City Council Challenges The Nefarious Conduct Of  APD Public Relations Flack Gilbert Gallegos And Chief Harold Medina On  Social Media Bullying To Vilify Citizens And Judges Done With Backing Of Mayor Tim Keller;  Keller Administration Declines To Disclose Who Blocked 251 Emails Sent To City Employees And Elected Officials

The City of Albuquerque employs between 30 and 35 Public Information Officers (PI0s) who are paid as low as  $35,000 a year and as high as $65,000 a year. Some are classified employees who can only be terminated for cause while others are at will employees and can be terminated without cause and for no reason at the discretion of the Keller Administration. The function of PIO’s is to interreact with the press and the public and distribute accurate information to the public and the press and give interviews where necessary. The APD  Spokespersons  historically have  been sworn police officers assigned APD vehicles with the rational that they understand the duties and responsibilities of police work and  they  wear a police uniform when being interviewed by the press.

Gilbert Gallegos is the current APD Public Information Officer. He is a civilian at will employee and is paid $120,000 a year. Gallegos has no law enforcement training, he is a former Albuquerque Tribune reporter and worked for Governor Bill Richardson and  Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham when she was a congresswoman. When Governor Richardson left office, Governor Susan Martinez terminated him.

BLOCKED EMAILS

The on line news agency ABQ Raw is currently in litigation with the City of Albuquerque over being denied access to public documents and information they are entitled to and not being recognized as news agency.  ABQ Raw has an extensive history of negative  interactions with APD Spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos.  A source at ABQ Raw has revealed that discovery in the civil case shows that APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos has been given unprecedented “off site” access to the city Information Technology (IT) and he has access to all emails sent and received by city employees including all  APD employees and elected officials and that he has the ability to block emails.

On March 22 it was reported that  251 emails forwarding articles published on www.PeteDinelli.com to city employees  critical of APD and the Keller Administration  were blocked without any warning and without giving any reason or justification to www.PeteDinelli.com. The blocks occurred after a blog article reporting on APD overtime pay abuses in the millions giving salaries and overtime paid to 250 top paid city hall employees giving names, titles and amounts paid in 2022.   The City IT blocks included the email addresses of all 9 city councilors, the APD Chief’s command staff and many area commanders, captains and lieutenants.

At the April 3 meeting of the Albuquerque City Council, City Councilor Brook Bassan asked why APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos was not present and she  was given no particular reason even though APD Chief Medina gave a presentation along with an APD  commander.  Under questioning by city councilors, City IT Deputy Director Mark Leech and  Chief Administrative Officer Lawrence Rael would not answer and declined to state who specifically was  responsible for the blocking of Dinelli emails, what the specific  criteria was used for the blocking  and who ordered  the blocking. It is unknown if APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos was involved with the blocking in that he was unavailable for questioning by the City Council.

APD SPOKESMAN GILBERT GALLEGOS TAKEN TO TASK OVER SOCIAL MEDIA BULLYING

On February 3 and March 22,  KOAT TV Target 7 investigation took to task the Albuquerque Police Department (APD)  for its social media posts that were considered by many as inappropriate. It constituted intimidation and harassment of the general public. APD for its part made no apologies for official tweets on its TWITTER and FACEBOOK page. The source of APDs posts was APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos.

The links to the news sources are here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2570384/albuquerque-police-tweets-slammed-by-some-as-intimidation

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-police-twitter-tweets/42748358

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-police-mean-tweets/43387226

On April 4, the Albuquerque City Council at its regularly scheduled meeting took to task the Keller Administration and what it considered the nefarious conduct of APD Public Information Officer Gilbert Gallegos. Below are the April  4 published reports by the on-line news agency ABQ Raw and KOAT TV Target 7  on APD Police Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos.  Both articles are followed by the link to a related Dinelli blog article entitled “APD Public Relations Flack Gilbert Gallegos And Chief Harold Medina Engage In Social Media Bullying To Vilify Citizens And Judges …  Done With Backing Of Mayor Tim Keller”

ABQ Raw: “CITY COUNCIL LOOKING TO DEFUND APD’S TWITTER AND THE TROLL WHO RUNS IT”

“Albuquerque, NM – On April 3rd, 2023 at 5PM, the Albuquerque City Council had it’s monthly meeting to discuss city matters. During the question-and-answer period, City Councilors can ask the Mayor’s office and its department heads any questions they feel are necessary to address during open government.

District 9 City Councilor and Vice President of Council Renee Grout wasted no time during the question-and-answer period to ask the administration about an offensive tweet posted by Director of Communications Gilbert Gallegos. She showed on the big screen a tweet that showed Gallegos attacking one of the largest landowners and business men in Albuquerque, Doug Peterson, who owns Peterson Properties.

Councilor and Vice President Grout questioned Chief Administration Officer Lawrence Rael about the behavior of Gallegos’s tweets and if it was considered good customer service.

Rael stammered with his answer and said he had already reviewed his response.

“Look, I have gotten the point of what you all have made and we will visit with that. I am in the opinion we should always be professional and stick to the subject matter,” said Rael.

Rael then went on to back Gallegos saying he was a very dedicated individual public employee and thanked the Councilor for bringing it to his attention.

Council President and District 6 Councilor Pat Davis then called APD Chief Harold Medina to the podium to answer questions about Gallegos’s behavior and why they have not disciplined him for violating APD’s social media policy. Davis asked who Gallegos reports to and followed up who has access to the APD’s PIO Twitter account.

“He answers to the Chief of Police. I would say there is about three who could have access to the PIO account,” said Chief Medina.

Sources tell us that Gallegos is the sole person who has exclusive access to all of the APD run PIO Twitter accounts and changed the login credentials when he came into power for the position. The Tweets and response tweets indicate Gallegos is the sole person running the account. On October 24th, 2022, ABQ RAW posted an editorial about Gallegos behavior. The account responded to a person in a mocking manner saying #recallGilbertGallegos.

Davis then went on to say in the public forum that himself and Rael have talked about Gallegos behavior at least 6 times prior to this meeting. He addressed Rael and Chief Medina with a stern and emotional tone about Gallegos’s behavior.

“This issue has been going on for quite some time. We have had personal conversations and news stories. It is very clear this account that engages with our community is disruptive and unhelpful in engaging the community. It is time to stop! Will you commit that person will no longer be allowed to operate that account until they are retrained or will you continue to allow this person to do so in violation of policy that specifically says they must treat people with respect,” said President of Council Councilor Davis.

Rael responded with: the city will have more conversations with Gallegos about being professional. Davis then doubled down about the Twitter and Gallegos behavior.

“I will work personally to defund that position, to defund that account, and prohibit the City from using Twitter in that way if we continue to not solve this problem. We are not going to pick a fight with people online in social media. We are not Qanon trolls but we are participating in it and encouraging it, and elevating all those people by responding to it and it is beneath the dignity of you, and this department. We do not make fun of our former Police Chief’s health conditions on Twitter and that is too far, and someone needed to be disciplined for it and as far as I can tell it hasn’t happened,” said Davis.

Chief Medina would not confirm if Gallegos was ever disciplined or there is any plan to put Gallegos in remedial training. When Gallegos is brought concerning the tweets the Chief spins it to say people are attacking his officers and this is a way to fight back. He never answers council directly about Gallegos’s job performance.

All of our responses are geared to facts and our responses are geared toward supporting our officers,” said Chief Medina in response back to City Council.

Gallegos has so much support from Keller and Police Chief he was issued a new police SUV complete with lights and sirens. Gallegos uses this vehicle quite often speeding from his residence in the gated community of Tanoan to crime scenes where he has no purpose speeding and using his emergency lights on the vehicle. This vehicle is disguised with a civilian license plate to conceal his employment as a government official.

It is unclear why a civilian PIO needs a police SUV with red and blue lights when other civilians have no take home police cars, no lights, and no sirens at all. We and others have noticed on several instances where Gallegos arrives on scene passing all established crime scene boundaries with his lights engaged.

APD Standard Operating Procedure states only sworn personnel are allowed to use lights engaged in the Use of Emergency Warning Equipment:

2-6-2 Policy

 It is the policy of the Department to adhere to statutory restrictions on the use of emergency warning equipment. Emergency warning equipment is employed only under authorized conditions and circumstances in order to minimize the risk of crashes or injuries to personnel or the community.

 2-6-3 Definitions

 1. Authorized Emergency Vehicle. An authorized law enforcement vehicle displaying a government-issued license plate that is equipped with authorized emergency warning equipment and other emergency warning devices required by New Mexico state statute and used for emergency response situations.

 2. Authorized Emergency Warning Equipment. Equipment on authorized emergency vehicles that emits audible or visual signals in order to warn others that law enforcement services are in the process of being delivered, such as a siren, flashing or rotating red and blue lights, or amber lights.

It is also unclear why PIO Gallegos needs to get to scenes in a hurry and who if anyone actually authorizes his use of emergency lights to scenes or on scenes.

Gallegos’s typical uniform consists of a polo shirt identical to high-ranking officials with “gold” lettering signifying rank and importance. The polo shirts also have affixed the official gold supervisor police patch that sworn supervisory officers wear. All other civilians, such as PSA’s, wear a light blue uniform with a civilian city patch. He could be mistaken and probably is continuously as a sworn law enforcement officer dressed in his current outfit. The practice of driving a police car with lights and siren in a police type uniform hinges on impersonation of an officer and places the city at great risk for lawsuits.

A couple weeks ago there was an officer involved shooting and media personnel saw Gallegos arrive on scene at about 8:15PM with his lights and siren and we waited in great anticipation for a statement from him about what had happened.

Gallegos was not once seen during the hours that media waited on scene patiently for a statement or update and it is unclear what his purpose on scene even was. It seems that Gallegos’s presence was useless, since he made no statement to media whatsoever. Eventually after several delays Chief Medina did make a statement to an unknown solo entity while we along with other stations were oblivious to it. It was a perfect example of PIO Gallegos abusing his powers when he showed up on scene shortly after the smoke of the shooting had cleared.

Gallegos has an office next to the chief on the fifth floor. Gallegos also has a police radio with a call sign, and a police badge, just like Mayor Keller’s. Gallegos is also assigned an assistant director of communications Rebecca Atkins, and he also has two other sworn PIO’s at his disposal. Officer Daren De Aguero and Officer Chase Jewell are the sworn PIO’s however, none of the sworn PIO’s nor Atkins are allowed to make independent comments publicly unless Gallegos has approved it, making the other staff useless.

The sworn officer PIO practice had been in place up until recently when Mayor Keller under his first administration appointed civilian PIO Gilbert Gallegos to the position of “director of communications” for the Albuquerque Police Department. The pay for this civilian PIO position is now comparable to that of a very high-ranking commander at over $100,000 per year. Gallegos, nevertheless, is not of any sworn rank, but he is instead an “at will” disposable employee.

Gallegos is apparently not accountable to the city taxpayers who pay his salary. Not once has Gallegos had to answer to anyone of authority in the Keller administration about his actions. Gallegos has never faced consequences for his actions.

For as long as recent history can remember, the Albuquerque Police Department has employed a spokesperson to deal with the media on behalf of the Chief of Police and its department. For the first few decades, APD relied on internal employees who were sworn officers within the rank and file to serve as the Public Information Officer, AKA PIO. The officer assigned would be trained by PR firms or internal specialists on how to deal with the public and media station inquiries.

This formula worked for decades because people for the most part trusted a sworn member of the police department to be honest and forthcoming about incidents that were of significance to the public’s safety. As we know, upon graduation from a police academy, officers swear an oath to the U.S. Constitution that they will be honest and will be held accountable up to termination if untruthful. By Keller hiring a civilian PIO to replace sworn PIO’s, the position in now not accountable to the US Constitution or any rules or ethics. The civilian PIO is now allowed to constantly lie to the public without consequence to their employment or to anyone else.

This civilian PIO is the same city employee that’s been highlighted by ABQ RAW for years and now recently KOAT for his unacceptable behavior on social media. The behavior consists of harassing business owners, chastising a crime victim’s family, he’s been rude to other Albuquerque residents just for making comments on Twitter, and he’s made inflammatory and derogatory comments, all of which does not reflect well on the City of Albuquerque or the Albuquerque Police Department.

Questions still remain as to why a full-time, high paid PIO is even needed if they only speak during sporadic press conferences. It seems the old way of having a sworn officer fill in these duties would suffice.”

The link to the ABQ Raw article is here:

https://www.abqraw.com/post/city-council-looking-to-defund-apd-s-twitter-and-the-troll-who-runs-it

MEDINA DEFENDS  GALLEGOS OUT OF LOYALTY

In an interview with the Albuquerque Journal on Tuesday April 4, Chief Administrative Officer Lawrence Rael described Gallegos as a “dedicated” public employee but said he and Chief Medina have had, and would continue to have, conversations with Gallegos about remaining professional.

Chief Medina for his part told the city  council he feels his department is caught in the crossfire of a “very big political battle” waged by people who loathe Mayor Tim Keller. He said the goal is to defend officers’ work and successes but that the department will do that differently moving forward.  Medina said Gallegos has not been disciplined, nor will he be. He said he had allowed the spokesman to “push back” on some people he believed to be spreading misinformation. Medina said this:

“I have a lot of loyalty from Gilbert. I have a lot of loyalty from my staff. … Anytime somebody threatens to make me look bad, they’re always there to defend me and this department, because they like the direction we’re going.”

The link to the quoted Journal report is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2588040/albuquerque-city-councilors-want-police-spokesman-gilbert-gallegos-to-rein-in-unacceptable-tweets.html

KOAT TV  TARGET 7 REPORT

Following is the April 4 KOAT Channel 7 report on APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos:

“Albuquerque City Council President Pat Davis gave the police department an ultimatum: either stop the mean tweets they have directed toward people complaining about APD or he will do everything in his power to defund the department’s public information officer position.

“Let me make this clear,” Davis said during Monday’s city council meeting. ”I will work personally to defund that position, to defund that account, and to prohibit the city from using Twitter in that way If we continue to not solve this problem, we are not there to pick a fight with people online on social media.”

A Target 7 investigation has found the Albuquerque Police Department’s public information officer’s Twitter account has been used to poke fun at a former chief’s rumored dementia, attacked property owners who have complained about crime and made fun of crime in an affluent neighborhood.

So far Police Chief Harold Medina and Mayor Tim Keller have taken no action to stop the tweets and have said they have no problem with the responses even though they acknowledge it violates city policy which states when replying to posts on city accounts, city employees are supposed to, “keep it professional and avoid confrontation.”

City officials have said APD public information officer Gilbert Gallegos is behind these tweets. Gallegos is a former Albuquerque Tribune reporter and worked for Governor Bill Richardson and Michelle Lujan Grisham when she was a congresswoman.

“We are not QAnon trolls, but we are participating in it and we are encouraging it and we are elevating all of those people by responding to it,” Davis said. “And it is beneath the dignity of you in this department and everything you’re working on.”

APD had a news conference last week announcing that property crime had dropped 40%.

Former APD officer and attorney Tom Grover took to social media and said, “or another way to look at this is under Chief Geier there was a 23% drop in property crime while under @abqpolicechief there was only 12%”

The APD PIO Twitter responded to Grover’s tweet, “ask your client who is responsible for lower property crime? Oh wait, he probably isn’t aware.”

It has been rumored that Geier had dementia. Grover has said it is not true.

“And we’ve had this conversation. People are allowed to disagree with us,” Davis said. “We do not make fun of our former police chief’s health conditions on Twitter. That is too far and someone needed to be disciplined for it. As near as I can tell, it hasn’t happened. That’s enough. We’ve done with this.”

When asked recently if their tweets followed city policy, Medina told Target 7, “some of them may not, but some of them bluntly point out differences. And I’m okay with that.”

The mayor’s office told Target 7 multiple times they “support the department in their efforts to push back against misinformation on social media.”

[City councilor Pat Davis had this to say]:

“It is very clear that this account in the way it engages with our community is disruptive, is unhelpful to our engaging with the community and our positive relations. … It is not that we are just bringing this to your attention. We have brought it to your attention. Channel seven has brought it to your attention.”

Other councilors also took issue.

“I think it’s unacceptable,” Councilor Renee Grout said. “And, I wouldn’t put up with it in my business, an employee that I had. And, so it needs to change.”

Grout told Medina and Rael she was getting complaints from her constituents and even showed this tweet when Gallegos poked fun at crime in the gated community of Tanoan.

“We are all here to serve the citizens of Albuquerque. Do you think that that response is good customer service,” Grout asked.

“I’ve gotten the point that you all have made, okay. And we will certainly visit with that,” Albuquerque Chief Administrative Officer Lawrence Rael said to Grout. “Look, I have always been of the opinion that we should be professional.”

This time Rael said things were going to change.

“I would commit to you that we will have the conversation with the individual and with the utmost importance that it is about being professional and treating people with respect as you requested,” Rael said.

Target 7 obtained documents that show that more than a year ago a local journalist filed a complaint against Gallegos after he was blocked by a city account and called a troll.

The board found that Gallegos violated three different APD policies.

It’s not clear if Gallegos was ever disciplined. Target 7 filed an open records request and has yet to hear back.”

The link to the KOAT TV report is here:

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-city-council-police-mean-tweets/43511199#

DINELLI BLOG ARTICLE

Relevant portions of  the March 28  Dinelli blog article  entitled “APD Public Relations Flack Gilbert Gallegos And Chief Harold Medina Engage In Social Media Bullying To Vilify Citizens And Judges; Stoop To All Time Low; Done With Backing Of Mayor Tim Keller” merit quoting:

APD SPOKEMAN POKES FUN OF FORMER CHIEF’S RUMORED DEMENTIA

On March 22, KOAT TV Target 7 Investigation reported for a second time that APD’s nasty little tweets were continuing from Public Information Officer flack Gilbert Gallegos and that he had reach a new low.  This time the tweets poked fun at former APD Chief Michael Geier and rumored dementia as well as crime in affluent Tanoan.

EDITOR’S SIDEBAR: Least anyone forgets, former APD Chief Geier was forced to retire on September 10, 2020, some would say terminated, by Mayor Tim Keller and replaced him with APD Chief Harold Medina.  It was  Geier who recruited Medina to return to APD as a Deputy Chief of Field Services. A few days after Geier “retired” it was revealed that Geier was indeed forced out by Mayor Tim Keller.  Chief Geier was summoned to a city park by Mayor Tim Keller during the September 5 Labor Day Holiday weekend where Geier was told that his services were no longer needed. It was also revealed then First Deputy Chief Harold Medina helped orchestrate Geier’s removal. He did so  with the help of  then CAO Sarita Nair.   Medina became insubordinate to Geier and learning Geier was going to take disciplinary action against him and demote and transfer him, Medina struck back.   Geier also hired Gilbert Gallegos as an APD Spokesman and Gallegos was a Medina loyalist.  As soon as Gieir left, Gallegos and Medina both unleashed a torrent of criticism of Chief Geier blaming him for all of APD’s mismanagement all the while Medina himself refused to take any  responsibility for any of his mismanagement as Deputy Chief of the Field Services.

The latest TWITTER exchange began on  March 16, 2023 when APD held a press conference to release the city’s  2022 crime statistics  and announced  that property crime had dropped 40%.  Former APD officer and now private attorney Tom Grover who represents former APD Chief Michael Geier  posted a response on TWITTER to APD’s statistics.

Grover posted this about the crime stats:

“or another way to look at this is under Chief Geier there was a 23% drop in property crime while under @abqpolicechief there was only 12%”

APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallego’s responded to Grover’s post on TWITTER saying this:

ask your client who is responsible for lower property crime? Oh wait, he probably isn’t aware.”

In an interview with Target 7, Grover said this about APD’s TWEET:

“There’s been this really disgusting theory that somehow Chief Geier has dementia or pre-onset Alzheimer’s and that he was forgetful on certain occasions. … They’re just these grotesque aspersions towards the chief. He [Gilbert Gallegos]  was making fun and he was acting in a manner totally inconsistent with what we would expect from the largest law enforcement agency in the state.”

On the same day APD released the city’s crime stats, downtown property owner Doug Peterson tweeted that the crime stats released by Gilbert an “absolute joke.”

APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallego’s responded to Peterson’s TWEET by posting “how’s crime in Tanoan” referring to the affluent gated community

KOAT Target 7 contacted former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White, who was also an APD police officer, and asked him about the APD Tanoan TWEET and APDs policy of “pushing back” on social media .  After seeing the APD TWEET, White said this:

I don’t think the family of James Hogan who was murdered in a home invasion in Tanoan would think this tweet is funny. … Which I felt was completely insensitive. …  Pointing out the failures of the mayor and the chief is not misinformation. It’s just criticism.  You’re going to be criticized no matter what you do, good or bad. There are always going to be people that criticize you. And that’s just part of the game.”

Target 7 reached out to the mayor’s office and specifically asked if the mayor condoned tweets that were reportedly making light of someone’s alleged medical condition and crime in an affluent neighborhood. A spokeswoman for Mayor Keller said in an email:

“As stated previously, we support the department in their efforts to push back against misinformation on social media.”

VILLIFYING THE COURTS WITH DANGEROUS DRIVEL

APD Chief Harold Medina’s and APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallego’s social media attacks have not been confined to private citizens that may have legitimate complaints against APD and its job performance. They have been known to go after the courts on social media and level sharp criticism to court rulings attacking and degrading judges for decisions they have rendered and that they disagree with.

CASE IN POINT

In March, 2022, Defendant Adrian Avila was accused  and arrested for allegedly killing 2 people in two separate Albuquerque shootings that occurred 6 months apart. The first is an August 2020 case where a teen was killed during a gun robbery. The second is a February 2021 case where a man was killed in front of his home by his brother’s kidnappers.

Under the law, the prosecution has the burden of proof to make the case that a defendant charged with a violent crime is too dangerous to release from jail pending trial. After an evidentiary hearing, 2nd Judicial District Judge Stanley Whitaker ruled that prosecutors had credible evidence to charge Adrian Avila for the crimes, but prosecutors did not prove “no conditions of release could protect the community.”

Second Judicial District Judge Stan Whitaker granted Avila’s release on strict conditions, including GPS monitoring and a curfew. In addition to wearing a GPS ankle monitor, Whitaker ordered that Avila remain under house arrest and be allowed to leave his mother’s home only to attend a charter high school and for educational purposes. Judge Whitaker’s decision to release Adrian Avila on house arrest with a GPS monitor pending trial drew immediate vilification from APD Chief Harold Medina. APD Spokesman flack  Gilbert Gallegos followed Medina’s lead and on  social media  vilifief the court’s decision.

APD Chief Harold Medina said this in a TV interview:

“These people are accused of killing somebody and we’re counting on an ankle bracelet to protect the community. … [Adrain Avila is] at the root of gun violence. … [His release is] ridiculous.”

The link to the news interview is here:

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/albuquerque-teen-accused-of-2-murders-released-with-gps-ankle-monitor/6425548/?cat=500

On Thursday, March 22, at 2:07 pm,  public relations flack Gilbert Gallegos posted on APD’s official FACEBOOK page a photo of Defendant Adrian Avila with the following post:

“A judge released a murder suspect from jail today on an ankle monitor. Adrian Avila is charged for 2 separate murders. Think about that. Two murders. This suspect is at the root of the gun violence we’re seeing in Albuquerque and the record number of homicides.  Our officers and detectives are doing everything possible to investigate and arrest the people who are terrorizing our neighborhoods committing robberies and homicides with stolen guns. At the same time, we are getting reports of violent suspects cutting off their ankle monitors and left to roam the streets until we re-arrest them. This is beyond upsetting. This jeopardizes the safety of our community, including our officers.”

On March 22,  Gallegos posted on APD’s  TWITTER account a photo of Defendant Adrian Avila with part of the same text:

“A judge released a murder suspect from jail today on an ankle monitor. Adrian Avila is charged for 2 separate murders. Think about that. Two murders. This suspect is at the root of the gun violence we’re seeing in Albuquerque and the record number of homicides.”

Gsllegos also posted a follow up TWEET:

“This is beyond upsetting. This jeopardizes the safety of our community, including our officers.”

FACEBOOK COMMENTS REVEAL VILIFICATION OF JUDGE

As a result of the posts, APD’s FACEBOOK page was inundated with over 2,200 overwhelmingly “angry emoji” reactions, over 1,900 shares and over 718 comments. The overwhelming majority of the comments were negative, derogatory and personal attacks on Judge Stan Whitiker.

Below are just a few of the posted public comments on the judge:

Judges who release dangerous criminals need to be held accountable if they commit any crimes!

Yep… that’s New Mexico for you. The criminals have more rights than law abiding citizens.

As a community we need to band together and victims of the crimes of these criminals need to start suing the judges and metro court for releasing them into our community this is ridiculous already

What a slap in the face for the family, friends & law enforcement that have all done their jobs. I’ve lost all faith in the judicial system.

Chief Harold Medina needs to be in the judge’s chambers in front of judge Stan Whitaker and DEMAND answers. How can we hold the criminals accountable when the judge’s themselves aren’t held accountable?

So agreed!!! Unbelievable to see these judges that are a contributing reason for the high crime rate. You officers risk your lives and these judges pour more gasoline on the fire, called crime. I thank you for all you do, and wish we could hold these judges accountable for what do or don’t do!!!

These judges be smoking crack! Jail for life is where people like this need to be. Streets are not safe anymore. AlbuCrazy!!!

That judge should be arrested next.

The fact that this was posted by the APD says alot… I’m sure they are tired of beating the same dam dead horse too. Risking their lives to bring these people in just to have them released.

Y’all need to be in that judge’s chambers asking why. No excuse for that and until we hold judges accountable when they think they are God we’ll see no improvement

So glad we live in a safe city with murders going free!

The people will eventually get tired and start taking them out them self

Expose these judges. Make the public aware of their decisions individually.

This creep committed multiple other crimes and hasn’t been charged! If he had been disciplined in 2018 when he carjacked our boys, maybe these other families would not have had to bury their children. The entire system is a mess!!!

The judges should be the ones to sit and listen to the families of lost family members to gun violence! How many bodies are needed for these “judges” to snap!!?

The judges only care about the criminals they don’t care about y’all or us

Get rid of the judges.

Our justice system is so irresponsible and culpable. These judges are putting us all in danger, including our law enforcement officers, and the police are frustrated because their hands are basically tied. God help us all!!!

What would one of these judges do if one of their family members were murdered? They’d make certain the criminal was not released into the public.

You guys should promote people carrying firearms since the left is already against you guys might as well get the more triggered.

Hopes someone will take care of him.

Someone needs to handle that judge. We’ r Nuevo Mexico.

People like him are the reason why abortion should stay legal, it’s a real shame he didn’t meet the business end of a coat hanger or at the very least have the courtesy to take themselves out lol

Obviously, this judge is a friend of his family. This kind of corruption needs to stop.

THE DEFENSE ATTORNEY REVEALS MEDINA’S INVOLVEMENT

Criminal defense Attorney Ahmad Assed, who represents Adrian Avila said it was not the law that failed but law enforcement and the prosecutors who have failed to prove their case and that his client is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Assed argued in his response to the prosecution motions to detain pending trial that the prosecution’s evidence against Avila in the August 2020 homicide was circumstantial evidence and based largely on cellphone and Snapchat account records that did not reliably establish his involvement. In other words, there was no direct evidence such as eyewitness testimony nor forensic evidence such as fingerprints and ballistic testing linking him to the crime.

Assed said this about his client:

“[My client has] no criminal history, no history of failure to appears, he’s got a family that he’s associated with that are law-abiding citizens, hard-working folks, he reached out to law enforcement and sought out the turn-in on his own, and quite frankly conditions have never been in place where we can say he’s ever violated conditions of the court. … We don’t decide cases based on innuendo and DA’s closing arguments geared toward the eye of the media. That was the whole deal today, was just those notion of a closing argument or opening statement for the media’s purposes. It’s not for the court or the judge to discuss the details of the case. The judge must follow the law, and the law clearly requires the state to act. If the state does not act, and in this case, the state did not act, the court must follow the law.”

With respect to Chief Medina, attorney Assed said Medina’s comments were “irresponsible and reckless” statements having the potential to poison a jury pool and raise questions about APD’s ability to investigate crimes objectively and he said this:

“It’s outrageous for Albuquerque’s chief law enforcement officer, who wasn’t even at the hearing, to make a knee-jerk comment that is purely reactionary and pandering.”

Attorney Assed added that Chef Medina and he personally negotiated Avila’s surrender to APD. There was no disclosure if Medina ever asked Assad that his client be held in jail pending trial, yet Medina objects when a judge makes a finding that there was insufficient evidence to hold the accused in jail pending trial.

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/albuquerque-teen-accused-of-2-murders-released-with-gps-ankle-monitor/6425548/?cat=500

https://www.abqjournal.com/2481710/apd-slams-judge-for-releasing-man-facing-2-homicide-charges.html

APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos was asked why Medina believed Avila was the root of gun violence. In response, Gallegos said there is probable cause to believe Adrian Avila committed 2 homicides, and the community has a right to be concerned about the release of someone who faces such serious charges. Gallegos in a statement wrote:

“Mr. Assed is entitled to his opinion. He is a defense attorney and he is understandably concerned about the murder charges against his client. … Chief Medina is focused on the safety of the community and getting justice for the murder victims and their families.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/2482782/attorney-for-murder-suspect-alleges-apd-chief-libeled-his-client.html

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

APD Chief Medina’s blind loyalty to APD politcal flack spokesman Gilbert Gallegos has allowed Gallegos to engage in outrageous conduct that should not be tolerated of any public employee and would normally be grounds for termination. There is no doubt that APD Chief Harold Medina and his APD Public Information flack Gilbert Gallegos know exactly what they are  doing with their social media propaganda releases attacking private citizens and judges. They are both taking it to an all-time low level. They know damn well their social media posts generate extreme hostility and mistrust towards private citizens and judges by those who support APD and we have a Mayor who is allowing them to get away with it.

The condescending drivel and very dismissive remarks by APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallego’s questioning the motives of private citizens, private attorneys and also attacking judges for their decisions is dangerous.   It’s the dangerous drivel coming from APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos and Chief Medina that reflect what is so very, very wrong with APD on so many levels.

A citizen who has what they believe are legitimate complaints about APD does not mean APD has the right to vilify them or take issue with them and just presume that what they say is  inaccurate requiring a public “push back”. It does not mean APD has the right to engage in libel and slander nor violate people’s first amendment rights of free speech nor for that matter due process of law when it comes to the criminally charged.

IRRESPONSIBLE HYPERBOLE TO VILIFY AND SLANDER

From a public information standpoint, there is no problem with law enforcement giving interviews and posting on social media information regarding law enforcement initiatives, the status of an investigation and even arrests. However, when it comes to pending criminal prosecutions, APD has no business posting on social media anything that will jeopardize the successful prosecution of a case and anything that vilifies a judge who must decide that case.  Medina and APD posting on social media to express “opinions” regarding a judge’s decision to release a defendant pending trial was irresponsible hyperbole to inflame the public against the court and in a real sense it placed a judge in harm’s way.

Chief Medina and APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos also have a warped misunderstanding of their role when it comes to dealing with the general public and processing citizens’ complaints and talking to citizens in general.  Their attitude as reflected by the TWIITER posts is that unless you agree with APD and all of its actions, you are “anti cop” and you are a “cop hater”.  Chief Medina and APD Spokesman Gallegos taking to social media to respond to what’s posted on a public forum that they personally disagree is irresponsible and it is dangerous and eventually it is  going to get someone hurt.

It’s a practice Mayor Tim Keller should not tolerate from his Chief let alone a public relations flack like Gilbert Gallegos as APD spokesperson. Mayor Tim Keller should tell both his Chief and the APD Spokesperson to tone it down and show more respect to the public that they are supposed to “serve and protect” not “vilify and slander.”

Keller should also rescind APD’s social media policy and instruct the city attorney’s office to review and approve all of  APD’s social media posts to ensure that its not engaging in libel and slander of private citizens.

The City Inspector General and Internal Audit should open an investigation to determine who has City IT access and if city policy is being violated.

When an APD Spokesman becomes the news as opposed to reporting the news, it is  time to ask them to move on. The time has come for Mayor Tim Keller to thank APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos for his services and that his services are no longer needed by the City. That probably should include Chief Harold Medina, but Mayor Keller Keller will never admit  the poor job he is doing.

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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.