Sheriff’s resignation was ignoring his lifetime of service to the community and the country.

Senator Martin Heinrich, Mayor Tim Keller, City Council President Pat Davis and Chief Michael Geier need to be far more sensitive and get educated to what is really happening in Albuquerque when it comes to race relations, stop looking at the city through the lenses of “white privilege Democrats”. The likes of Heinrich and Davis especially need to stop acting like they are here to save us from ourselves. Both Heinrich and Davis ask for the deed to the house when people tell them “Mi Casa Es Su Casa” not knowing what is meant. We do not need saving from ourselves, especially from those who really do not understand nor who can identify with our minority communities and our city’s rich Hispanic history. The city is not in need of “saving” by those who have never experienced racial discrimination in their lifetimes.

The records of Heinrich, Keller, Geier and Pat Davis of fighting crime in the city is dubious at best and a failure. Mayor Keller’s efforts are especially a failure after all the promises he has broken on reducing the cities high crime rates and the millions he has spent on law enforcement and the expansion of APD. Pat Davis is even more of a failure seeing as the entire 5 years he has been on the City Council he has done nothing to reduce our crime rates. The state and city needs real leadership and not politicians they have revealed themselves to be as they engaged in the same type of hyperbole as Trump, but with a progressive flare and tone of self-righteousness.

WHITE PRIVILEGE COALITION ON CITY COUNCIL

City Councillor President Pat Davis is a former Washington, DC police officer who shot an African American twice, without provocation, and who as a UNM Campus Police Officer engaged in pattern of excessive force against New Mexico residents. Former UNM Campus Police Lt. Pat Davis, along with two of his fellow UNM Campus Police officers, violated people’s civil rights with unconstitutional searches of their private homes with no warrant after they coerced two woman to allow the searches and they found nothing. The New Mexico cases were settled costing New Mexico taxpayers thousands.

Former conservative Republican Pat Davis is the very same “self proclaimed progressive” who is now holding himself out as a “reformed former cop” who can change APD. The progressives wing of the Democratic party have always fondled over Pat Davis ever since he was the Executive Director of ProgressNow New Mexico. Progressives Democrats continue to fondle over Davis and say “forgive and forget, he is one of use now” and they believe all of his garbage. It was on July 17, the Albuquerque Journal published a guest column by Progressive Democrats State Senator Mimi Stewart and Representative Debbie Sarinana going to the defense of City Council President Pat Davis after ProgressNow demanded that Davis resign from the Albuquerque City Council after his extensive history of conduct and unconstitutional policing practices were revealed. You can read the entire letter to the editor at this link:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1476698/progressnow-keeps-our-eyes-on-the-wrong-prize.html

The truth is Pat Davis is now the leader of what is being referred to as the “White Privilege Coalition” on the City Council consisting of Democrats Pat Davis, Isaac Benton, Diane Gibson and Republicans Don Harris and Trudy Jones. Pat Davis has bragged about in the past of being able to work with Republicans on the city council and has even co sponsored many ordinances with Republican Don Harris. These are the very same city councilors who voted repeatedly for the ART Bus project and kept all their mouths shut and refused to hold APD accountable when the Federal Monitor issued scathing audit reports on the Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA).

Prior to his death, long time City Councillor Ken Sanchez, as a native of Albuquerque, was a strong advocate for all parts of the city and would often work closely with City Councilors Klarisa Pena and Cynthia Borrego to get things done. It was common knowledge Sanchez was always thinking about running for Mayor. Democrat Ken Sanchez was considered a moderate Democrat and would often disagree with Mayor Tim Keller. Sanchez was often criticized by the progressive wing of the party as being a “corporate democrat”.

When long time City Councillor Sanchez passed away, Progressive Democrat Mayor Tim Keller took advantage of it and appointed a progressive activist to the City Council who he could rely upon for any and all support. Now that Pat Davis is City Council President, confidential sources are saying that he repeatedly marginalizes the Hispanic woman on the city council and opposes any of their initiatives. When Pat Davis marginalizes the Hispanic woman on the City Council, he relies on his “White Privilege” coalition on the city council as does Progressive Mayor Tim Keller.

SELF CREATED HURDLES TO SHERIFF GONZALES BECOMING MAYOR GONZALES

Notwithstanding the progressive wing of the Democratic Party piling on Sheriff Manny Gonzales, there are a number of very serious obstacles he himself has created to any ambitions to becoming the next Mayor of Albuquerque. Following are a few of those obstacles:

SHERIFF GONZALES OPPOSITION TO LAPEL CAMERAS

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed a bill enacted during the 2020 special session mandating the use of by all law enforcement agencies in the state. Sheriff Gonzales has consistently opposed the use of lapel cameras by the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s office while lapel camera usage is required of APD. Many Democrats and Republicans strongly disagree with Sheriff Gonzales’ resistance to ordering the use of lapel cameras. Last fall the Bernalillo County Commission allocated $1 million in startup money, plus $500,000 in recurring annual funds for the sheriff’s office to get dashboard cameras and lapel cameras, but Sheriff Gonzales refused and no equipment was ever purchased.

On July 15, Sheriff Gonzales, essentially ignoring the lapel camera mandate by the legislature, announced he is looking to partner with a private company so his deputies can put “smartphones” in their vests and record video instead of using body cameras. The suggestion to use “smart phones” was met with ridicule. Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, the sponsor of the mandatory use of lapel cameras by all New Mexico law enforcement, burst out laughing when told of the sheriff’s plan to use smart phones. Senator Cervantes had this to say:

“I’m pleased to see the sheriff is finally willing to adopt one of the tools of modern law enforcement. … We passed a law that requires body-worn cameras, so if he wants to do it by duct-taping iPhones on his officers’ chests, that’s his prerogative, although I think it creates the possibility of becoming a laughingstock.”

https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Besieged-New-Mexico-sheriff-eyes-smartphones-as-15411944.php

A $4 MILLION DOLLAR SETTLEMENT BY BCSO AND STILL NO LAPEL CAMERAS

On March 6, 2020, it was reported that the family of a mentally ill Elisha Lucero, 28, who was shot and killed by Bernalillo County Sheriff’s deputies in front of her home during a misdemeanor battery call last summer, settled their lawsuit with the county for $4 million. The two Sheriff Deputies who shot and killed Elisha Lucero were not wearing lapel cameras. The two are the same deputies who were sued, along with the Sheriff, by the ACLU for racial profiling during traffic stops of African American women. (See below: RACIAL PROFILING ACCUSATIONS AGAINST BCSO.)

In July, 2019, mentally ill Elisha Lucero, 28, was shot to death in front of her RV, which was parked in front of her family’s South Valley home. Deputies had responded to the home after a relative called 911 saying Lucero had hit her uncle in the face. According to the 911 call, a relative said Lucero was mentally ill, needed help, and was a threat to herself and to everybody else. Just one month prior, Lucero had called BCSO and asked to be taken to the hospital for mental health issues. According to the lawsuit, when deputies arrived, they said Lucero initially refused to come out of the home. The 4-foot-11 Lucero, naked from the waist up, ran out screaming and armed with a kitchen knife and the deputies pulled their revolvers and shot her. According to an autopsy report, she was shot at least 21 times by the deputies.

The Lucero family civil suit states:

“the deputies created a situation where they were forced to use deadly force against Ms. Lucero or have justified their unlawful use of deadly force with the falsehood that Ms. Lucero presented a deadly threat to one or all of them.”

The Lucero lawsuit filed on January 13 alleges Sheriff Gonzales has fostered a “culture of aggression” in the department and too few deputies are trained to handle people with mental health issues. The allegation of a “culture of aggression” and the use of deadly force when dealing with the mentally ill is identical to what the Department of Justice investigation found within the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) 6 years ago resulting in the DOJ federal Court Approved Settlement Agreement. Albuquerque has paid out $5 million to $6 million for it’s most high-profile officer-involved shootings, including the shooting of mentally ill homeless camper James Boyd and mentally ill Christopher Torres prior to beginning its reform effort with the Department of Justice.

Even after the shooting of Elisha Lucero and the $4 Million settlement, Sheriff Gonzales did not change his opposition to lapel cameras. Gonzales has proclaimed his deputies do not need lapel cameras because they have audio recorders on their belts.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1428402/family-of-mentally-ill-woman-shot-by-bcso-gets-4m-settlement.html

BCSO RACIAL PROFILING CASES SETTLED

In this day and age of the Black Lives Matter movement, civil lawsuits are the norm and not the exception against any law enforcement agency and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s office is no different. There is no doubt if Sheriff Gonzales runs for Mayor, his management of BCSO will be examined as will any and all lawsuits filed against the department under his watch for systemic racial profiling.

On July 8, 2020, it was reported that two Black women from Wisconsin are suing Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales and two deputies alleging racial and religious profiling stemming from a traffic stop in July 2017. The lawsuit was filed about five months after Bernalillo County reached a $100,000 settlement with Sherese Crawford, a 38-year-old African-American who filed a lawsuit against BCSO after she was pulled over three times in 28 days by deputies Patrick Rael and Leonard Armijo, the same deputies named in the new lawsuit, in spring 2017.

The was filed by Sisters Consweyla and Cynthia Minafee, and a 5-year-old child, Yahaven Pylant, were traveling from Phoenix back to Wisconsin when they were pulled over by Rael on Interstate 40 the morning of July 7, 2017. Cynthia Minafee was Yahaven’s legal guardian at the time. According to the lawsuit, the traffic stop lasted almost an hour and included an extensive search of the vehicle with a drug dog. According to the lawsuit, Rael told the women to get out of the car and said he could smell marijuana on Cynthia. Cynthia said that she had not smoked in the car and that there was no marijuana in the vehicle. Consweyla Minafee, the driver, was not issued a traffic citation, but Cynthia Minafee was issued a citation for not having Yahaven properly restrained. The citation was dismissed in May, online court records show.

A link to the full Albuquerque Journal article is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1473973/two-bcso-deputies-face-second-racial-profiling-lawsuit.html

It was on December 6, 2017 that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico filed a lawsuit on behalf of Sherese Crawford, a 38-year-old African-American woman on temporary assignment in New Mexico as an Immigration and Customs Agent (ICE) deportation officer. The lawsuit alleged that Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) deputies racially profiled her by pulling her over three times, twice by the same deputy, within a month with no probable cause or reasonable suspicion that she was breaking the law. None of the three times she was pulled over was she given a warning or a citation.

ACLU of New Mexico Staff Attorney Kristin Greer Love had this to say at the time:

“Our client is an accomplished federal agent who was targeted for driving while black … BCSO unlawfully and repeatedly stopped her because she fit a racial profile. Targeting people because of the color of their skin is unconstitutional and bad policing. Racial discrimination has no place in New Mexico, and BCSO must take immediate action to ensure that this behavior does not continue.”

https://www.aclu-nm.org/en/press-releases/aclu-files-racial-profiling-lawsuit-against-bcso

SHERIFF GONZALES AND THE DOJ REFORMS

On April 10, 2014, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Civil Rights Division, submitted a scathing 46-page investigation report on an 18-month civil rights investigation of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD). A link to the entire report is here:

https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/crt/legacy/2014/04/10/apd_findings_4-10-14.pdf

Based on the investigation and the review of excessive use of force and deadly force cases, the DOJ found that a “culture of aggression” existed within APD. The DOJ found “reasonable cause to believe that APD engage[d] in a pattern or practice of use of excessive force, including deadly force, in violation of the Fourth Amendment … . A significant number of the use of force cases reviewed by the DOJ involved persons suffering from acute mental illness and who were in crisis.”

The investigation found APD’s policies, training, and supervision were insufficient to ensure that officers encountering people with mental illness or in distress do so in a manner that respected their rights and in a manner that was safe for all involved.

On November 10, 2014 the City and APD entered into a federal Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) mandating sweeping changes to APD policy and training on the use of force and deadly force. For the last 6 years the City and APD have been struggling to implement 176 reforms and have spent millions on the reforms.

Sheriff Gonzales has not expressed them vocally nor publicly, but it is known to many in law enforcement that he has significant reservation and disagreements with the federal Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA). Confidential sources say Gonzales intends to campaign for more Mayor on a platform to dismiss the federal court case and abolish all the reforms imposed upon APD and he wants the case to be dismissed.

Just a few of the DOJ reforms Sheriff Manny Gonzales is likely to find very problematic and object to as Mayor Gonzales are:

1.The new “use of force” and “use of deadly force” policies that have been written, implemented and all APD sworn have received training on.

2. The extent of the mandatory crisis management intervention training required of APD.

3. APD’s “Use of Force Review Board” that oversees all internal affairs investigations of use of force and deadly force by APD Officers.

4. The Internal Affairs Unit being divided into two sections, one dealing with general complaints and the other dealing with use of force incidents.

5. Sweeping changes ranging from APD’s SWAT team protocols, to banning choke-holds, to auditing the use of every Taser carried by officers.

6. The implemented and strict “Constitutional policing” practices and methods, and mandatory crisis intervention techniques an de-escalation tactics with the mentally ill that must now be used.

7. APD has adopted a new system to hold officers and supervisors accountable for all use of force incidents with personnel procedures implemented detailing how use of force cases are investigated.

8. APD has revised and updated its policies on the mandatory use of lapel cameras by all sworn police officers.

9. A new Civilian Police Oversight Agency has been created, funded, fully staffed and a director hired.

10. The Community Policing Counsels (CPCs) have been created in all area commands and the CPCs meet monthly and make recommendations to the Chief on discipline.

13. The Mental Health Advisory Committee has been implemented.

Unless a candidate for Mayor Manny Gonzales can agree with all the mandatory requirements of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and agree with 100% implementation of the reforms by APD, it is likely his election as Mayor will be a major setback to the reforms and APD will be given the leeway to return to unconstitutional policing practices.

REACHING ACROSS PARTY LINES

Democrat Bernalillo County Sheriff Gonzales did himself no favors by going to the White House to participate in a photo op with Trump. True or not, it was interpreted as an endorsement of President Trump’s policies. Sheriff Gonzales should have known better and not gone at all or have sent the Under Sheriff in his stead.

It is understandable that Sheriff Manny Gonzales has the desire to reach across party lines. But doing so in law enforcement and being the only one going and excluding the Bernalillo County District Attorney, the Mayor, the President of the City Council and the Presiding District Court Judge, all who are Democrats dealing with high crime rates, was a big mistake on many levels.

The current make up of the 9 member Albuquerque City Council is 6 Democrats and 3 Republicans with a “White Privilege” coalition in control which is not likely to change. The current makeup of the 5 member Bernalillo County Commission, who funds the Sheriff’s Office, is 4 Democrats and the one Republican who is the Chairman of the County Commission. Trying to reach across party lines when both the City Council and County Commission have super majorities of Democrats is a waste of time, especially when the City Council is controlled by a “White Privilege” coalition who no doubt would oppose a Mayor Gonzales.

New Mexico progressive, moderate and conservative Democrats all have hostility for President Trump that can be described as complete contempt. Gonzales is now faced with the prospect that he just may have ended his aspirations to being Albuquerque’s next Mayor, but it’s likely he does not feel that way. It’s likely he thinks those who disagreed with him going to Washington would not have voted for him in the first place but the problem is those people will be Democrats. Republicans are just as likely not to vote for him either if a Republican is on the ballot for Mayor.

At a minimum, any and all future opponents Sheriff Gonzales has, including Tim Keller, will likely portray him as a Trump supporter and a “Democrat In Name Only” (DINO). That is fair game in politics given his trip to the White House. For that reason alone, he should consider just changing his party affiliation to Republican before he runs for Mayor, especially if he wants to support a conservative Republican agenda or any Republican conservative causes in the future as Mayor.

A RECOMMENDATION FOR CONSIDERATION

After the negative outburst against Sheriff Gonzales by Heinrich, Keller, Davis and Geier, Sheriff Gonzales confirmed he was not deterred and is still interested in running for Mayor in 2021 which his right and he should not be intimated by anyone not to run. However, one would hope he would seriously consider the city needs him elsewhere and not in the Mayor’s office and recognize the obstacles he has created himself.

Sheriff’s Gonzales’ background and credentials are exclusively law enforcement that makes him ill-equipped to deal with serious problems as Mayor other than law enforcement and high crime rates. The state has already had a former career prosecutor and “law and order” Republican Governor as well as a “law and order” Republican Mayor concurrently for 8 years. The Republican Governor and Republican Mayor were both a disaster and both had a very warped vision of Albuquerque and the state and they simply did not know what they were doing. It will be the same with Sheriff Gonzales.

No doubt there will be those that say a Mayor hires professional staff to do all the work, but the reality of City Hall is a Mayor usually surrounds themselves with loyalists that have helped them get elected and not necessarily qualified for the jobs. In the Sheriff’s case, it will likely be people he has known over many years in law enforcement. Then there is the problem posed with a former Sheriff second guessing a new APD Chief’s management decisions and law enforcement priorities.

Gonzales is encouraged to rethink if he really wants to be Mayor given the fact that the city is faced with so many other problems and not just high crime rates. An exclusive law enforcement background such as his and bringing down high crime rates will only go so far in solving the city’s other serious problems. Those problems include poverty, the homeless, economic development, high jobless rates, a poor education system, gentrification, city deficits and the pandemic and managing a workforce of over 5,000 with 16 departments with a $1 billion budget.

WHERE SHERIFF GONZALES LEADERSHIP IS REALLY NEEDED

Throughout the country, the Black Lives Matter movement has changed dramatically how police are viewed and how law enforcement is funded and operated. The one cause that Sheriff Manny Gonzales’s expertise is desperately needed and where it could best be used and relied upon would be to advocate for defunding of both the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) and create a regional law enforcement authority working with the New Mexico Legislature, the Bernalillo County Commission and the Albuquerque City Council.

CREATE ABBCO POLICE AUTHORITY

The approach taken by the New Mexico legislature creating the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Authority should be taken with defunding both the Albuquerque Police Department and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department. Assets, personnel, units, office space, area commands, emergency operations dispatching and academy training can be combined and accomplished by ordinances adopted by both the City Council and the County Commission or through a negotiated Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The New Mexico Legislature can enact enabling legislation that would include a constitutional amendment abolishing the Office of Sheriff for class “A” counties (counties with populations exceeding 500,000) and mandating the creation of Metropolitan-County Law enforcement authority.

A permanent dedicated funding source consisting of a combination of gross receipts tax and property tax taken from Municipal and County existing taxing authority would be transferred and authorized by the legislature to the authority. Municipal and County Law Enforcement Budgets would be combined and reduced where there is duplication of services. Surplus and duplicate funding from both APD and BCSO budgets would be identified and those funds invested or reallocated into social programs to address the real causes of crime.

Personnel policies, rules, regulations, standard operating procedure and internal affairs function can be developed for the authority. Most importantly, uniform police standard operating procedures and constitutional policing training and practices would be implemented, such as mandatory use of lapel cameras and de-escalations tactics along with many of the reforms mandated by the Court Approved Settlement Agreement included as policy for the authority.

A civilian governing board of 5 members for the police authority would be created. The members would be the Mayor, the City Council President, the Bernalillo County Commission Chairperson, the Bernalillo County Sheriff and the Chief or Presiding Judge of the Second Judicial District, all who would serve no more than two 4-year terms. A Police Authority Commissioner would be appointed by the civilian governing board. ABBCO Commissioner would be a contracted position that could only be terminated for cause as defined in the contract with compensation established by the governing board. The Police Authority Commissioner would have the identical or combined authority as the APD Chief and Bernalillo County Sheriff to run and operate the authority.

Both the Albuquerque Police Department and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office have way to much overlap with taxpayers in the city paying for essentially two law enforcement agencies. The City and the County have essentially combined geographically. Consolidation of both law enforcement authorities is long overdue. Both law enforcement agencies can and should be combined and streamlined into one Albuquerque and Bernalillo County Regional Law Enforcement authority or an ABBCO Police Authority.

For more on the creation of ABBCO police authority see link to July 22 blog article and the end.

CONCLUSION

If Sheriff Manny Gonzales is truly interested in long term government service that will have a long-lasting effect and leave a legacy of reform in his chosen profession of law enforcement, he would abandon his efforts and the waste of time running for Mayor. He should consider spear heading the creation of a regional law enforcement authority. Now that would require working across all philosophical and party lines.

No matter what Sheriff Gonzales finally decides, the people of Albuquerque do indeed owe him a debt of gratitude for the service he has thus far given to the community in law enforcement. Best wishes to him.

For a related blog article see:

Defund APD And BCSO; Create ABBCO Police Authority With Civilian Governing Board And ABBCO Police Authority Commissioner

On July 23, the Albuquerque Police Officers’ Association (APOA) released the results of its annual “State of Policing Survey”. True to form, and not at all surprising, the APOA President Shaun Willoughby told the Albuquerque Journal in an interview:

“I think the biggest takeaway is that for this community your police officers that are out there right now, every single day, trying to keep you safe, they’re down in the dumps. Their morale is as low as I’ve seen it and they need support.”

According to Willoughby, the survey was sent out in a department wide email to all 965 sworn police with only 433 participating. This fact is interesting to note in that the 965 sworn police the survey was sent to had to include all sworn personnel when all sworn personnel are not in the police union. The union membership consists of Lieutenants, Sergeants, both part of management, and the rank and file police below that rank. All commanders and up are not part of the union.

SURVEY RESULTS IN A NUTSHELL

The highlights of the survey released are as follows:

80% of APD officers who responded have considered a new line of work in the past couple of months and of those 84% said it was due to the “current view on policing, the increased scrutiny on officers, new reform efforts and job insecurity.”

62% of sworn police officers do not feel they are being supported by Police Chief Michael Geier.

96% of sworn police do not feel supported by the City Council.

83% of sworn police do not feel supported by Mayor Tim Keller.

88% of sworn police are concerned about losing “qualified immunity”. “Qualified Immunity” is where sworn police officers are not personally held liable for anyone they injure or killed on the job. Under “qualified immunity” the city assumes full responsibility for any and all conduct, intentional or negligent, by sworn police.

68% of officers said it was “unlikely or very unlikely” that they would recommend police work as a career choice to others.

LOW MORALE THE NORM AND NOTHING NEW AT APD

Low morale among APD officers isn’t new or novel and has been low for the last six years and since the Federal Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) mandating constitutional policing reforms.

The Union Surveys in 2018 and 2019 reflected sworn police officers criticizing the low pay, under-staffing of the department and officer scrutiny as reasons for their low morale.

In 2018 the union survey found that 70% of officers considered a career change.

In 2019, the number was just below 60%.

Willoughby believes the recent dip moral is coming from the national and local sentiments of the Black Lives Movement which is pushing a national trend to defund the police and ideas of civilians responding to police calls such as mental health welfare checks. Willoughby also said the small uptick in 2019 to the City Council and Keller, who “put their money where their mouth is” and gave APD their first contract in several years.

A NEW TWIST TO THE UNION SURVEY

The Police Union this year added a new twist to its survey. The survey added 405 community members asking their outlooks on local policing, crime and public safety.

The survey of community members revealed the following:

67% believed crime was getting worse.

83% wanted more officers to make the street safer.

11% believed “not enough officers” was a contributing factor to crime in Albuquerque.

KELLER ADMINISTRATION RESPONDS TO SURVEY RESULTS

APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos responded to the survey results this way:

“Albuquerque’s officers have been through a lot during the pandemic, keeping people safe during two dozen protests and dealing with public criticism that is part of a national debate over policing. … Obviously, we are concerned, and APD’s leadership is working to ensure officers and their families are protected against the COVID virus. The department also stepped up efforts to support officers and address mental health resources for officers who want help.”

Gallegos also criticized the union survey by saying it is:

“tailored to achieve a preconceived goal, so it’s not surprising that every few years the union’s president paints the city and the police department in the worst possible light.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/1478995/survey-apd-officers-are-down-in-the-dumps-ex-union-president-says-local-leaders-must-reflect-on-the-findings.html

2018 POLICE UNION SURVEY RECALLED

The results of the police unions 2018 annual survey is worth reviewing for comparison to the 2020 survey. The 2018 survey results were released on April 12, 2018 and once again the survey was released by APOA President Shaun Willoughby.

In 2018, 491 out of the 878 sworn officers took the survey. In 2020, 433 participated out of 965 sworn police.

In 2018, the survey found that morale was definitely low with 70% of the responding officers thinking about leaving APD in the last two years. In 2020 that figure jumped to 80% of APD officers who responded having considered a new line of work.

In 2018, the union gave the officers a multiple-choice question to pick reasons why they were considering going elsewhere and 69% said work conditions, 67% said better pay and 67% said they want a better quality of life.

Specific comments that were revealing were written by officers as to why they had considered leaving APD and include:

• “Fear of media scrutiny and criminal charges.”
• “The (Department of Justice) has no business running a police department.”
• “This town sucks as a whole. Bad schools bad crime bad housing.”
• “Family would be safer outside of ABQ where police are allowed to do their job.”
• “The clowns that get promoted to supervisor.”

In 2018, Patrol Officer’s First class were making $27.50 an hour, no matter the number of years on the force. Today, in 2020, starting pay for an APD Police Officer immediately out of the APD academy is $29 an hour or $60,320 yearly.

In 2018, when asked what could be done to increase the number of police officers, 77% of the officers said they could pay officers a more competitive salary. Three-fourths of the officers who took the survey said a competitive salary would be between $32 and $36 an hour. Today in 2020, APD police officers are paid between $30 and $35 an hour depending on rank and years of service.

In 2018, whopping 98% of responding officers said APD’s staffing level has compromised officer safety, but that is not at all surprising given that APD had only 878 sworn police with only 458 assigned to field services handling 600,000 calls for service a year. Today in 2020, there are 980 sworn police officers with 116 sworn police added in the last year alone.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1158157/survey-most-apd-officers-have-considered-leaving-department.html

2020 APD HOURLY WAGE PAY RATES

As of April 27, 2020, the average hourly wage for a Police Officer in the United States is $27.00 an hour. The range typically falls between $25 and $30. Hourly rates can vary widely depending on many important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills, and the number of years spent as a police officer.

https://www.salary.com/research/salary/alternate/police-officer-hourly-wages

In the 2019 annual listing of the 250 top paid city hall employees, 160 of them were employed by the Albuquerque Police Department. Those sworn police include patrol officers first class, sergeants, lieutenants, commanders the deputy chiefs, and the chief with annual pay ranging from $101,000 a year up to $192,937 a year. Far more Police Officers 1st Class are earning 6 figures under the Keller Administration than under the last year of the Berry Administration. For a comparison of salaries paid by Mayor Tim Keller and his predecessor Mayor Richard Berry see the following blog articles:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2019/02/04/100000-or-more-paid-to-all-250-top-abq-city-hall-employees/

https://www.petedinelli.com/2019/05/14/mayor-tim-keller-gives-thousands-of-raises-to-his-political-appointees-while-average-city-employee-gets-2-pay-increase/

https://www.petedinelli.com/2019/07/31/its-who-wants-to-be-millionaire-working-for-mayor-tim-keller-hypocrite-city-councilor-trudy-jones-proclaims-raises-disgraceful/

Starting pay for an APD Police Officer immediately out of the APD academy is $29 an hour or $60,320 yearly. (40 hour work week X 52 weeks in a year = 2,080 hours worked in a year X $29 paid hourly = $60,320.)

Police officers with 4 to 14 years of experience are paid $30 an hour or $62,400 yearly. (40-hour work weeks in a year X 52 weeks in a year = 2,080 hours worked in a year X $30 paid hourly = $62,400.)

Senior Police Officers with 15 years or more experience are paid $31.50 an hour or $65,520 yearly. (40 hours work in a week X 52 weeks in year = 2,080 hours worked in a year X $31.50 = $65,520.)

The hourly pay rate for APD Sergeants is $35 an hour, or $72,800. (40-hour work week X 52 weeks in a year = 2080 hours worked in a year X $35.0 paid hourly = $72,800.)

The hourly pay rate for APD Lieutenants is $40.00 an hour or $83,200. (40 hour work week X 52 weeks in a year = 2080 hours worked in a year X $40.00 = $83,200.)

LONGEVITY PAY ADDED TO BASE PAY

In addition to the base pay rates, APD police officers are also paid longevity bonus pay added to their pay at the end of the year as follows:

For 5 years of experience: $100 are paid bi-weekly, or $2,600 yearly.

For 6 years of experience: $125 are paid bi-weekly, or $3,250 yearly.

For 7 to 9 years of experience: $225 are paid bi-weekly, or $5,800 yearly.

For 10 to 12 years of experience: $300 are paid bi-weekly, or $7,800 yearly.

For 13 to 15 years o experience: $350 are paid bi-weekly, or $9,100 yearly.

For 16 to 17 years or more: $450 are paid bi-weekly, or $11,700 yearly.

For 18 or more years of experience: $600 are paid bi-weekly, 15,600 yearly.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

A push poll or survey is loosely defined as an ostensible opinion poll in which the true objective is to sway those who take it using loaded or manipulative questions. The motivation for such a poll is use the results to gain an advantage or to support an argument needed to prevail in any discussions or negotiations. The union survey was nothing more than a push poll to be used in up coming union contract negotiations.

APOA President Shaun Willoughby told the Journal in an interview releasing the survey:

“I think the biggest takeaway is that for this community your police officers that are out there right now, every single day, trying to keep you safe, they’re down in the dumps. Their morale is as low as I’ve seen it and they need support.”

UNION’S SELF SERVING POLITICAL MOTIVATIONS UNMISTAKABLE

Willoughby’s motivation is strictly political by virtue of the fact that he did not disclose that the very lucrative 2-year union contract negotiated by the Keller Administration expired June 30. All police contract negotiations have been placed on hold. What this means is that all the terms and conditions of the expired contract governing union membership, hourly wage, time and a half wages for overtime pay, longevity pay bonuses, all remain in place and must continue to be paid until a new union contract is negotiated. Reports are that police union contract negotiations may start up again in mid-August, but there is no guarantee that union negotiations will start up only to be suspended again because of falling city gross receipts tax revenues.

What Willoughby said is simply not true when it comes to low morale and he knows it. It was Republican Mayor Berry for a full 8 years and his Republican hacks Darren White and CAO Rob Perry who destroyed one of the finest police departments in the country. It was the Republican Berry Administration that ushered in the Department of Justice (DOJ) after it found a culture of aggression and the use of excessive force and deadly force by APD costing the city upwards of $61 million in settlements. In 2009 when Berry took office, the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) was the best trained, best equipped, best funded department in its history and was fully staffed with 1,100 sworn police officers.

When Berry left office in 2017, APD had only 850 sworn police and police moral was probably the lowest in its history. Mayor Berry abolished the longevity program that kept experienced police officers from retiring, unilaterally decided not to pay a 5% negotiated pay raise, abolished the APD take home car policy, eliminated sign on bonuses and mortgage down payments for new recruits and implemented a college education requirement for new recruits but did not pay college wages. Moral within APD plummeted and the mass exodus of experienced police officers began as a result of Berry’s full 8 years of gross mismanagement of APD by Chiefs Ray Scultz and Gordon Eden and Chief Public Safety Officer Darren White and CAO Rob Perry.

UNION ENDORSEMENT OF TIM KELLER

It was on September 28, 2017 that the Albuquerque Journal reported that the Albuquerque Police Union endorsed Tim Keller for Mayor. Keller actively sought the endorsement no doubt wanting the vote of rank and file police officers and to be able to say APD had his back and he their back and he would take care of APD rank and file once elected.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1067209/albuquerque-police-union-endorses-keller.html

What all the candidates for Mayor did not fully understand was that APD was and still is operating under a Department of Justice (DOJ) consent decree and mandated reforms. Under normal circumstances, union endorsements are common place, but when it comes to APD, it was and still is a department in crisis and for the first time in its history is under a Department of Justice consent decree. None of the candidates for Mayor in 2017 attended any of the Federal Court hearing on the consent decree.

In 2017, the police union went into overdrive and did everything it could to get Tim Keller elected. After the election, the union secured essentially everything it wanted from Keller and then some. The Keller Administration quickly negotiated a new police union contract increasing significantly hourly wages, increasing longevity pay, increasing benefits to the highest ever level, and increasing APD overtime budget. Today, APD because of all the raises and concessions made by the Keller Administration in the past several years, APD sworn police are the highest paid officers in the region.

The lucrative union contract Keller signed off on is not the end of it. Mayor Tim Keller, within a few months after being elected, broke a major campaign promise not to increase taxes, even for public safety, without a public vote. Keller agreed to and signed off on a city council initiated gross receipts tax for “public safety” that generates $55 million a year with the Police Union successfully lobbying the Albuquerque City Council to dedicate 70% of the new tax revenue to public safety. Keller also implemented a police department growth plan where APD is spending $88 million dollars to expand APD to 1,200 officers with another $35 million in none recurring expenditures.

Now that the police union survey that says 83% of sworn police do not feel they are supported by Mayor Tim Keller, and 62% of sworn police officers do not feel they are being supported by Keller’s appointed Police Chief Michael Geier, you got to wonder how anxious he will be to seek the union endorsement as he seeks a second term in 2021 and what concessions the union will want from him. One thing is for certain, Mayor Keller no doubt feels he has been taken advantaged of by the Police Union. In other words Mayor Keller, you have been duped. If you do not feel that way, go ahead and knock yourself out and try to get the Police Union endorsement once again, but please, please do not make any more financial concessions because the last time you did that, it cost taxpayers millions for an ungrateful police department union.