Albuquerque Police Department Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos is back at it again using APD’s “X ” Account (formerly known as TWITTER), to engage in personal attacks against 3 private citizens. The problem is that APD spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos is engaging in unprofessional conduct to attack critics with the approval of Mayor Tim Keller and APD Chief Harold Medina. The conduct has become so egregious that the Albuquerque City Council has for a second time weighed in and condemned the conduct in no uncertain terms.
This blog article is an in-depth report on the controversy.
CONTROVERSIAL SOCIAL MEDIA EXCHANGE
Controversial social media posts took place on Monday, September 2. The exchange began with APD’s posts attacking the on line news agency ABQ RAW that a story it posted on a shooting was inaccurate. The social media attacks then turned to personal attacks against 3 private citizens who are known critics of APD. Those 3 private citizens are:
- Darren White who is a former APD Sargeant, a former Bernalillo County Sherriff, a former Public Safety Cabinet Secretary under Governor Gary Johnson and a former Albuquerque Chief Public Safety Officer under Mayor Richard Berry. White has 30 years of law enforcement experience and taught police media relations at Northwestern University. After leaving the City, White became a principal owner in a recreational marijuana business which he is no longer affiliated with. He also hosts a radio talk show on KKOB.
- Tom Grover is a private attorney and a former APD police officer. He has sued the city repeatedly and often represents APD police officers on personnel matters. One of his clients is former APD Chief Michael Geier who Mayor Tim Keller terminated and then appointed APD Chief Harold Medina to replace. The Geier termination resulted in litigation file by Grover.
- Doug Peterson is a commercial Real Estate Investor and Broker who is the primary principal of Peterson Properties which is the single largest commercial property owner and commercial landlord in the city. Peterson has been a consistent critic of APD and Mayor Tim Keller and their handling of the homeless. Peterson is known for repeatedly complaining about how the homeless overrun and damage his commercial properties and affecting his renters and property values.
Below are X postings made on the @ABQPOLICE X page
Why did you resign? posted to @darrenPwhite.
Why did Darren White resign? posted to @ThomasRGrover and @darrenPwhite
Bit defensive Tom? Why did Darren White resign? posted to @ThomasRGrover and @darrenPwhite.
These 3 tweets referencing Darren White resigning were ostensively referring to when Darren White was Albuquerque’s Chief Public Safety Officer. White was appointed Chief Public Safety Officer for the City of Albuquerque on December 1, 2009 by then newly elected Albuquerque Mayor Richard J. Berry. Two years later, White announced his retirement from the City on July 15, 2011 more than a week after a crash involving his wife where he showed up at the scene and then drove her to the hospital. First responders never gave Kathy White a blood test even though a police report indicates she showed signs of impairment.
https://www.koat.com/article/darren-white-retires-from-city-post/5036906
Another X posting was:
“Oh Doug. Nice to hear from you about harassment.” posted @MrDougPeterson
The APD post sent to “Doug” was to Douglas Peterson who criticized APD for “harassing a local news organization over a meaningless detail.” Peterson for his part said that APD’s post is “unprofessional”. Peterson also took issue with Mayor Tim Keller’s previous support of the department fighting “misinformation” on social media. Peteson said he and the other account posts that APD responded to were not posting misinformation. Peterson also called the posts a form of intimidation and said the department seeks to disparage people who criticize its work.
CITY COUNCILORS REACT
At the September 4 city council meeting, a bipartisan group of 5 Albuquerque City Councils aired grievances and criticized APD’s conduct on social media. Those criticizing APD were Republican City Councilors Renee Grout, Dan Champine, Brook Bassan and Democrats Klarissa Peña and Nichole Rogers.
Councilor Renee Grout was the first city councilor to bring the controversy up for discussion during the council meeting. Grout said this:
“I want to talk about mean tweets. They’re not OK. And recently we had some from the PIO [Public Information Officer] from APD. … We had this conversation a year ago, and it’s serious. We have to take a higher road, and sometimes we have to bite our tongue and suck it up.”
The incident Councilor Grout was referring to was from January 2023, when some slammed the conduct of APD on X as bullying and intimidation. In a separate written statement Grout said this: “I’m very disappointed. It’s never OK to respond like this. As City representatives, we need to take the higher road.”
First term Republican City Councilor Dan Champine, who is a retired APD officer, had this to say about the APD posts generated by APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos:
“It’s inappropriate. It is. Your police department, it’s just coming out of a DOJ control over the past 10 years, and you’re trying to rebuild with the city and its citizens. When you have — what I assumed, or the way I took it last night — was high school kids bickering. It doesn’t help your cause of building in that reform with the citizens that you serve. … Being a retired [APD] officer … I’ve seen officers get disciplined for less. This isn’t the first time [and it] happened last year. It was obviously before I was elected, and if I seem to recall, the [city council] president back then had mentioned stuff about it, and, I think they set protocols that are supposed to be followed now. … With last night’s [tweets], [I ask] were they followed?
“You’re dealing with a murder, people involved in a shooting, and you’re going to have a pissing match, if you will, over social media. I can’t speak for the entire council, but I myself, as a city representative — as a city councilor — I’m not going to just react to it and fly off the handle. … You need to take a step back — In my opinion, [Gilbert Gallegos] … should have last night. Everybody has the right to say those things. Their opinion, their ideas. You have to be better than that, really. That’s what it comes down to. Know that you’re a professional, and then everybody gets to speak their mind, and you take that with grace.”
During the September 4 city council meeting, Democrat first term City Councilor Nichole Rogers pressed the issue with the city’s Chief Administrative Officer Samantha Sengel. Following is what was reported by KOAT TV:
Councilor Nichole Rogers:
“The community deserves a response to what is going to happen moving forward with communication from APD on social media.”
CAO Samantha Sengel:
“I don’t have a statement about a personnel matter to be made here and I won’t discuss that portion of it, but I also am not going to sit here and imply that this was a one-sided discussion, that there was only one individual involved and the only person involved worked for the city of Albuquerque. I think we had a lot of individuals engaged and I think there was a lot of misinformation. I’m justifying it by any means. I’m not stating anyone was right. I’m not saying any of those things. I think the public comments that imply that one individual was wrong, in this case, was misguided.”
Councilor Nichole Rogers:
“I don’t think we’re talking about fact checking and correcting the record. We’re talking about specific tweets that are bullying, that are disrespectful, that are rude, that are condescending.”
Councilor Nichole Rogers mentioned PIO Gilbert Gallegos by name and asked APD Internal Affairs Commander Dodi Camacho if Gallegos was punished for controversial posts by the department in 2023.
THE KELLER ADMINISTRASTION RESPONDS
Ava Montoya, spokesperson for the mayor’s office, issued the following statement on behalf of Mayor Tim Keller in response to the controversy:
“We’re focused on big issues, we don’t micromanage twitter banter. We support the department and their ability to push back on misinformation online.”
APD Chief Harold Medina issued the following statement:
“These are not random people. We are pushing back against the same individuals who use their positions to pursue a political agenda against APD. If these men [referring to White, Grover and Peterson] can’t be fair and objective, how can KOAT use them over and over to provide opinions about APD?”
CIVILIAN POLICE OVERSIGHT AGENCY RESPONDS
On September 5, KOAT TV reached out to Civilian Police Oversight Agency executive director, Diane McDermott regarding Gilbert Gallegos’s X postings from APD’s account. She was asked if there has been any form of discipline following Gallegos’s use of the department’s twitter [X page]? If not, she was asked if there was a reason as to why? Also, she was asked what’s next, in terms of handling the situation?
McDermott made the following statement to KOAT TV over the phone:
“The Civilian Police Oversight Agency no longer investigates complaints regarding civilian employees. Due to an ordinance change, they’re investigated by the internal affairs within Albuquerque Police Department. We received a complaint, and it was forwarded to Internal Affairs Professional Standard.”
McDermott also sent KOAT TV the following statement:
“The Civilian Police Oversight Agency must receive a citizen complaint to initiate an investigation. Due to an ordinance change in 2023, the CPOA Agency does not generally investigate APD civilian employees. Civilian employees such as operators, administrative personnel, or, in this instance, the PIO are investigated by Internal Affairs Professional Standards. The Council wanted the CPOA’s primary focus to be on policing within the community. If a complaint is received regarding a civilian employee, it is transferred to IAPS unless it also involves the activities of sworn personnel, and then the CPOA will retain that investigation. Non-sworn employees will also be investigated by the CPOA performing similar police functions, such as Police Service Aides or APD Transit Safety personnel.
Regarding the question of discipline for Mr. Gallegos, the CPOA only recommends discipline, and so the question would have to be directed to the Office of Police Reform to determine if discipline has been imposed.
What is next would also be directed to the Department, but if a citizen complaint is received, it will be evaluated and, if it only concerns PIO responsibilities of non-sworn personnel, forwarded to IAPS for investigation.”
Links to quoted and relied upon news sources are here:
https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-police-department-chief-medina/62049109
https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-police-social-media/62073908
A HISTORY OF MEAN TWEETS
It was in February and March of 2022 that the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) was first taken to task for its social media posts by APD Communications Director Gilbert Gallegos. Many considered the posts inappropriate and constituted intimidation and harassment of members of the general public. It was reported that the Albuquerque Police Department’s Twitter account had been used by Gilbert Gallegos to poke fun at former APD Chief Michael Geier falsely accusing Geier of having dementia, attacked property owners who have complained about crime and made fun of crime in an affluent neighborhood. APD for its part made no apologies for the tweets on its TWITTER and FACEBOOK page with Chief Harold Medina and Mayor Tim Keller defending the conduct.
The most egregious tweets by APD Public Information Officer Gilbert Gallegos worth noting are as follows:
VILIFYING A PRIVATE CITIZEN
Last year, Doug Peterson took to Twitter to complain about crime and homelessness in Downtown Albuquerque. He spoke to the media about his frustrations over how the unhoused are affecting property values and destroying businesses. Doug Peterson said this about his tweets:
“I was vehemently complaining about the lack of response that my company has been getting from APD, mostly about property crime. The information that I put out there is straight from our properties and what we’re experiencing.”
APD responded to the tweets by Peterson on its Twitter account and posted the following:
“Calling out your b.s. [bull shit] is public service.” (May 24, 2022 at 9:25 AM,)
“You only complain and never offer solutions.” (October 13, 2022 at 3:52 PM)
“Your racism aside, we have charged 99 murder suspects this year.” (October 6, 2022 at 9:33 pm)
APD Police Chief Harold Medina was asked at the time to respond to the propriety of the APDs tweets against Peterson. Medina admitted that some of the tweets violated the city’s social media policy. The policy states when replying to posts on city accounts, city employees are supposed to “keep it professional and avoid confrontation.”
Medina referred to the Peterson tweets as “cyberbullying” and said this:
“At times, yes, we push back and sometimes people don’t like the way we push back. I think [the tweets] were appropriate for the individuals that they were meant for. … They bluntly point out differences [and] I’m OK with that. … There are some individuals who, politically, for political reasons or a variety of reasons, are resort to cyberbullying, which is something real. And I don’t think that it’s necessarily fair.”
Another APD tweet that generated controversy came in July 2022 after the death of a 15-year-old boy caught in a SWAT standoff in a home that later caught fire. Some used Twitter to blame the police for the boy’s “murder.” In response, APD Spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos tweeted to all:
“Didn’t know a fire could murder someone.”
In that case, APD Chief Medina said he told department spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos to tone it down. Notwithstanding, Medina stood behind Gallegos proclaiming that APD was responding to what he deemed “inaccuracies.”
Mayor Tim Keller voiced no problem with the confrontational tweets and said this:
“APD has its own social media policy. … We support their efforts to push back on misinformation on social media.”
City Councilor Louie Sanchez is a retired APD Officer. He demanded that APD tone down their tweets. Councilor Louie Sanchez said this:
“The department thinks that harassing and intimidating people is community policing; they’re on the wrong path.”
https://www.abqjournal.com/2570384/albuquerque-police-tweets-slammed-by-some-as-intimidation.html
https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-police-twitter-tweets/42748358
https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-police-mean-tweets/43387226
https://www.abqraw.com/post/city-council-looking-to-defund-apd-s-twitter-and-the-troll-who-runs-it
APD SPOKEMAN POKES FUN OF FORMER CHIEF’S RUMORED DEMENTIA
On March 22, 2022, a KOAT TV Target 7 Investigation reported that APD Public Information Officer Gilbert Gallegos posts 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.
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 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 towards Chief Geier blaming him for all of APD’s mismanagement. Medina himself refused to take any responsibility for any of his mismanagement as Deputy Chief of the Field Services.
On March 16, 2023, a TWITTER exchange began when APD held a press conference to release the city’s 2022 crime statistics and announced that property crime had dropped 40%. Private attorney Tom Grover who represents former APD Chief Michael Geier posted a response on TWITTER to APD’s statistics and said this:
“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, now X, 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 Gallego’s APD 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 statistics, 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 where Peterson ostensibly lives.
KOAT Target 7 contacted former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White 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 and specifically asked if Mayor Keller 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.”
https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-city-council-police-mean-tweets/43511199#
COUNCIL TAKES KELLER ADMINISTRATION TO TASK THE FIRST TIME
On April 3, 2023, the Albuquerque City Council took to task the Keller Administration and the nefarious conduct of APD Public Information Officer Gilbert Gallegos. District 9 City Councilor and Vice President of Council Renee Grout asked Keller administration officials about the offensive tweets posted by Gilbert Gallegos. Grout showed on the city council chambers big screen the tweet where Gallegos attacked Doug Peterson. Grout told Medina and Rael she numerous complaints from her constituents about Gallegos poking fun at crime in the gated community of Tanoan. Grout said this about the TWEET:
“I think it’s unacceptable. … And, I wouldn’t put up with it in my business, an employee that I had. And, so it needs to change. … We are all here to serve the citizens of Albuquerque.”
Councilor Grout questioned then Chief Administration Officer Lawrence Rael about the behavior of Gallegos’s tweets and asked him “Do you think that that response is good customer service?”
Rael stammered with his answer and said this:
“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. … 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 then went on to defend Gilbert Gallegos saying he was a very dedicated individual public employee and thanked the Councilor for bringing the conduct to his attention.
Then Council President and District 6 Councilor Pat Davis, who has since left office, called upon APD Chief Harold Medina to answer questions about Gallegos’s behavior and why they have not disciplined him for violating APD’s social media policy.
Chief Medina never said if Gallegos was ever disciplined or if there was any plan to discipline Gallegos. When asked about the Gallegos tweets, Medina responded that Gallegos was responding to private citizens who are attacking APD officers, and the tweets were a way to fight back. Medina said this:
“All of our responses are geared to facts and our responses are geared toward supporting our officers.”
Davis asked Medina who Gallegos reports to and followed up asking who has access to the APD’s PIO Twitter account. Medina said this:
“He answers to the Chief of Police. I would say there is about three who could have access to the PIO account.”
It turns out that Gallegos is the sole person who has exclusive access to all of the APD run PIO Twitter accounts, now X, and changed the login credentials when he was first appointed to the position. The Tweets and response tweets indicate Gallegos is the sole person running the account.
Then President of Council Councilor Pat Davis went on to say during the city council meeting that he and then CAO Lawrence Rael talked about Gallegos behavior at least 6 times prior to the meeting. He addressed Rael and Chief Medina with a stern and strong tone about Gallegos’s behavior and said this:
“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 7 has brought it to your attention.
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.”
Rael responded saying that more conversations with Gallegos about being professional would be held.
Davis doubled down and said this:
“Let me make this clear. 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. …And we’ve had this conversation. People are allowed to disagree with us. … 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 if the tweets followed city policy, Medina told Target 7 in a separate interview:
“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.”
The links to quoted and relied upon 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
https://www.abqraw.com/post/city-council-looking-to-defund-apd-s-twitter-and-the-troll-who-runs-it
https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-city-council-police-mean-tweets/43511199#
https://www.abqraw.com/post/city-council-looking-to-defund-apd-s-twitter-and-the-troll-who-runs-it
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
The City of Albuquerque employs between 30 and 35 Public Information Officers (PIOs) 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 Mayor Keller and his 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 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.
APD Police Chief Harold Medina and Mayor Tim Keller have never taken any action to put a stop to the tweets by Gilbert Gallegos and have gone as far as to say they have no problem with his tweets 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.”
When asked if the tweets followed city policy, Medina said “some of them may not, but some of them bluntly point out differences. And I’m okay with that.” Mayor Keller for his part has said through spokes persons that his office “supports the department in their efforts to push back against misinformation on social media.”
Gilbert Gallegos has engaged in outrageous conduct with the public that cannot 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 attacks on private citizens.
Calling a businessman who is exercising his right of free speech a racist as Gilbert Gallegos did of Doug Peteson is not keeping it professional nor is it avoiding confrontation and it’s likely libelous. Chief Medina enabling and backing up a public relations flack to attack a private citizen because he is critical of APD performance is not at all appropriate nor is it cyberbullying as Medina proclaims. Gilbert and Medina have a real warped understanding of the concept of “to protect and serve”. They know damn well their social media posts generate extreme hostility and mistrust towards private citizens and we have a Mayor who is allowing them to get away with it.
There is no legitimate reason to allow APD to have its own social media policy other than allowing it to say what it wants and to attack who they want on social media. If anything, APD should not be allowed to post on FACEBOOK or “X” without the post being reviewed by a city attorney to ensure it conforms to city policy and does not violate the laws of libel and slander.
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.
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 TWITTER posts is that unless you agree with APD and all of its actions, you are “anti cop” and you are a “cop hater”.
It is painfully obvious that Gilbert Gallegos has absolutely no respect for the wishes of the Albuquerque City Council as he continues with his attacks on private citizen and the media with post on social media. It is also painfully obvious that Mayor Tim Keller and APD Chief Harold Medina likewise have no respect for the City Council in that they have condoned and supported the conduct of Gilbert Gallegos.
Simply put, the City Council needs to be far more aggressive in dealing with APD Communications Director Gilbert Gallegos. The City Council Needs to take a vote no confidence and demand the termination of Gilbert Gallegos and go so far as defund the position if Mayor Keller fails to act.
Links to related blog articles are here: