And The PIO Medal Of Honesty Goes To Simon Drobik!

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http://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/albuquerque-police-apd-montgomery-carlisle/4566361/

This is what APD Police Officer and public Information Officer Simon Drobik had to say in his Channel 4 interview about the shootout at Montgomery and Carlisle in front of a day care center:

“It looks like some dumb-asses got into a gunfight in the street. An individual got shot, some citizen actually walking down the street. A child almost got killed, got hit by glass. And this is the result of idiots in this town thinking they’re cool getting into gunfights.”

Drobik told the Albuquerque Journal “This is some idiots shooting themselves up in the middle of the street while kids are getting picked up [at a daycare center.]”

(See August 8, 2017 Albuquerque Journal, page A-1, “Gunfight breaks out in front of ABQ daycare center; Child and bystander injured; 3 in custody after traumatic shooting”)

Officer Drobik needs to be awarded a medal for honesty, candor and transparency, probably the first ever awarded to an APD Public Information Officer given the fact that two APD Public Information Officers lied about the investigation and brutal murder of nine year old Victoria Martens.

Drobik’s quote is also a reflection of what our City has become and the new norm for Albuquerque.

Our crime rates continue to soar. APD continues to be understaffed. Emergency call response times continue to increase.

According to Albuquerque Police Department (APD) statistics, the total number of violent crimes in Albuquerque increased and went from 4,291 crimes in 2010 to 5,409 in 2015.

The total number of property crimes in Albuquerque increased each year during the last six (6) years and went from 26,493 crimes in 2010 to 34,082 in 2015 according to APD.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) statistics reveal that in the last eight (8) years, Albuquerque has become the is fifth-most violent city in the country on a per capita basis while the nation’s violent crime rate dropped by 13.7%.

Albuquerque has become number one in the nation for auto thefts and in 2016, more than 10,000 vehicles were stolen in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County or more than 27 vehicles a day.

APD continues to be seriously understaffed and the staffing levels are the worst they have been in eight (8) years.

In eight (8) years, APD went from 1,100 sworn police officers to 844 sworn police officers.

In 2017, APD employs 854 sworn officers with only 436 sworn police assigned to field services and is severely shorthanded in the felony divisions to complete investigations and turn the cases over to the District Attorney for prosecution.

Police 911 emergency response times have gone from 8 minutes, 58 seconds to as much as 15 minutes endangering public safety.

The Albuquerque Police Department (APD is working under a federal court order after the Department of Justice found a “culture of aggression” within APD and with two police officers having been charged and tried for murder resulting in a jury unable to agree on a conviction and the charges dismissed.

APD still struggles to implement all the reforms mandated by the consent decree.

Four (4) years ago, Albuquerque had the lowest voter turnout since 1977 in its municipal election with only 19% of eligible voters actually voting.

Voters need to get angry and demand that aggressive action be taken by our elected officials with increasing funding for APD and personnel so that it can be more proactive as it was eight (8) years ago.

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About

Pete Dinelli was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is of Italian and Hispanic descent. He is a 1970 graduate of Del Norte High School, a 1974 graduate of Eastern New Mexico University with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and a 1977 graduate of St. Mary's School of Law, San Antonio, Texas. Pete has a 40 year history of community involvement and service as an elected and appointed official and as a practicing attorney in Albuquerque. Pete and his wife Betty Case Dinelli have been married since 1984 and they have two adult sons, Mark, who is an attorney and George, who is an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Pete has been a licensed New Mexico attorney since 1978. Pete has over 27 years of municipal and state government service. Pete’s service to Albuquerque has been extensive. He has been an elected Albuquerque City Councilor, serving as Vice President. He has served as a Worker’s Compensation Judge with Statewide jurisdiction. Pete has been a prosecutor for 15 years and has served as a Bernalillo County Chief Deputy District Attorney, as an Assistant Attorney General and Assistant District Attorney and as a Deputy City Attorney. For eight years, Pete was employed with the City of Albuquerque both as a Deputy City Attorney and Chief Public Safety Officer overseeing the city departments of police, fire, 911 emergency call center and the emergency operations center. While with the City of Albuquerque Legal Department, Pete served as Director of the Safe City Strike Force and Interim Director of the 911 Emergency Operations Center. Pete’s community involvement includes being a past President of the Albuquerque Kiwanis Club, past President of the Our Lady of Fatima School Board, and Board of Directors of the Albuquerque Museum Foundation.