From April 17 to June 19, 2021, publicly financed candidates for Mayor must gather both 3,000 signatures from registered voters within the City and 3,779 qualifying donations of $5.00 to secure $661,309.25 in public financing.

EDITORS NOTE: Privately financed candidates for Mayor must gather more than 3000 nominating petition signatures from registered voters within the City from June 8 – August 10, 2021.

PROCESSED PETITION SIGNATURES:

As of June 7, following are the updated City Clerk numbers for Processed Petition Signatures starting with the candidate with the most and ending with the least collected:

MAYOR TIM KELLER

Required Petition Signatures: 3,000
Verified Petition Signatures: 3,542
Rejected Petition Signatures: 503
Remaining Petition Signatures Needed: 0
Percentage of Verified Petition Signatures Met: 100%

SHERIFF MANNY GONZALES

Required Petition Signatures: 3,000
Verified Petition Signatures: 2,794
Rejected Petition Signatures: 442
Remaining Petition Signatures Needed: 206
Percentage of Verified Petition Signatures Met: 93%

PATRICK BEN SAIS

Required Petition Signatures: 3,000
Verified Petition Signatures: 728
Rejected Petition Signatures: 572
Remaining Petition Signatures Needed: 2, 272
Percentage of Verified Petition Signatures Met: 24%

NICHOLAS BEVINS

Nicholas Bevins has announced his withdrawal from the race and is no longer listed on the City Clerk’s tally.

https://www.facebook.com/Nicholas.D.Bevins

PROCESSED $5.00 QUALIFYING CONTRIBUTIONS

As of June 7, following are the City Clerk numbers for the $5.00 qualifying donations:

MAYOR TIM KELLER

Required $5.00 Qualifying Contributions: 3,779
Verified $5.00 Qualifying Contributions: 3,703
Rejected $5.00 Qualifying Contributions: 294
Remaining $5.00 Qualifying Contributions Needed: 76
Percentage of Verified $5.00 Qualifying Contributions: 98%
Remaining $5.00 Qualifying Contributions Needed: 129

SHERIFF MANNY GONZALES

Required $5.00 Qualifying Contributions: 3,779
Verified $5.00 Qualifying Contributions: 2,542
Rejected $5.00 Qualifying Contributions: 216
Remaining $5.00 Qualifying Contributions Needed: 1,237
Percentage of Verified $5.00 Qualifying Contributions: 67%

PATRICK BEN SAIS

Required $5.00 Qualifying Contributions: 3,779
Verified $5.00 Qualifying Contributions: 3
Rejected $5.00 Qualifying Contributions: 1
Remaining $5.00 Qualifying Contributions Needed: 3,776
Percentage of Verified $5.00 Qualifying Contributions: 0%

https://www.cabq.gov/vote/candidate-information/2021-candidates/petition-qualifying-contribution-tally-1

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Mayor Keller

It is now official that Mayor Tim Keller has made the ballot having collected the 3,000 qualify nominating petition signatures. With 12 full days remaining to collect $5.00 qualifying donations, Mayor Tim Keller is in a very good position to collect the remaining $5.00 qualifying donations. The Keller campaign has collected 3,703 required or 98% with 76 qualifying $5 donations remaining to be collected. Collecting the remaining 76 donations is highly likely and will require collecting an average of 6 to 8 donations a day for the next 12 days to ensure a cushion for rejected donations.

MANNY GONZALES

With 12 full days remaining to collect both qualifying petitions signatures and the $5.00 qualifying donations, it is likely that Sheriff Manny Gonzales will make the ballot with his 93% of the qualifying petition signatures collected. However, Gonzales may not qualify for the public finance and time is running short.

Gonzales has collected 2,794 of the required 3,000 signatures, or 93%. Gonzales needs to collect another 206 verifiable signatures, which is highly likely over a 12 full day period.

A problem for Gonzales is that his campaign is doing better but still struggling to collect the verified $5.00 Qualifying Contributions. The Gonzales campaign has collected 2,542 verified $5.00 Qualifying Contributions or 67%. Gonzales needs to collect another 1,237 donations or at least 106 plus 1 qualifying $5 donations a day for the next full 12 days which is a very daunting task.

If Gonzales does not qualify for public finance, he could declare he will seek private financing and stay in the race but it will be a major setback to his campaign. All the $5.00 qualifying donation Gonzalez has collected are donations made to the city, the Gonzales campaign can not keep them and the campaign will get no public financing. Gonzales will no doubt ramp up private donation efforts but donors will be reluctant to contribute to both him and a measured finance committee. Another impact of failure to qualify for public finance will be to dry up private contributions to the two measured finance committees set up to promote him.

Sources are also saying that Republican political operative and consultant Jay McClesky, known for his nasty slash and burn tactics, is managing the Gonzales campaign and for that reason may be trying to turn things around for the Sheriff by tapping into Republican support for Gonzales. Mc Clesky managed both former Republican Mayor Berry’s campaigns for Mayor as well as both campaigns for Republican Governor “She Who Shall Not Be Named”.

PATRICK BEN SAIS

With only 14 full days before the deadline to collect both nominating petition signatures and the $5.00 donations, Patrick Ben Sais will not likely make the ballot nor qulaify for public finance. Sais has collected only 24% of the required signatures, or 728 of the 3,000 signatures, and needs 2,272 more to secure a place on the ballot. Sais has collected a very pathetic 3 qualifying $5.00 donations when 3,779 are needed. The question at this point is when will PATRICK BEN SAIS announce that he is withdrawing from the race or will he try to stay in it and declare to be a private finance candidate and continue with gathering nominating petition signatures to get on the ballot?

THE CHALLENGES WE FACE

At this point in time it is obvious that there will be only 2 candidates for Mayor out of the 4 announced, who will make the November 2, ballot. Further, it is more likely than not that Mayor Time Keller will be the only candidate that will qualify for public finance, with Sheriff Manny Gonzales falling far short of collecting the 3,779 qualifying $5.00 donations. It’s a damn shame.

The city is facing any number of problems that are bringing it to its knees. Those problems include the coronavirus pandemic, business closures, high unemployment rates, exceptionally high violent crime and murder rates, continuing mismanagement of the Albuquerque Police Department, failed implementation of the Department of Justice reforms after a full six years and millions spent, declining revenues and gross receipts tax, increasing homeless numbers, lack of mental health programs and little to none economic development.

The city cannot afford another mayor who makes promises and offers only eternal hope for better times that result in broken campaign promises. What is needed is a mayor who actually knows what the hell they are doing, who will make the hard decisions without an eye on the next election, not make decisions only to placate their base and please only those who voted for them. What’s needed is a healthy debate on solutions and new ideas to solve our mutual problems, a debate that can happen only with a contested election.

The time frame for privately finance candidates to collect the 3,000 nominating petition signatures for Mayor begins June 8 to August 10. Gathering 3,000 nominating petition signatures is extremely easier than collecting the $5.00 qualifying donations.

Anyone one interested in running for Mayor and who has a real love for this city and is concerned about what is happening is encouraged to contact the City Clerk’s office.

The link to the city web site for candidates is here:

https://www.cabq.gov/vote/candidate-information/2021-candidates

https://campaignfinance.cabq.gov/PublicSite/SearchPages/CommitteeSearch.aspx

On April 27, 2021, it was widely reported by local news media that the Albuquerque Police Officers Association (APOA) launched a $70,000 political ad campaign to discredit the Department of Justice (DOJ) mandated reforms saying the police reforms are preventing police officers from doing their jobs and combating crime. The Police Union political ad campaign consisted of billboards around the city and testimonials on TV, radio and social media from former Albuquerque Police Department officers. The public relations campaign is urging the public to tell city leaders that crime matters more than the Police reforms mandated by the settlement.

JUNE 9 STATUS CONFERENCE

Federal District Court Judge James Browning scheduled a Status Conference for June 9 on the Court Appointed Monitor’s 13th IME report on the Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) mandating APD reforms.

On May 28, the Department of Justice (DOJ) in accordance with its established practice in this case, filed “Notice Letters from the Court’s Amici And Stakeholders” established or recognized by the Court-Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) . The letters set forth the issues and concerns the parties wish to address with the Court during the June 9, 2021 Public Hearing.

Seven ‘Notice Letters’ were filed with the court by the DOJ from:

1. CASA Stakeholder Mental Health Response Advisory Committee, (MHRAC),
2. Amicus McClendon Sub-Class
3. CASA Stakeholder Northwest Community Policing Council
4. NE Community Policing Council, Northeast Area Command
5. APD Forward Coalition
6. Civilian Police Oversight Agency (CPOA)
7. Amicus Community Coalition

AMICUS MCCLENDON SUB-CLASS

The case of McClendon v. City of Albuquerque is a class-action lawsuit filed on January 10, 1995 in the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico by detainees at the Bernalillo County Detention Center (BCDC) in Albuquerque. The city at the time operated the jail which has recently been torn down. The 1995 class-action lawsuit alleged that gross overcrowding and racial discrimination at the jail violated the constitutional rights of inmates. The class action sought injunctive and declaratory relief enjoining the operation of the jail in its present condition. On September 7, 1995, the parties entered into a settlement agreement, which the district court approved. The case remained pending for decades for purposes of enforcing the settlement.

https://www.clearinghouse.net/detail.php?id=196

The latin term “amicus curiae” or “amicus” is generally defined as an adviser, often voluntary, to a court of law in a particular case who are given permission by a court to file legal pleadings. The plaintiffs in the McClendon case were granted “Amicus” status to participate in the Department of Justice case brought against the City and APD for excessive use of force and deadly force and reforms.

On June 3, 2021, the Amicus Mcclendon Sub-class submitted to the Federal Court a second letter for consideration during the June 9 hearing. Permission was granted by the letters author to publish on this blog. The June 3, letter published here deletes addresses, references to court documents, case citations and adds caption edits in brackets [ ]. The editing was done to assist and clarify the letter for all none lawyers who read this blog. Following is the letter:

June 3, 2021

Counsel for McClendon Amici

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

There is no getting around it. The APOA police union and its President Shaun Willoughby as well as their attorneys have a lot of explaining to do, not only to the Court but to the friends of the court and the general public.

No doubt the police union believes that their $70,000 ad campaign is within their First Amendment right of free speech. That would be the case if the union were not a party to the federal lawsuit. Once the Police Union became a party to the Federal lawsuit, it agreed to subject itself to the jurisdiction of the Federal Court and all the rules of the Federal Court. To a limited degree, all parties to any Federal Court action lose rights of free speech in order to protect the proceedings and the courts obligation to be fair and impartial and not be subject to political pressures.

With the $70,000 ad campaign, the sanctions being sought by the McClendon Amici for sabotaging implementation of the consent decree are totally appropriate and needed. As is a “Motion For An Order To Show Cause” to be filed against the police union for it to show cause why it should not be held in contempt of court for intentional interference with the Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) and its attempts to sabotage it.

APD police union officials need to be placed under oath so that full disclosure can be made to the public on any number of issues involving the ad campaign including:

Who reviewed and approved the $70,000 ad campaign as to content?
Were the police union attorneys notified of the ad campaign in advance or did they approve it?
Was the ad campaign approved by the police union membership?
What was the source of revenue of the $70,000 and did it come from union membership, union dues or private donors?
Did the Union leadership or members solicit private donations from the public on city time or use city resources to do so?
Did the $70,000 come from a national police organization or political party or those business who utilize Chief’s Overtime?
Disclose to the Court and public the full list of donors for the ad campaign.
Disclose the full list of those contacted directly by the union to solicit letters of support.
Listing of all expenditures made for the ad campaign, including production time, advertisement air time on the TV News stations and paid for by the union.

The City of Albuquerque and the Department of Justice need to file a Motion for Contempt of Court, either individually or jointly, and seek sanctions against the APOA Union for intentional interference with the Court Approved Settlement Order with its political ad campaign and disparaging the CASA reforms.

If not, the Federal Court should act on its own during the June 9 status conference hearing and fully demand an explanation from the police union.

Two sanctions that are in order are:

Remove APD Sergeants and Lieutenants from the bargaining unit.
Dismiss the APOA Union as a Third Party to the federal lawsuit.

Otherwise, the disruptive nonsense of the union will continue in defiance of the Federal Court Approved Settlement Agreement.

Links to related blog articles are here:

APD Forward Wants Federal Court To Hold Police Union In Civil Or Criminal Contempt Of Court Over Police Union $70,000 AD Campaign Undercutting CASA Reforms; Others Express Concern Over Ad Campaign; Order To Show Cause Hearing Needed

APD Police Union Spends $70,000 To Discredit Federal Court Order After Impeding And Resisting APD Reforms For 6 Years; Tactic Likely Grounds For Contempt Of Court By A Party For Interfering With Court Order

On Friday, May 28, Mayor Tim Keller and APD Chief Harold Medina held a press conference along with others to give an update on the Violence Intervention Program (VIP). The VIP program is an initiative with the goal of reducing violent crime as the city is deals with a record number of homicides for the third year in a row.

The May 28 press conference occurred on the same day the city suffered its 49th homicide of the year, 24 more homicides than by the same time last year. In 2019, there were 29 homicides by the end of May.

On Saturday, May 29 it was reported that the city suffered a second homicide in less than 12 hours and the 50th in the city this year. There were 25 killings by the same time last year.

https://www.abqjournal.com/2395290/overnight-shooting-leaves-1-dead-2-others-wounded.html

THE VIP PROGRAM UPDATE

According to APD, the Violence Intervention Program is designed to “interrupt the process” where victims of other violent crimes become involved in perpetuating the violence that happened to them. In its first year of existence, the city has staffed VIP with a police commander, a program manager, a social services coordinator, and special projects manager.

The VIP program was announced by Keller on November 22, 2019 and then launched operational in April, 2020. The VIP program is based om “Operation Ceasefire” in Oakland, California, and offers resources, in lieu of punishment, to those identified as drivers of violent crime. According to the city’s VIP Manager Gerri Bachicha, less than 0.1% of the city’s population, 600 to 700 people, drive the majority of violent crime, including homicides and aggravated assaults with deadly weapons.

VIP case managers hold weekly shooting reviews with multiple agencies to review shooting incidents. The group meetings identify those involved with violent crimes as well as those at risk of becoming the next victim or suspect. Assigned VIP meet with people at their homes to offer resources. The resources offered include shelter services, rental assistance, job training and counseling. VIP personnel tell the individuals they are trying to assist that APD is watching them and if they continue any kind of violence, there will be consequences and they will be arrested and prosecuted.

According to one news source, since April 2020, the Violence Intervention Program made 133 in-person meetings, or what they call custom notifications. They people they make contact with need various resources, including housing support, job support or therapy. City officials report that 97% of the people who have received help have not been arrested. The other 3% were “predominately arrested for drug-related offenses.”

During the press conference, it was reported that thus far VIP personnel case managers have met with 149 people. The ages of those met with range from teenagers to those in their 30s. According to Chief Medina, the number of interventions has more than doubled since December, 2020 when it was 74, and the program has increased the number of interventions by more than 10% since last year. Medina also reported only 3% of the 149 people have gotten in trouble since those “custom notifications.” VIP Manager Bachicha said 3 people have been arrested, mostly for drug-related offenses, and 1 person was shot and injured in a domestic violence incident.

Angel Garcia, a social service coordinator with the program had this to say:

“I’m talking to people who are literally in shoes that I have walked through before. I’ve experience gun violence. I’ve been a victim of gun violence. In my younger years, I’ve perpetrated violence, so I could understand where the people in our community are coming from, and I’ve felt the pain,“

Links to quoted news source material are here:

https://www.krqe.com/news/crime/apd-touts-progress-in-preventing-gun-crime-through-intervention-program/

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico-news/albuquerque-officials-claim-violence-intervention-program-is-working/6125175/?cat=500

https://www.abqjournal.com/2395183/apd-gives-update-on-violence-intervention-program.html

VIP PROGRAM EXPLAINED

On Tuesday, August 18, 2020 Mayor Tim Keller held a press conference that discussed a wide range of topics related to crime in Albuquerque. Mayor Keller insisted that his administration was “chipping away” at Albuquerque’s high crime rates and he discussed the VIP program . According to Mayor Keller:

“This isn’t about Power Point slides or interesting analysis. … This is about trying to get these people not to shoot each other. …This is about understanding who they are and why they are engaged in violent crime. … And so, this actually in some ways, in that respect, this is the opposite of data. This is action. This is actually doing something with people. This is not just running reports and I think that’s a marked difference with what the city has done in the past.”

Keller said other cities with the same initiative have seen violent crime reduce by 10%-30%. Keller said he expects to see results in 9-18 months.

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/keller-introduces-t

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/keller-introduces-team-that-will-help-address-violent-crime-in-albuquerque/5831952/?cat=500

It was on November 22, 2019 Mayor Tim Keller announced what he called a “new initiative” to target violent offenders called “Violence Intervention Plan” (VIP). The VIP initiative was in response to the city’s murders resulting in the city tying the all-time record of homicides at 72 in one year. Mayor Keller proclaimed the VIP is a “partnership system” that includes law enforcement, prosecutors and social service and community provides to reduce violent crime.

During the November 22 press conference, Keller outlined 4 major components of the VIP program:

1. LAW ENFORCEMENT

APD “restructured” to create a “Violence Intervention Division” with its own Commander. The division is designed to make cross-functional partnership as productive as possible. The goal is to remove the barriers between investigative units, increase coordination among field officers, violent crime, undercover detectives, the intelligence unit, forensic techs, crime analysts and victim advocates to fight violent crime. Law enforcement partners on the program include the State Police, Probation and Parole, ATF, DEA, FBI, US Marshal and Homeland Security.

2. PROSECUTION PARTNERS

Prosecutors from all systems including the Attorney General, District Attorney, US Attorney and Office of Superintendent of Insurance will collaborate to share information and make sure cases are going to the appropriate teams and courts.

3. SOCIAL SERVICES

The City has always funded social services aimed at violence reduction. The Family and Community Services is working with the community to identify the most effective evidence-based violence reduction strategies, and requiring providers to work together in the Violence Intervention Program. The administration created a Deputy Director of Health position held by a clinical social worker.

4. COMMUNITY PARTNERS

The City reaches out to community partners, including the Bernalillo County Community Health Council, that are dealing with the causes and effects of violent crime to work together on this program. A technical advisor leads partnership-based violence reduction efforts to improve police-community trust and sustain the strategy over time.”
https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/mayor-keller-touts-new-plan-to-tackle-violent-crime/5561150/?cat=500

MEDINA’S PITTY ME LETTER TO THE ABQ JOURNAL

On June 2, the Albuquerque Journal published a guest column written by APD Chief Harold Medina entitled “APD Fighting Causes Of Violent Crime.” In the guest column, Medina boldly proclaims:

“Cities are battling a surge in violent crime that stems from illegal drugs, domestic violence and guns – trends we are seeing in Albuquerque, as well. Despite the challenges during the past year, our police agencies have to be resilient and do all that we can to keep our communities safe.”

Medina goes on to say:

“The increase in homicides coincides with the onset of the pandemic. We didn’t see the same increase in homicides in Albuquerque in 2020, but that changed in 2021, producing more homicides during the first three months.”

Medina describes all that he and APD have done in the last year to reduce crime and says:

‘We tripled the size of our homicide unit, and we are starting the first-ever detective academy next month to ensure more effective investigations. We hired hundreds of new officers, which allowed us to create Proactive Response Teams and a Gun Violence Reduction Unit. We also created the Metro 15 focusing on individuals who are drivers of crime and a Violence Intervention Program to help young people avoid being offenders and victims of violent crime. … I shifted the focus of the department to ensure we always have proactive operations being planned and executed. We have completed 36 weekly operations resulting in more than 1,700 arrests.”

The link to the entire Medina ABQ Journal guest is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2395969/apd-fighting-causes-of-violent-crime.html

DEVIL IN THE STATISTICS

With respect Albuquerque’s homicide rates, spikes in violent crime and property crime were occurring the 3 years before the pandemic, yet Medina falsely proclaims:

“The increase in homicides coincides with the onset of the pandemic.”

That is simply false. Violent crime spiked the 3 years before the pandemic.

Albuquerque’s record-breaking number of murders has been going on for the last 3 years and now continuing in 2021 with 50 homicides as of May 29. The body count is only a small part of the city’s overall violent crime problem. The crime statistics that gage the success or failure of the city’s programs must include not just actual murders but the arrest rates and high violent crime rates. For that reason, those statistics merit review.

HOMICIDE SPIKE DURING THE LAST 3 YEARS AND STILL SPIKING

In 2018, during Mayor Tim 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 in 2017 when 72 homicides were reported in Mayor Berry’s last year in office. The previous high mark was in 1996, when the city had 70 homicides. The year 2020 ended with 76 homicides, the second-highest count since 1996. The decline dropped the homicide rate from 14.64 per 100,000 people in 2019 to about 13.5 in 2020.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1534762/homicide-numbers-high-despite-pandemic.html?amp=1

USE OF FORCE REPORT

On Friday October 23, 2020 the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) released its “Use of Force” report covering a four-year time period from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2019. The link to the entire use of force report is here:

http://www.cabq.gov/police/documents/2016-19-albuquerque-police-department-annual-use-of-force-report.pdf

The Use of Force report has upwards of 56 bar graphs and charts and 8 maps in the 73-page report. Below are the combined totals in the top 8 “consolidated” categories for the years 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019. The calculations for the 8 categories are based on the raw numbers gleaned from the various bar graphs in the report.

Number APD arrests: 58,251
APD “use of force” incidents (Empty hand, TAZER, gun discharge): 2,395
APD “show of force” incidents (Handgun, rifle, TAZER): 1,087
APD firearm discharges: 65
Number of times APD officers displayed a hand gun: 524
Number of times APD officers displayed a rifle: 212
Times APD used “electronic control weapon” (TAZER): 365
Estimated total “calls for service” generating “case numbers” 312,000 to 375,000
(Combined number of cases generated by all 6 area commands)

FOUR YEAR TOTAL OF ARREST MADE BY APD REPORTED IN USE OF FORCE REPORT: 58,226.

2022 ADOPTED APD BUDGET CONTAINS TOTAL ARRESTS FOR 2019 AND 2020

The City’s 2022 adopted budget for APD on page 151 contains APD’s arrests statistics for 2019 and 2020. APD’s budget is a peformance based budget and the department is required to submit a number of statistics to justify its budget. Arrest numbers for felonies, misdemeanors as well as DWI are revealed in the budget. APD’s budget also outlines full time personnel and breaks it down between sworn and civilian employees.

The link to the budget is here:

https://documents.cabq.gov/budget/fy-22-proposed-budget.pdf

Following is the breakdown of arrest for the years 2019 and 2020:

NUMBER OF FELONY ARRESTS:

2019: 10,945
2020: 6,621

NUMBER OF MISDEMEANOR ARRESTS

2019: 19,440
2020: 16,520

NUMBER OF DWI ARRESTS

2019: 1,788
2020: 1,230
(2022 APD Budget, page 151)

TOTAL NUMBER OF ARRESTS FOR 2019: 32,173
TOTAL NUMBER OF ARREST FOR 2020: 24,371

APD SWORN PERSONNEL FOR 2019 AND 2020

According to APD’s approved 2021-2022 budget, in 2019 APD had 924 full time police. In 2020 APD had 1,004 sworn police or 80 more sworn in 2020 than in 2019, yet arrests went down during the first year of the pandemic.

VIOLENT CRIME

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

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Chief Medina’s statements “The increase in homicides coincides with the onset of the pandemic. We didn’t see the same increase in homicides in Albuquerque in 2020, but that changed in 2021 … “ are simply false. Medina’s June 2 letter to the Albuquerque Journal was nothing more than a pathetic attempt to embellish his and APD’s very poor work performance over the last 4 years, especially in 2020 the first year of the pandemic.

Medina has been part of APD’s upper command staff, including being the Deputy Chief of Field Service dealing with personnel assigned to the field since the day Keller was sworn in as Mayor on December 1, 2017.

In 2020, in the first full year of the pandemic, APD’s felony arrest numbers dropped by 4,324 and APD’s misdemeanor arrest dopped by 2,920 and DWI Arrests dropped by 558 from 2019 for a combined total of 7,802 arrests.

According to APD’s approved 2021-2022 budget, in 2019 APD had 924 full time police and in 2020 APD had 1,004 sworn police or 80 more sworn in 2020 than in 2019. In 2020 there were fewer arrest made by more police.

Page 149 of APD approved budget: https://documents.cabq.gov/budget/fy-22-proposed-budget.pdf

APD Chief Medina seems to forget or does not want the public to know that it is well known that there is a correlation between the number of police, arrests and crime rates.

According to a 2018 study entitled “More COPS, Less Crime” by Steven Mello with Princeton University there is a causal effect in police numbers and the reduction on crime rates. The study dealt with the federal grant programs known as COPs for police to finance police officers for communities. The study found that there is a direct correlation between an increase in the number of police and the decline in victimization.

According to the study, large and statistically significant effects of police numbers occur on robbery, larceny, and auto theft, with suggestive evidence that police reduce murders as well. Crime reductions associated with additional police were more pronounced in areas most affected by the Great Recession. The results highlight that fiscal support to local governments for crime prevention may offer large returns, especially during bad macroeconomic times.

The link to the entire study is here:

https://www.princeton.edu/~smello/papers/cops.pdf

PROMISES MADE, PROMISES BROKEN

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 promising to bring down skyrocketing crime rates. Mayor Tim Keller has tried repeatedly to take credit for crime rates being on the decline in all categories other than violent crime offenses.

It was ironic that the May 28 press conference occurred on the same day that the city suffered its 49th homicide of the year, 24 more homicides than by the same time last year. The day after the press conference, the city had its 50th homicide. In 2019, there were 29 homicides by the end of May, and in 2021 the city had 50 by the end of May.

Mayor Tim Keller and APD Chief Harold Medina touting the success of the VIP program is totally understandable and it’s easily explained. Mayor Tim Keller is seeking a second 4-year term and the election is 5 months away. Both Keller and Medina have little to show for as to reducing violent crime, hence the May 28 press conference to embellish the limited success of the VIP program.

Mayor Tim Keller and APD Chief Harold Medina are pushing the “peddle to the metal” and are going full throttle with their public relations campaign to convince the general public and the media that what they have done is having a major effect on reducing crime. Keller ostensibly felt that it was so important that he even found a razor to look clean shaven and put on a tie for the cameras as he talked with a smile on his face and a grin in his voice.

Mayor Tim Keller and his appointed APD Chief Harold Medina are speaking way too soon on the success of the VIP program to reduce violent crime. Keep in mind that Keller said when the VIP program was announced 2 years ago that other cities with the same initiative had seen violent crime reduce by 10%-30%. Keller said he expected to see results in 9-18 months. Based on the 50 homicides thus far, that simply has not happened,

The blunt truth is that the VIP personnel case managers meeting with 149 people since inception of the program, though commendable and idealistic, are nothing more than a drop in the city’s blood-filled crime bucket, especially in view of the fact that the city is once again experiencing another spike in homicides.

_________________________

POSTSCRIPT

FOUR OTHER PROGRAMS

In 2019, in response to the continuing increase in violent crime rates, Mayor Keller , in addition to the VIP program, scrambled to implement 3 major crime fighting program to reduce violent crime. On May 5, 2021, APD announced its Ambassador Program to improve relations with the community. The 4 programs are as follows:

1. The Shield Unit

In February 2018 the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) created the “Shield Unit”. The Shield Unit assists APD Police Officers to prepare cases for trial and prosecution by the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s office. The unit originally consisted of 3 para legals. It was announced that it is was expanded to 12 under the 2019-2020 city budget that took effect July 1, 2019.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1325167/apd-expands-unit-that-preps-cases-for-prosecution.html

2. Declaring Violent Crime “Public Health” Issue

On April 8, 2019, Mayor Keller and APD announced efforts that will deal with “violent crime” in the context of it being a “public health issue” and dealing with crimes involving guns in an effort to bring down violent crime in Albuquerque. Mayor Keller and APD argue that gun violence is a “public health issue” because gun violence incidents have lasting adverse effects on children and others in the community that leads to further problems.

3. The Metro 15 Operation program.

On Tuesday, November 26, Mayor Tim Keller held a press conference to announce a 4th program within 9 months to deal with the city’s violent crime and murder rates. At the time of the press conference, the city’s homicide count was at 72, matching the city’s record in 2017. Before 2017, the last time the City had the highest number of homicides in one year was in 1996 with 70 murders that year. Keller dubbed the new program “Metro 15 Operation” and is part of the Violence Intervention Program (VIP) program. According to Keller and then APD Chief Michael Geier the new program would target the top 15 most violent offenders in Albuquerque. It’s the city’s version of the FBI’s 10 most wanted list.
Links to news coverage are here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1394576/city-launches-violence-intervention-program.html

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/mayor-keller-touts-new-plan-to-tackle-violent-crime/5561150/?cat=500

4. AMBASSADOR PROGRAM

On May 5, 2021 the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) announced the creation of an new “Ambassador Program”. The Ambassador Program has assigned to it upwards of 18 police officers and city employs. The goal of the Ambassador Program is to bridge the gap between police and communities that may not completely trust officers.

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/apd-launches-ambassador-program-to-build-trust-with-various-communities/6097864/?cat=500

APD spokeswoman Rebecca Atkins said the APD officers assigned to the Ambassador Program will receive advanced training in community relations and will take concerns to APD Police Chief Harold Medina once a month. According to Atkins, the Ambassador Program will start with five groups: the Asian, Hispanic, Black and Native American communities, and the LGBTQ community.

She said the initiative is aimed at establishing <em>“clear, consistent lines of communication” with those that have not had formal relationships with law enforcement in the past. Officers will also work on recruiting to diversify the department.

On April 27, 2021, it was widely reported by local news media that the Albuquerque Police Officers Association (APOA) launched a $70,000 political ad campaign to discredit the Department of Justice (DOJ) mandated reforms saying the police reforms are preventing police officers from doing their jobs and combating crime.

POLICE UNION POLITICAL PUBLIC RELATONS CAMPAIGN

The Police Union political ad campaign consisted of billboards around the city and testimonials on TV, radio and social media from former Albuquerque Police Department officers. The public relations campaign is urging the public to tell city leaders that crime matters more than the Police reforms mandated by the settlement.

The public relations campaign includes providing an email template for people to use and contact civic leaders. The template says APD has made progress with the reforms and says we are “tired of living in a city filled with murder, theft and violence. … I’m urging you to fight for this city, stand up to the DOJ, and help us save the city we love, before it’s too late. ”

APOA Police Union President Shaun Willoughby described the need for the public relations campaign this way:

“You can either have compliance with DOJ reforms or you can have lower crime. You can’t have both. We think it’s time that our city leaders hear from the public that crime matters more because it does. … They want to focus on the growing crime problem, instead of wasting millions of dollars on endless Department of Justice oversight. … This conversation of reform needs to come back to common sense. … Right now, the City of Albuquerque capitulates to everything the DOJ wants and that might not necessarily be the right direction for the City of Albuquerque. … You don’t need enemies when you have friends like the city attorney. … We believe that our community deserves better from this police department. … We believe our community deserves better from this consent decree process.

“[We are asking] for the city of Albuquerque to stand up and support Albuquerque police officers and support common sense reforms that allow our officers to succeed. … . We’re talking about the bureaucracy of police officers being taken off the street because somebody that was not used force on said “ow”. And how that impacts this community, our ability to respond to the community and this community’s ability to control crime. Your Albuquerque police officers are terrified that they will lose their job for simply doing their job and it’s not fair.”

The APOA also used its FACEBOOK page to get the word out with one post saying:

“Are you tired of the growing crime problems facing the city of Albuquerque? Are you tired of break-ins, stolen cars, vandalism, theft and murder being part of everyday living in our community? Then do something! If you don’t speak up and get involved right now, things will get worse. Tell your City leaders that you care more about fighting crime then than wasting millions on endless Department of Justice oversight. Share and make your voices heard because crime matters more.”

This is not the first time the police union has attempted to undercut the reform process. In a February 11 Target 7 news report Shaun Willoughby, President of the Albuquerque Police Officers’ Association said:

“The whole [reform effort] system is set up to fail and the taxpayers and the people that live in this community like me and my family are the ones that are taking the brunt of [violent crime]. … Really look at this process. … It is absolutely out of control. … The entire department and the processes within it are out of control. Your officers are running out the door. Really look at every single state or agency that’s been involved in this process. … What is happening? Did it bring harmony and trust with the community? I don’t think so.”

Links to news sources quotes are here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2384284/apd-union-launches-campaign-against-doj-oversight.html

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico-news/albuquerque-police-union-starts-campaign-to-push-back-against-doj-requirements/6087348/

https://www.koat.com/article/as-murder-rate-climbs-apd-union-launches-campaign/36257496

https://news.yahoo.com/apd-union-launches-campaign-against-040100177.html

https://www.petedinelli.com/2021/04/27/police-union-spends-70000-to-discredit-federal-court-order-after-impeding-and-resisting-apd-reforms-for-6-years-tactic-likely-grounds-for-contempt-of-court-by-a-party-for-interfering-with-court/

13th INDEPENDENT MONITOR’S REPORT

On May 3, 2021 the Federal Court Appointed Monitor James Ginger filed with the Federal Court his 13th compliance report of APD. The report covers the time frame of August 2020 through January 2021. The 13th Federal Monitor’s report was extremely damaging. In the IMR-13 report, the Federal Monitor made the following findings on the 3 compliance levels:

Primary Compliance: 100%;
Secondary Compliance: 82%;
Operational Compliance: 59%.

Since the last report, IMR-12, the following changes in compliance levels are noted:

Primary Compliance: No change at 100%
Secondary Compliance: A loss of 9.9%
Operational Compliance: A loss of 7.8%

All documents related to APD’s settlement agreement can be downloaded and reviewed at this city web site link:

https://www.cabq.gov/police/documents-related-to-apds-settlement-agreement

On October 20, 2020, Federal Monitor James Ginger had this to say about APD and his 12th Independent Monitors Report:

We are on the brink of a catastrophic failure at APD. … [The department] has failed miserably in its ability to police itself. … If this were simply a question of leadership, I would be less concerned. But it’s not. It’s a question of leadership. It’s a question of command. It’s a question of supervision. And it’s a question of performance on the street. So as a monitor with significant amount of experience – I’ve been doing this since the ’90s – I would have to be candid with the Court and say we’re in more trouble here right now today than I’ve ever seen.”

In his 13th Independent Monitors Report, the federal monitor wrote:

“This monitor’s report can be synopsized in a single sentence. Due to a catastrophic failure in training oversight this reporting period and similar failures at the supervisory and command levels of APD, the agency suffered a 9.9%-point loss in compliance elements related to the training and supervisory functions at APD and a 7.8% loss in overall compliance …. Overall, there is an argument to be made that operational compliance rates have held relatively steady, at slightly less than 60 percent, since IMR-8, two and one-half years ago.”
…

… it continues to be apparent that APD has not had and currently does not have an appetite for taking serious approaches to control excessive or unwarranted uses of force during its police operations in the field. Command and control practices regarding the use of force continue to be weak. APD continues to lack the ability to consistently “call the ball” on questionable uses of force, and at times is unable to “see” obvious violations of policy or procedure related to its officers’ use of force.”

JUNE 9 STATUS CONFERENCE

On May 28, 2021, Federal District Court Judge James Browning scheduled a Status Conference for June 9 on the Court Appointed Monitor’s 13th IME report. As has been the case for the last year during the pandemic, the hearing will be held via Zoom Video/Web Conferencing. Previous hearings have had upwards of 75 attending.

On May 28, the Department of Justice (DOJ) in accordance with its established practice in this case, filed “Notice Letters from the Court’s Amici And Stakeholders” established or recognized by the Court-Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) . The letters set forth the issues and concerns the parties wish to address with the Court during the June 9, 2021 Public Hearing.

Seven ‘Notice Letters’ were filed with the court by the DOJ:

1. May 25, 2021 Notice Letter of CASA Stakeholder Mental Health Response Advisory Committee (MHRAC). Exhibit A.

2. May 26, 2021 Notice Letter of Amicus McClendon Sub-Class singed by attorney Peter Cubra. Exhibit B

3. May 26, 2021 Notice Letter of CASA Stakeholder Northwest Community Policing Council Council signed by Eric Jackson Chair, Northwest Community Policing Council Exhibits C-1.

4. May 26, 2021 Notice Letter of the NE Community Policing Council, Northeast Area Command signed by Vicki Williams (Chair) on behalf of the members of the NE Community Policing Council . Exhibit C-2.

5. May 26, 2021 Notice Letter of Amicus APD Forward Coalition signed by ACLU Executive Director Peter Simonson and Gary Housepian, Executive Director, Disability Rights NM. Exhibit D

6. May 26, 2021 Notice Letter of CASA Stakeholder Civilian Police Oversight Agency (CPOA) and Board signed by Edward Harness, Director Civilian Police Oversight Agency and Eric Olivas, Chair
Civilian Police Oversight Agency Board. Exhibit E.

7. The May 26, 2021 Notice Letter of Amicus Community Coalition, signed by private attorney and State Representative Moe Maestas with Alfred Matheson and Stephen Torrez. Exhibit F.

OBJECTIONS AND CONCERNS RAISED

Three of the Notice Letters raised significant concerns over the $70,000 Police Union’s public relations campaign. Those letters are from the following:

1. APD Forward
2. Albuquerque Community Policing Councils
3. Community Coalition

APD Forward includes 18 organizations who have affiliated with each other in an effort to reform APD and implement the DOJ consent decree terms and reforms. APD Forward is one of the main stakeholders who appear during the federal court hearings on the CASA. Members of APD Forward include:

Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless
American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico
Bernalillo County Community Health Council
Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women
Common Cause New Mexico
Disability Rights New Mexico
El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos
Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande
Equality New Mexico
La Mesa Presbyterian Church
League of Women Voters of Central New Mexico
National Association of Social Workers – New Mexico Chapter
Native American Voters Alliance
New Mexico Conference of Churches
New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter
Street Safe New Mexico
Strong Families New Mexico
Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico.

APD FORWARD

The APD Forward “Notice Letter” is signed by Peter Simonson, Executive Director, ACLU of New Mexico and by Gary Housepian, Executive Director, Disability Rights NM on behalf of the member organizations. The relevant paragraphs of the May 26, 2021 notice letter regarding the police union ad campaign state as follows:

“APOA CAMPAIGN

Contrary to APOA’s claims, APD Forward believes that the reforms taking place under the CASA will only enhance APD’s ability to protect the people of Albuquerque from crime. If APD officers are not professional or committed enough to conduct proper investigations of use of force, chances are they are just as careless or incompetent when it comes to investigations of crime. The reluctance to hold officers accountable for violations of use of force policies surely stretches into all other areas of policy, including, for example, the way officers interview witnesses, conduct searches, and collect and tag evidence. The subject of CASA reforms may be use of force, but at the end of the day, the CASA is aimed at professionalizing the entire police department. The CASA is good for public safety. We would encourage the City to echo that message.”

Exhibit D, Case 1:14-cv-01025-JB-SMV Document 812-5 Filed 05/28/21, 5 pages

ALBUQUERQUE COMMUNITY POLICING COUNCILS

The May 26, 2021 Albuquerque Community Policing Council’s “Notice Letter” is signed by Eric Jackson Chair, Northwest Community Policing Council and it states in part as follows:

“I would like to also state the concern of some CPC members with the Albuquerque Police Officers Association (APOA) “#CrimeMatters” campaign. This campaign is inappropriate and undermines the work of the CPCs to educate the public on the requirements of the Court Appointed Settlement Agreement (CASA) and the reforms that APD has undertaken to satisfy the CASA. The CPCs continue to work to build bridges between the community and APD despite the misinformation from the APOA through this campaign.”

EXHIBIT C-1, Case 1:14-cv-01025-JB-SMV Document 812-5 Filed 05/28/21 Page 2.

COMMUNITY COALITION

The Community Coalition is an array of interested parties who have been very involved and were instrumental in bringing the Department of Justice (DOJ) to the city to investigate APD’s use of force, deadly force and the culture of aggression found by the DOJ. The Community Coalition is represented by Albuquerque private attorney and Democrat New Mexico State Representative Moe Maestas, Albuquerque.

In the May 26, 2021 Notice Letter of Amicus Community Coalition, the coalition states in part as to the police unions ad campaign:

“We further note that the Albuquerque Police Officers Association (APOA) has embarked upon a public relations campaign attacking the CASA. “Crime Matters More” the billboard say. The campaign in attempting to gain public pressure to lift APD from under the CASA implies that fighting crime matters more than constitutional policing. Shortly after the announcement of the campaign, APOA received national attention as an example of police union resistance to police reform. Nicole Dungca and Jenn Abelson, “When communities try to hold police accountable, law enforcement fights back, April 27, 2021.” The link to the Washington Post article is here:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2021/civilian-oversight-police-accountability/

The community Coalition join other amici in expressing concern about the campaign and the commitment of APOA to full compliance with CASA and transformation to a culture of constitutional policing. We believe that APOA as an intervenor comes dangerously close to contempt of court. We urge APOA to not merely support the CASA but to assume a leadership role in attaining full compliance with it thereby achieving the cultural transformation.

Exhibit F, Case 1:14-cv-01025-JB-SMV Document 812-7 Filed 05/28/21, 7 pages.

THE NEW MEXICO PUBLIC EMPLOYEES BARGANING ACT

The New Mexico Public Employees Bargaining Act, Sections 10-7E-1 to 10-7E-26 H (NMSA 1978), governs the enforcement of the city’s collective bargaining agreement with the APD police union. The link to the statute is here:

https://www.pelrb.state.nm.us/statute.php

Section 10-7E-5 outlines what public employees can form and be part of unions as follows:

“Public employees, other than management employees and confidential employees, may form, join or assist a labor organization for the purpose of collective bargaining through representatives chosen by public employees without interference, restraint or coercion and shall have the right to refuse any such activities.”

The link to Section 10-7E-5 is here:

https://www.pelrb.state.nm.us/pdf/statutes/10-7E-5_Rights%20of%20public%20employees.pdf

The statute is very clear that “management employees” are prohibited from joining the police union. APD Lieutenants and Sergeants are management yet the city has allowed them to be part of the collective bargaining unit in violation of state law.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Soon after the entry of the CASA on November 10, 2014, the police union intervened in the lawsuit and became a third party to the case to advocate union interest in city policy. The police union has been at the negotiating table for 6 years over the use of force and deadly force policies and has sat in the court room during all the hearings. It was the police union that was a major contributing cause for a full one-year delay in writing the new use of force and deadly force policies.

APD has been struggling for over 6 years with trying to implement the DOJ consent decree reforms. After six years and millions spent, APD still has a long way to go to be compliant under the settlement before the case can be dismissed. The police union and rank and file have essentially done whatever they could do, and at different times, to interfere with the reform efforts.

Peter Simonson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico and a member of “APD Forward” had this to say about the police unions political ad campaign when it first was reported on:

“The only unfortunate thing is that so far the department has failed to demonstrate that it can hold officers accountable when they violate internal policies and the union bears a portion of the blame for that… . They have found ways to undermine various measures that are required under the consent decree and they have found ways to undermine accountability itself. This is just another example of that.”

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE HEARING NEEDED WITH TESTIMONY UNDER OATH

A major mistake the union has made is that as a party to the lawsuit it should be taking its grievances to the Federal Court, and not the “court of public opinion”. Both the union attorneys are more than capable of filing pleadings in support or opposition of the CASA, present evidence under oath to the Judge and make argument in a court of law as to how the CASA reforms should be changed.

No doubt, the police union believes that their $70,000 ad campaign is within their First Amendment right of free speech. That would be the case if the union were not a party to the federal lawsuit. Once the Police Union became a party to the Federal lawsuit, it agreed to subject itself to the jurisdiction of the Federal Court and all the rules of the Federal Court. To a limited degree, all parties to any Federal Court action lose rights of free speech in order to protect the proceedings and the courts obligation to be fair and impartial and not be subject to political pressures. “Gag orders” are a commonly used by the courts on parties to prevent parties from discussing cases outside of the courtroom, especially with the media.

With the $70,000 ad campaign, a “Motion For An Order To Show Cause” is appropriate to be filed against the police union for it to show cause why it should not be held in contempt of court for intentional interference with the Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA). APD police union officials need to be placed under oath so that full disclosure can be made to the public on any number of issues involving the ad campaign including:

Who reviewed and approved the $70,000 ad campaign as to content?
Were the police union attorneys notified of the ad campaign or did they approve it?
Was the ad campaign approved by the police union membership?
What was the source of revenue of the $70,000 and did it come from union membership, union dues or private donors?
Did the Union leadership or members solicit private donations from the public on city time or use city resources to do so?
Did the $70,000 come from a national police organization or political party or those business who utilize Chief’s Overtime?
Disclose to the Court and public the full list of donors for the ad campaign.
Disclose the full list of those contacted directly by the union to solicit letters of support.
Listing of all expenditures made for the ad campaign, including production time, advertisement air time on the TV News stations and paid for by the union

APPROPRIATE SANCTIONS

The biggest failure made clear in Federal Court Monitor’s 12th and 13th reports relate to “Operational Compliance”. Operational Compliance is defined as “managements adherence and enforcement to APD policies in the day-to-day operation of APD”. Operational compliance is where line personnel are routinely held accountable for compliance by their sergeants, and sergeants are routinely held accountable for compliance by their lieutenants and upper command staff. In other words, APD “owns” and enforces its own policies and without expecting the Federal Monitor to do it for them.

APD police sergeants and lieutenants, who are management but allowed to be part of the police union in violation of state statutes, are on the front line to enforce personnel rules and regulations, standard operating procedures, approve and review work performed and assist in implementing DOJ reforms and standard operating procedures policies. They are where the “rubber meets the road” when it comes to police reforms.

The point that has been repeatedly made by the Federal Monitor is that “until the sergeants are in harness and pulling in the same direction as the chief, things won’t get done as quickly”. In other words, without the 100% support of the sergeants and lieutenants to the CASA mandated reforms, there will be little or no progress made with police reforms.

Only until APD becomes in complete compliance with the CASA and the mandated reforms will APD be able to fight crime without violating people’s civil rights and thereby allow the dismissal of the DOJ consent decree. One thing for certain is that only APD management, the police union and all APD police officers can make the consent decree actually work and have the court dismiss it sooner rather than later.

The City of Albuquerque and the Department of Justice need to file a Motion for Contempt of Court, either individually or jointly, and seek sanctions against the APOA Union for intentional interference with the Court Approved Settlement Order with its political ad campaign and disparaging the CASA reforms. If not, the Federal Court could act sua sponte at the June 9 status conference hearing and fully demand an explanation from the police union.

Two sanctions that are in order are:

Remove APD Sergeants and Lieutenants from the bargaining unit.
Dismiss the APOA Union as a Third Party to the federal lawsuit.

Otherwise, the disruptive nonsense of the union will continue in defiance of the Federal Court Approved Settlement Agreement.

Links to related blog articles:

APD Police Union Spends $70,000 To Discredit Federal Court Order After Impeding And Resisting APD Reforms For 6 Years; Tactic Likely Grounds For Contempt Of Court By A Party For Interfering With Court Order

APD Police Union And Keller Administration Bicker Over Union PR Campaign To Discredit DOJ Reforms; Union’s Claim “NO ONE has been more supportive and helpful to the reform process than the APOA” Is Simply False

APD Police Union Contract Violates State Law By Allowing Management Positions Of Lieutenants and Sergeants Into Bargaining Unit; Empower APD Chief To Immediately Terminate Cops “For Cause”; Replace Hourly Wage With Salary Structure; City and DOJ Need To Move To Dismiss Union As Party

NY Times: “How Police Unions Became Such Powerful Opponents to Reform Efforts”; This Sounds WAAAY Too Familiar! Dismiss Police Union As Party To Federal Lawsuit

Colleen Aycock is a resident of Four Hills in SE ABQ and organizer of “Women Taking Back Our Neighborhoods” (WTBON), a group founded in 2018 in SE ABQ to inform the public and demand greater accountability from elected and other civic leaders for preventing crime on Central Ave., in our neighborhoods, and in our public parks.

Colleen Aycock received her Ph.D. in Rhetoric from the University of Southern California and spent her professional life writing and teaching writing at the college level, editing business magazines, and writing for the U. S. Capitol. She is a member and co-editor of IBRO (the International Boxing Research Organization), an author of 5 boxing books, and a recipient of the New Mexico Boxing Hall of Fame. She has spent her entire adult life in active civic volunteerism. Ms. Aycock was District Community Service Director for Rotary when she successfully integrated the Bosnian refugees allocated to Texas into Austin during the Clinton administration.

Below is a guest opinion column submitted for publication on this blog by Colleen Aycock. The guest column was written by her after interviewing several active police officers, one who is looking to quit, another retired officer, and a former District Attorney.

EDITOR’S DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this article are those of Colleen Aycock and do not necessarily reflect those of the political blog www.petedinelli.com. Colleen Aycock was not compensated for his guest column.

COLLEEN AYCOCK GUEST COLUMN

“Fighting Crime with Both Hands Tied Behind Your Back”

Law Enforcement Officers, by the very nature of their title and duties, are expected to enforce the law. We all know how dangerous and demanding this profession is in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where homicides are at an all-time high. This city ranks among the top five cities in the country for crime, and ranks higher on the international list than Mexico City or Tijuana. We see APD officers responding to vehicular accidents, drug overdoses, mental health crises, firearm violence, domestic violence, violence against children, and more; inserting themselves into extremely dangerous and often unforeseen situations, because, like it or not, it’s what society requires of them.

It’s no surprise that crime in Albuquerque is out of control, when low-level crimes go uncited, arrests are being discouraged, and when an arrest is made, you know you have to go to court on your day off. Is it any wonder why more and more law enforcement officers are leaving for cities not under DOJ requirements, exploitive and suppressive enforcement policies, where immunities are not eroding, where state laws put criminals behind bars, and where judges and politicians do not favor the liberties of repeat offenders over that of victims and the safety of the public they were elected and sworn to serve and protect? As citizens, we must ask ourselves, because the officers are asking: “are the regulations, responsibilities, stand-down rules, and risks in Albuquerque even worth the pay?”

DINELLI COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Colleen Aycock’s well written guest column does indeed capture the essence of the prevailing attitudes and beliefs of police officers. The fact that she wrote the column after interviewing several active APD officers, one who is looking to quit, another retired officer, and a former District Attorney gives great credence to the column what they are confronted with and the difficulty of their jobs. It’s a legitimate question to be asking are we expecting way too much from APD police officers?

In the aftermath of the George Floyd killing by former Police Officer Derek Chauvin and his conviction and the Black Lives Matter movement, there is no doubt APD and all other law enforcement agencies in the country are under intense scrutiny. Extensive media attention and public outrage usually accompanies the most egregious incidents of police misconduct where a civilian ends up dead or the police misconduct is so disturbing and obvious as to result in criminal charges against police officers. It happened in Albuquerque on March 16, 2014 with the killing of mentally ill and homeless camper James Boyd in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains’ by 2 APD SWAT officers. Within less than 24 hours of the killing, the APD Chief declared the killing “justified”. The two APD officers were charged with murder and the jury dead locked on convicting the officers and the charges were dismissed. The city paid out $5 Million to settle the civil lawsuit filed by Boyd family for the use of deadly force.

POLICE WANT AUTONOMY WITH NO CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT

A historical and prevailing philosophy by police is that in order to be able to do their job of “protect and serve”, they need total autonomy from civilian oversight. Law enforcement want to be free from any and all interference by civilians. Police departments want to be an “island unto themselves” and act that way too many times. Historically APD has had a problem with policing themselves and that continues to this day with the reforms required by the Federal Court Approved Settlement Agreement.

It is often argued by many sworn police, usually the unions, that only a “police officer” has the knowledge and experience and can determine the proprietary of another officer’s actions, especially when it comes to use of force and deadly force. The philosophy is that only law enforcement can and should police themselves and it must be left to Police Internal Affairs without civilian involvement.

An argument that is always made is that law enforcement take their lives into their hands and “risk their lives daily” to protect the public. Police also argue they need complete discretion to do their jobs in order to defend themselves, otherwise their hands are tied in combating crime. Truth is, no one forces any one to become a police officer. They know what they were getting themselves into. If any officer feels the risk to life is too great, they probably need to find another line of work. In this day and age of the Black Lives Movement there is no tolerance of abuse of authority and civil right violations used under the guise of “self-defense” by police.

Another pervasive attitude expressed by sworn police is that it’s all “the politician’s fault”. It has been said that “police can no longer move without a politician telling them how to do their jobs”. Another line of attack made by police is when any elected official calls for oversight and accountability is that it is just another politician trying to score points as they run for office. Actions and even criticism by “politicians” and the media are often problematic and resented by police.

What law enforcement fail to understand is how critical civilian oversight is to policing. It is the elected officials, the politicians, who are ultimately held accountable for what cops do. The philosophy of management of police departments must be that “uniforms report to suits” similar to the United States Military where the President as a civilian is the Commander In Chief who also appoints a Secretary of Defense. It also the voters who must hold and demand accountability from both the police and the elected official in that it is the taxpayer that ultimately pays for police misconduct and excessive use of force and deadly force.

The biggest impediment to real police reform is what is referred to as the “blue code of silence.” One of the principles that is emerging from the Black Lives Matter is the “duty to intervene” rule mandating that “by standing or assisting” officers must step in if they observe a fellow officer using excessive force that they believe is not appropriate under the circumstance. It requires the police officer to formally report such incidents to supervisors. Such is the case with APD and the federal mandated reforms under the consent decree.

Many police officers view this as “breaking the blue code of silence”, second guessing, or not backing up the actions of a fellow police officer who is supposed to “have your back”. The derogatory term used by those opposed to such a policy is that it requires police officers to become “snitches” against a fellow officer and falls into the dangerous philosophy of “your either with me or against me” to avoid any and all accountability for police misconduct.

Our law enforcement community, including APD, the Sheriffs and State Police, must understand with complete clarity that police brutality, excessive use of force and deadly force based on racial profiling and the presumption of guilt because of a person’s color and not evidence will not and shall not be tolerated ever.

Rank and file police officers who see racism by another officer need to object to it and report it. No Hispanic, no African American and no person of color should ever feel uncomfortable talking to any police officer or call the police to ask for help or to report a crime. There must never be an attitude and presumption of guilt based on a person’s ethnicity. Police must have the attitude and recognize that performing their motto to “serve and protect” is not based on or determined by a person’s skin color.

Times and methods of policing are changing fast when it comes to police work and those that have been in the profession for any length of time need to understand that and adapt to it. Basic policing methods are changing dramatically incorporating constitutional policing practices taught and mandated. Without those changes, this country will continue to endure and see more cases like the killing George Floyd by police.

Only until APD becomes in complete compliance with the mandated reforms of the federal Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) will APD be able to fight crime without violating people’s civil rights and thereby allow the dismissal of the DOJ consent decree. One thing for certain is that only APD management, the police union and all APD police officers can make the consent decree actually work and have the court dismiss it sooner rather than later.