The Doer, the Whiner and the Failure
February 7, 2018

Dennis Domrzalski

https://www.abqreport.com/single-post/2018/02/07/The-Doer-the-Whiner-and-the-Failure

You don’t have to look far to see that individuals – our attitudes and actions – can make all the difference in things.

Some people refuse to quit or whine, and wind up turning the most dire of circumstances into successes and triumphs; some whine incessantly no matter how good things are and will always be mired in mediocrity; and some just plain don’t do their jobs.

Those three different traits and types of people are on full display in Albuquerque right now, and I don’t think there’s any question as to who will have true success.

First we’ve got the Whiner, Bernalillo County District Attorney Raul Torrez. The DA has been whining since he took office a year ago that he doesn’t have enough resources, meaning attorneys, to prosecute all the criminals who are roaming our streets and stealing our stuff and creating mayhem.

Torrez’s office has a budget of $18.2 million. The office has 300 positions. As I said, since he took office last year, Torrez has been whining that he doesn’t have enough money to do his job. And now he’s asking the state Legislature for an additional $5.4 million so he can hire 20 more attorneys to prosecute felony cases.

But, Torrez’s office has 45 vacant positions, 18 of which are attorneys. He has never really answered the question of why he hasn’t hired those 18 attorneys, and no one in the news media, except this publication, has bothered to look at the state’s Sunshine portal to see all those vacant positions. And no one but ABQReport has bothered to ask Torrez why he’s asking for a lot more money when he can’t even keep his office fully staffed.

The state House wants to give Torrez a quarter of of his requested $4.5 million, or about $1.1 million in additional funds. That’s a decent amount of money, but it won’t be enough for Torrez. And you can bet that even if Torrez were to get that additional $4.5 million, he’d be back in a couple of years complaining that he didn’t have enough money and attorneys to do his job. He’s a perpetual whiner.

Now we come to the Loser in this situation, KOAT-TV President and General Manager Mary Lynn Roper. She put out an editorial on Feb. 5 going to bat for Torrez and his request for an additional $4.5 million. I don’t recall KOAT ever doing its job in this particular case and reporting on the fact that Torrez currently has 18 VACANT attorney positions. I don’t recall Roper or any of her station’s reporters asking Torrez why he’s asking for more money when he can’t, or won’t, fill all the positions he’s currently budgeted for.

KOAT says it has a news department. Well, if it’s a real news department, it would be doing some very easy reporting and asking Torrez some moderately tough questions. But it hasn’t, and in that regard, it’s a failure. It’s disgusting and embarrassing that these so-called news people can’t, or won’t do their jobs of holding public officials accountable.

And now we come to the Doer, the guy who makes no excuses and who is trying to scratch out success in a very tough situation. And that Doer is Albuquerque Police Chief Mike Geier.

Geier walked into an incredibly tough situation when he took over as police chief in December. APD has been chronically understaffed for years because of the failures and incompetence of the previous city administration, crime has skyrocketed in recent years, and morale among rank-and-file officers has been low.

But Geier hasn’t been sitting in a dark closet wringing his hands, weeping and whining about his lack of resources and the failures of his predecessor. In January, despite being more than 150 cops short of APD’s budgeted manpower level, Geier and his command staff put together a four-day auto theft sting that netted 23 recovered stolen vehicles and 22 felony arrests.

That was a huge and great first step in the process of taking back our streets – and motor vehicles – from the thugs.

Instead of whining, complaining and doing nothing, Geier took action; he charged the enemy.

When Geier took over as chief he said he was tired of the “Heads-down” attitude at APD. He said he was tired of hearing what couldn’t be done, and that he wanted a new attitude of accomplishment and service on behalf of the citizens and the department.

Well, because of Geier, APD has that new attitude.

The motto of Geier’s home town, the city of Chicago is “I will.” It’s not, “I don’t have the resources,” or, “I could succeed if only I had an endless amount of money,” or “Maybe I can do it.”

It’s “I will.”

Torrez and Roper have a long, long way to go before they can even come close to living up to that wonderful and inspiring motto. Because right now, their motto seems to be, “I can’t and I won’t.”

It was reported that two thirds of Albuquerque Police Academy applicants do not show up for testing to get into the APD academy.

http://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/albuquerque-police-apd-recruitment-testing/4774021/?cat=500

The news report explained why Albuquerque is having so much problems filling unfilled positions and the difficulty in growing the department even with APD offering a $5,000 sign-on bonus for new hires.

According to an APD spokesperson 2,551 cadet “interest cards” were submitted by people online in 2017.

Of the 2,551 interest cards submitted, 1,479 were out-of-state applicants which reflects a healthy interest of people at least willing to consider coming to Albuquerque and beginning a law enforcement career.

Saying that there were 2,551 “interest cards” filled out is slightly misleading and does not mean actual applicants.

Of the 2,551-people showing an interest in applying, 2,050 qualified to take the academy test but only 606 showed up for the testing.

It turns out that it is a three-day testing process which probably explains why there are so many no shows.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS TO BE AN ALBQUERQUE POLICE OFFICER

All prospective Albuquerque Police Department officers must meet the following eligibility criteria:

1. Be a US citizen and at least 21 years old at the time of police academy graduation

2. Have a high school diploma or GED, and possess a valid driver’s license.

3. Applicants must have completed a minimum of 32 college credits unless the applicant has at least of two years of experience with and received an honorable discharge from the United States military.

4. Two years of continuous service as an Albuquerque police service aid or prisoner transport officer or five years of continuous service in a government or private sector position may also qualify for a waiver of the college credit requirement.

5. Immediate disqualification occurs if an applicant has a felony conviction, has been convicted of domestic violence, or has been convicted of a misdemeanor within three years of the application date.

STEPS TO BECOME AND ALBUQUERQUE POLICE OFFICER

Having the “minimum” qualifications to be an Albuquerque Police Officer only gives you an opportunity to test for the job.

The actual steps that must be taken to become an Albuquerque Police Officer are complicated and are as follows:

1. Meet the minimum qualifications for prospective officers and verify your eligibility by submitting an interest card to the Albuquerque Police Department.
2. Take the City Entrance Exam, which is similar to a civil service exam.
3. Submit a personal history statement.
4. Pass a physical abilities test.
5. Take the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (Note: this is a multiple-choice test measuring skill in vocabulary and reading.)
6. Submit the required personal documents, such as a credit report and photograph.
7. Complete a written psychological evaluation and background investigation.
8. Take a polygraph exam.
9. Complete a psychological interview.
10. Attend a panel interview with the Chief’s Selection Committee.
11. Complete a medical exam and drug screen.
12. Accept a conditional hire offer and attend the police academy.
13. Begin working as an Albuquerque patrol officer and [completing six months of patrol work with another sworn officer].

https://www.criminaljusticedegreeschools.com/criminal-justice-resources/police-departments-by-metro-area/albuquerque-officer-requirements/#requirements.

TWO REQUIREMENTS THAT SHOULD BE REVISITED

Approximately fifteen years ago, the minimum of 32 college credit requirement was added as a minimum entry requirement thereby excluding many individuals from being able to apply.

The rationale for the college credit requirement was that it would mean recruiting a higher quality of applicant and make better police officers.

A person’s education level does not always reflect intelligence nor how a person will react under pressure, especially when a life is in danger and you have to make life and death decisions.

The Albuquerque Police Academy is a six-month academy that requires the successful completion of physical and mental training and screening.

The academy has mandatory attendance of academic classes, in standard operating procedures, criminal procedure and the law with “constitutional policing” emphasized.

The college credit requirement needs to be revisited and determined if it is really necessary given the amount of training and education mandated by the academy.

Another requirement is passing a “polygraph” examine.

It is well settled law that the results “polygraph” examines are not admissible in court unless agreed to by the parties primarily because such examines are considered unreliable.

The rationale for the polygraph exam being evidence of a person’s propensity to lie is highly questionable and it is one requirement that should be revisited.

Eliminating the “college credit” requirement as well as the “polygraph test” would increase the final pool of applicants and not be a lowering of standards.

APD STAFFING LEVELS

In 2009, APD was fully staffed at 1,100 police officers, but command staff determined and recommended a staffing level of 1,200 officers was needed for a population the size of Albuquerque in order fully implement community based policing.

The December 11, 2015 Albuquerque Police Department Comprehensive Staffing Assessment and Resource Study prepared by Alexander Weiss for the Department of Justice concluded that APD needs at least 1,000 sworn officers.

The Weiss report concluded that 1,000 sworn police officers were sufficient for Albuquerque provided that APD officers did not respond to certain low priority calls such as minor traffic accidents or false alarm calls.

APD cannot recruit and hire enough officers to keep the department at the current funded 1,000 level of sworn officers.

During the November 16, 2017 all day hearing before Federal Judge Robert on the Federal Monitor’s sixth report, it was revealed that the Albuquerque Police Department had only 830 sworn police officers despite the department being fully funded for 1,000.

In 2016, the department graduated more than 90 cadets from its training academy, and because of retirements and other departures, the department had a net gain of six (6) officers.

1,000 to 1,200 applicants are needed to get a class of 40 cadets.

In 2016 APD had 90 retirements.

The net net gain in 2017 was almost zero.

Currently, APD has 850 sworn police officers and in 2017 graduated 73 cadets.

The problem identified is that if APD has the same number of retirements and other departures that it had last year, it means that the department’s number of sworn officers will shrink.

After hearing from Chief Eden and Major Tyler at the November 16, 2017 hearing Judge Brack’s asked “How do we fix this? You are not going to get [to a fully staffed department] in my lifetime or in the lifetimes of anyone here. What have you done?”

THE DEVIL IN THE DETAILS

APD is severely understaffed and struggling to implement expansive and expensive Department of Justice (DOJ) agreed to and mandated reforms.

Although APD has 850 sworn police officers, only 436 are assigned to the field services, less those on annual leave or sick leave, spread out over three shifts, and taking 69,000 911 priority one calls not to mention priority 2 and 3 calls for service.

Recruiting a younger, new generation of sworn police officers and growing the size of the police department has become very difficult and unachievable for any number of reasons.

The number of APD sworn officers has fallen from 1,100 officers to 850 over the past eight years for any number of reasons including:

1. Extreme low morale resulting in experienced officers deciding to retire sooner than later or going to other law enforcement agencies.
2. Changes in the Public Employee Retirement Association benefits
3. Failed APD management by the previous administration
4. Poor Working conditions as a result of heavy workloads and caseloads
5. Intense scrutiny by the Department of Justice resulting in the DOJ consent decree.
6. Terminations and disciplinary actions
7. Inability to attract “lateral” transfers from other departments

APD’s poor and negative national reputation and Albuquerque’s high violent crime rates are also not conducive to attracting people who want to begin a long-term career in law enforcement in Albuquerque.

The DOJ oversight requirements and the increased dangers in being a police officer in a violent city such as Albuquerque has also had an impact on recruitment.

APD consistently has thousands of applicants that apply to the police academy every year as evidenced by the number of “interest cards” submitted which is the first step to applying with APD.

The overwhelming number of police academy applicants fail to get into the academy for any number of reasons including failing to meet minimum education and entry qualifications, unable to pass criminal background checks, unable to make it through psychological background analysis, failing the polygraph tests, lying on the on the applications or failing a credit check.

Once in the police academy, many cadets are unable to meet minimum physical requirements or unable to handle the training and academic requirements to graduate from the academy.

The APD Police Academy is unable to keep up with retirement losses and for a number of years graduating classes have averaged 35 to 40 a class, well below the number to keep up with yearly retirements.

CONCLUSION

There is no doubt that it will take years to grow the department to the 1,200-level desired to return to community-based policing.

Growing the department will take time, major changes in management and a major financial investment for recruitment.

The problem is that we have very little time left as a community to get a handle on our rising violent crime rates.

On February 5, 2018, the Albuquerque Journal wasted a lot of ink and space on a front page, above the fold report on the “Vacant and Abandoned House Task Force” report that was released last month to the City Council.

The headline blared “Vacant homes are bad neighbors; New task force suggests ways to deal with problem properties”.

Anyone who has lived in Albuquerque for the last eight years knows that vacant homes are bad neighbors and this really is not news.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1129085/vacant-degrading-homes-targeted-by-city-task-force.html

A lot of time and energy was wasted on the Vacant and Abandoned House Task Force when it would have been easier to fully staff and seek reinstatement and funding for the Safe City Strike Force.

It was reported last year by a TV news out let that in 2016 alone, there were more than 1,300 vacant homes added to the City of Albuquerque’s Vacant Building Registry.

By September of 2017, nearly 500 vacant homes were added to the city’s registry which does not include vacant homes that exist within the city not on the city’s list.

A conservative estimate is that there are about 3,000 vacant homes and not including vacant commercial buildings.

There is very little if anything reported by the task force that was not already known or should have been known by city hall.

Further, Vacant and Abandoned House Task Force Report makes recommendations that have been done or that was actually done by the Safe City Strike Force for eight years from 2002 to 2009.

The best example is the task force recommendation to create “land bank” to acquire properties.

Under the Safe City Strike Force, a land bank took the form of the “Metropolitan Redevelopment Project” where the City assembled substandard properties at fair market value in the Southeast Heights “International District” and then had it developed housing.

The “metropolitan redevelopment project” resulted in a large area of housing developed in the International District.

What is not in the report is the lack of real commitment by city hall to fully staff and fully fund a program that was recognized as a best practice by municipalities throughout the country.

NEW MEXICO LAW AND CITY ORDINANCES

New Mexico and the City of Albuquerque have some of the strongest nuisance abatement laws in the country and enforcement action can be taken by the City Attorney’s Office.

The City of Albuquerque can have an impact and reduce the number of blighted and substandard commercial and residential properties in Albuquerque by relying on existing nuisance abatement state law and city ordinances.

In 2004 the city enacted the Vacant Building Maintenance Act which requires property owners to register their vacant buildings, repair them and keep them maintained.

Albuquerque’s housing and commercial codes define substandard structures and there are provisions that allow inspections and civil code enforcement actions.

Under existing city ordinances, property owners can be cited for code violations for not maintaining their properties in compliance with city codes.

Under the nuisance abatement ordinance, aggressive code enforcement action against blighted properties, both residential and commercial, can be taken where it is found that that the properties have become a nuisance and magnets of crime resulting in calls for service to the Albuquerque Police Department.

SAFE CITY STRIKE FORCE

In 2002, the Safe City Strike Force was formed to combat blighted commercial and residential properties and I was appointed its Director and tasked with putting it together.

Thirty (30) to forty-five (40) representatives from the Albuquerque Police Department, the Albuquerque Fire Department, the Fire Marshal’s Office, the Planning Department Code residential and commercial code inspectors, Family Community Services and the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office participated comprised the strike force.

Seventy (70) to one hundred fifty (150) properties a week, both residential and commercial properties would be reviewed by the Strike Force.

The Albuquerque City Council would be given weekly updates on the progress made in their districts on the nuisance properties found.

The Safe City Strike Force routinely prepared condemnation resolutions for enactment by the Albuquerque City Council to tear down substandard buildings.

The Safe City Strike Force took civil enforcement action against some 6,500 properties, both commercial and residential.

MAGNETS FOR CRIME

Crime rates can be brought down with civil nuisance abatement actions.

The Safe City Strike Force took civil action against substandard properties that had become magnets for crime.

A magnet for crime property is one that has an extensive history of calls for service to the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) and where crime occurs.

Residential and commercial properties used for prostitution and drug activity such as meth labs and crack houses are examples of magnets for crime.

A review of the total number of calls for service a year is what is used in part to determine if a property is a public nuisance or a nuisance under city ordinances.

Calls for service to the Albuquerque Police Department to deal with properties that have become “magnets for crime” result in a drain on police resources and costs millions of dollars a year in taxpayer funds.

The average cost of a call for service to dispatch police officers to handle such minor calls as suspicious persons, loitering, loud parties and loud music cost taxpayers between $75 to $150 per call depending on the time spent on the call by police officers dispatched.

The Albuquerque Police Department handles anywhere from 600,000 to 750,000 calls for service per year consisting of priority 1, 2 and 3 calls made to the 911 emergency operations center.

BLIGHTED, SLUMLORD PROPERTIES

Albuquerque and the commercial real estate sector may be on hard economic times, but that does not mean commercial property owners and landlords can just turn their backs on making repairs and do nothing to maintain their properties.

Not being able to afford to make repairs is not a good excuse when it comes to substandard commercial and residential buildings.

If commercial and residential rental property owners cannot afford to make repairs and keep maintenance up, then they need to sell their properties to someone who can.

Residential rental landlords and motel owners need to provide housing that is safe, secure and livable for all tenants.

Tenants are legally entitled to safe, secure, clean, living quarters with working utilities when they pay their rent.

As Director of the Safe City Strike Force, I saw way too many slumlords charging top dollar to rent their properties to some of our poorest and most vulnerable citizens.

Many slumlords refuse to make repairs when needed, even when the health and safety of tenants are at risk.

Slumlords have the financial upper hand with their tenants and have the attitude with their tenants that if you do not like what I am renting to you, then get the hell out.

Undocumented or non-United State citizens are also reluctant to complain to slumlords for repairs or the police because of fear of eviction or deportation.

Slumlords are also quick to evict when there is a missed monthly rental payment.

Some of the more egregious instances where property owners refused to make costly repairs and where health and safety was an issue involved heating and air condition systems that broke down during peak usage times.

CIVIL ACTIONS EFFECTIVE TO ADDRESS SLUMLORD PROPERTIES

Nuisance and blighted properties bring down property values and can endanger an entire neighborhood when the property becomes a magnet for crime, especially when used for a crack house or meth lab.

The most effective approach to address blighted properties is to initiate civil complaints and secure temporary restraining orders, preliminary and permanent injunctions.

The City Attorney’s’ office can seek court orders to compel property owners to bring their properties into compliance with city ordinances, codes and state laws.

The City Attorney’s office can file in State District Court civil complaints for injunctive relief or negotiated stipulated settlement agreements to abate nuisance properties.

Interventions with property owners can also be undertaken to negotiate stipulated settlement agreements.

The Safe City Strike Force required slum lords to make repairs to their properties so that the properties could be occupied safely without exposure or threat of injury.

During my eight (8) years as Director of the Safe City Strike Force, I saw way too many slum lords charging top dollar to rent their properties to some of our poorest citizens with the landlords refusing to make repairs when needed, even when health and safety was an issue for the tenants.

Some of the more egregious instances where property owners refused to make costly repairs and where health and safety involved heating and air condition systems that broke down during peak usage times by the tenants.

The goal was always to try to work with the property owners and negotiates stipulated settlement agreements with them, either for repairs or voluntary tear downs.

TEARDOWNS AND BOARD UPS

With the assistance of the Planning Department, Code Enforcement Manager, federal grant money was secured for the tear down of blighted, substandard properties and went from $25.000 the first year to $1 million.

The Safe City Strike Force was responsible for the tear down of an entire residential block of homes located at 5th Street and Summer in the Wells Park neighborhood area located north of downtown Albuquerque.

There was a total of 21 abandoned and vacant, boarded up properties that could not be repaired, owned by one elderly woman who agreed allowed a tear down of the structures by the City.

As Director of the Safe City Strike Force, I negotiated a voluntary tear down of an entire strip mall that had been boarded up for years, beyond repair, located near the former Octopus Car Wash on Manaul Street and Eubank.

The strip mall was constantly being broken into, with fires being set by the homeless, and at one time a dead body was found at the location.

Two long vacant and vandalized restaurants, the Purple Plum and a Furr’s cafeteria, both on far North-East heights Montgomery, were torn down by the Safe City Strike Force.

One year, Albuquerque experienced a huge spike in meth labs where almost 90 meth labs were found and identified and where the Safe City Strike Force was asked for assistance with contamination clean up.

CENTRAL MOTELS

The Safe City Strike Force required commercial property and motel owners to make repairs and they were required to reduce calls for service and address security on their properties.

The Safe City Strike Force took code enforcement action against 48 of the 150 motels along central and forced compliance with building codes and mandated repairs to the properties.

The Central motels that were demolished were not designated historical and were beyond repair as a result of years of neglect and failure to maintain and make improvements.

Central motels that had historical significance to Route 66 were purchased by the City for renovation and redevelopment.

The Central motels that the Safe City Strike Force took action against include the Gaslight (demolished), The Zia Motel (demolished), The Royal Inn (demolished), Route 66 (demolished), the Aztec Motel (demolished), the Hacienda, Cibola Court, Super-8 (renovated by owner), the Travel Inn (renovated by owner), Nob Hill Motel (renovated by owner), the Premier Motel (renovated by owner) the De Anza (purchased by City for historical significance), the No Name, the Canyon Road (demolished), Hill Top Lodge, American Inn (demolished), the El Vado (purchased by City for historical significance), the Interstate Inn (demolished).

The Safe City Strike Force was responsible for the demolition of at least seven (7) blighted motels that were beyond repair.

When people were displaced by enforcement actions taken by the Safe City Strike Force, the City’s Family and Community Services Department would provide vouchers to the displaced and assist in locating temporary housing for them.

VIOLENT BARS

The Safe City Strike Force took action against violent bars on Central that were magnets for crime.

Many Central bars have hundreds of calls for service a year placing a drain on law enforcement resources.

A few of the bars located on or near Central that were closed or torn down by the Safe City Strike Force include the Blue Spruce Bar, Rusty’s Cork and Bottle, the Last Chance Bar and Grill and Club 7.

The Safe City Strike Force closed Club 7 and the owner was convicted of commercial code violations.

As a Deputy City Attorney, I was co-counsel with the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s office and brought charges against and convicted the Club 7 downtown Central Avenue bar owner that hosted a “rave” that allowed under age participants to mingle with adults and where a young girl was killed.

CONVENIENCE STORES

The Safe City Strike Force took enforcement action against a number of convenience stores on Central that had substantial calls for service to APD.

In 2005, The Safe City Strike Force identified convenience stores that had an unacceptable number of “calls for service” which resulted in the convenience stores being considered a public nuisance by the Albuquerque Police Department (APD).

Outdoor phones at the convenience stores used for illicit drug transactions were identified.

APD felt the convenience stores were relying upon APD to provide security at taxpayer’s expense rather than hiring their own private security company.

In 2005, as Director of the Safe City Strike Force, I was able to negotiate a stipulated settlement agreement with three major convenience store corporate owners of seventeen (17) convenience stores throughout Albuquerque and they agreed to pay for private security patrols.

FLEA MARKETS

The Safe City Strike Force was responsible for the closure of Louie’s Flea Market and the Star Flea Market, two Westside flea markets both on Old Coors Road South of Central.
Area residents felt the flea markets brought down property values.

Both flea markets had been around for decades and caused extreme traffic congestion on weekends they operated causing problems for the established or developing residential areas.

Both flea markets were found by the Albuquerque Police Department to be locations where stolen property was being sold and both had an excessive number of calls for service.

HOARDERS

Some of the most tragic and heart-breaking cases that the Safe City Strike Force dealt with involved “hoarders”.

Hoarding is a pattern of behavior that is characterized by excessive acquisition and an inability or unwillingness to discard large quantities of objects or animals that cover the entire living areas or exterior of a home or property.

The Strike Force dealt with approximately 10 cases of hoarders.

One hoarder case I vividly recall involved an elderly woman who was housing over 60 cats in her 1,200 square foot, three bedrooms home. The home was not fit to be lived in as a result of contamination by the animals. Dead cats were found in her freezer.

The City removed the cats, cleaned up the property and placed a $40,000 lien on the home for the cleanup of the contamination.

Another hoarder had accumulated an extensive number of items in his front and backyards to the extent that the area had become rat infested and the City forced a cleanup of the area.

CONCLUSION

For the eight (8) years, little or next to nothing was really done by the City of Albuquerque to address blighted and substandard commercial and residential properties.

Today, the Safe City Strike Force has one employee, its director, and the Safe City Strike Force exists in name only.

Funding the Safe City Strike Force may not be a construction project like the ART Bus project, a library or fire station that Mayor’s and city councilors always love taking credit for, but it would go a long way to getting rid of blighted commercial and residential properties, which only sully entire neighborhoods and put residents in danger and bring property values down.

I have no doubt that the task for report will sit on a shelf and gather dust despite representations to the contrary.

Talk about much ado about absolutely nothing.

The GOP’s controversial FISA memo in no way can be said to “vindicate” our “Liar In Chief” as he now claims.

The Republican memo failed to show any new bombshells nor new information, but did fail to include information that discredits the findings of the memo.

What Trump and the Republicans are hanging their hat on in the 4-page memo is that it states that then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe testified he believed a court would not have approved the warrant for the surveillance of Trump advisor Carter Page had it not been for information that was included in a dossier assembled by former British spy Christopher Steele.

The Republicans argue that the dossier was paid for by the Clinton campaign which therefor shows “biasness”.

The memo in no way disproves or contradicts that there was collusion between Trump, his campaign and the Russians.

To say the Federal FISA court would not have approved the warrant is a real stretch of imagination or one of Trump’s “alternative facts”.

What is not in the Republican memo is that Carter Page, the target of the FISA warrant, long before the memo or Steeele dossier, was already on the intelligence community radar since 2013 as being a Russian sympathizer and the target of Russian recruitment.

It was the fourth time that the FISA warrant had been renewed and signed off by a Federal Judge.

Christopher Steele had also been used as a reliable confidential informant for the FBI a number of times before and he was found to have given credible information.

Even if the FISA warrant was based on information that came from a biased or questionable source, it does not matter so long as the information was found to be reliable and credible by the Federal Judge that reviewed the FISA warrant, which it was.

There is nothing to conclusively suggest that the Federal Court did not know the warrant applicant’s source of the information.

FISA warrants are not just two ot three pages long, but very exhaustive, albeit 50 to 100 pages long, where facts alleged are corroborated by Affidavits and confidential source information.

The four page confidential memo is very selective in what “facts” are pulled from the warrant in order to make the accusation that the FBI is biased against the President.

What also should not be forgotten is that the overwhelming number of Federal Judges appointed are Republican, thanks to the Republican Congress failure to approve Obama nominated judges to the court.

Thousands of search warrants alleging information and probable cause in criminal cases are issued every day of the year in state courts and federal courts based on “unidentified” sources or “confidential sources” or for that matter sworn affidavits from people with highly questionable or even criminal backgrounds

In narcotics cases for example, criminal “snitches” with criminal backgrounds are often the source of reliable and confidential information in cases and search warrants.

It’s the credibility or truth of the information that matters and that is why it is Federal Judges who issue FISA warrants.

The Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the F.B.I. and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence have determined that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election.

The real disgrace is the conduct of the Republican Congressional Intelligence Committee placing party loyalty over getting to the truth and finding out if President Trump or his campaign “colluded” with the Russians to tip the election in Trump’s favor.

President Trump has yet to say if he will use the memo as justification to fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein or Special Counsel Mueller, yet he is hinting at it.

When Trump was asked if he was more likely to fire Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein, who appointed Special Counsel Mueller for the Russian probe, if he still had confidence in him, Trump told the press “You figure that one out.”

At the core of the memo is an attempt to discredit the Russian probe and bring it to an end and it does not matter to the Republican Congress if the law enforcement community is destroyed.

As President Nixon found out, you cannot fire your way out of criminal charges and indictment for obstruction of justice.

As Senator John McCain said, the Republicans are doing Putin’s work for him.

Following is the link to the White House transmittal letter and the Republican FISA Memo:

On February 14, 2017, it was reported by then New Mexico State Auditor Tim Keller, who was also running for Mayor at the same time, that the City of Albuquerque had paid $63.3 million in legal settlements in law enforcement civil rights cases from 2010 to 2016.

Keller sounded the alarm that the settlements were resulting in a $40 million shortfall in the city’s risk management fund, which pays for uninsured losses.

(See February 14, 2017 Albuquerque Journal, Metro & NM “Payouts leave Duke City $40M short”, section C-1” )

https://www.abqjournal.com/949518/claims-payouts-leave-abq-40m-short.html

When the February 14, 2017 state audit of the city was released by State Auditor Tim Keller, he said Albuquerque needed to substantially increase funding for the risk management fund to $6.3 million a year to cover the shortfall.

“The city is basically spending more than it can afford for settlements for police shootings and civil rights violations. … That’s obviously a financial problem, which is why it shows up in our audit” Keller said at the time.

“In light of the city’s troubling trend of incurring more liabilities, it is appropriate and necessary for the city to better fund the (risk management fund),” Keller told the city.

The city budgeted from $2.1 million to $3.6 million a year to bolster the risk management fund in the past three years.

Now that Mr. Keller is Mayor, he is now facing the consequences of city lawsuits but is apparently making the same mistake of just settling cases.

OTHER CITY SHORTFALLS AND PAYOUTS

Large settlements are not the only financial troubles for the city that will have an impact on essential services.

A few days after Mayor Tim Keller took office on December 1, 2017, it was reported that the City was facing a $6 million shortfall for the current fiscal year and that the City for the fiscal year 2018-2019 could have a potential deficit of $40 million.

Further, the City has yet to see one thin dime of the $69 million dollar grant for the ART Bus project, with congressional committees cutting the grant by $20 million.

If the federal grant money for ART is not forthcoming, the money will all in probability have to come from the general fund or revenue bonds.

$5 million to $6 million dollars appears to be the financial exposure the city pays out to settled wrongful death cases for police officer involved shootings.

In 2010, the family of James Boyd who was shot and killed in the Sandia Foothills by APD officers was paid $5 million.

On May 21, 2015, the city agreed to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit over the April 2011 shooting death of Christopher Torres for $6 million, the amount of compensatory damages found by a state judge.

On January 18, 2018, it was reported that the Keller Administration settled and paid $5 million to the family of 19-year-old Mary Hawkes who was shot and killed by a former APD Officer who failed to have his lapel camera on.

YET ANOTHER MULTIMILLION DOLLARS SETTLEMENT

On January 28, 2018, the Keller Administation reached an $8 million settlement with the Albuquerque firefighters union, International Association of Fire Fighters ending a pay raise dispute that dates back to 2011.

According to a news release, the City and IAFF Local 244 came to a no-fault/no-admission settlement resulting in the $8 million one-time payment.

Albuquerque City Council President Ken Sanchez said he was “surprised” by the $8 million dollar settlement with the union with the Keller Administration apparently settling the case without conferring with the City Council or seeking its approval.

The $8 million dollar settlement with the firefighters is $3 million more than what the significantly larger police union was able to negotiate a few years ago involving an identical contract dispute.

Sanchez insisted that the city had the legal authority, which it did, to cut firefighters pay due to deficits and not enough gross receipt tax revenues to cover the negotiated raises.

$8 million for not making any admissions or accessing any fault should be hard to swallow by any taxpayer who has to foot the bill.

When announcing the settlement, the only thing the Keller administration would say is that it was the best way to settle a long-standing dispute without going to court and litigating the case.

NO SETTLEMENT POLICY IN POLICE MISCONDUCT CASES

The City spends millions of dollars in private contracts to hire defense attorney’s in cases the City Attorney does not or will not fully defend.

The danger is the City could lose its self-insurance status in the event the city does not have enough reserves to handle judgements awarded against the city or settlements agreed to by the city.

Risk management reserves are funded by the general fund which is taxpayer funded.

Another point is that if judgements against the city become so high, payment could be placed on the property tax rolls.

The settlements makes one wonder exactly what the City Attorney’s office has actually done to defend the City not only in police officer misconduct cases but as well as in other civil cases.

The City has acquired the reputation of just writing checks and “rolling over” without defending and settling the cases without advocating any defense nor making any substantive arguments for the City other than just paying what is being demanded.

The Albuquerque City Attorney’s Office employs 34 attorneys, numerous para legals, administrative assistants and support staff.

The City taxpayers are entitled to demand and expect competent and aggressive defense when the city is sued, even if it is by city unions against city hall.

In 2010, the “no settlement” policy was abolished to the absolute delight of plaintiff attorneys and the courts.

In 2010, it was the Berry Administration, on the recommendation of then City Attorney Rob Perry, a plaintiff’s attorney before becoming City Attorney, that abolished the “no settlement” policy to the absolute delight of plaintiff attorneys and the courts.

The “no settlement policy” mandated that all “police misconduct cases” be tried before a jury with a few exceptions allowed when liability and misconduct was absolutely certain.

The philosophy was that the “sunlight” of an open courtroom and the presentation of evidence was the best disinfectant for police misconduct to inform the public.

The “no settlement policy” mandated that the City Attorney’s office aggressively defend the cases and police officer’s actions and required plaintiff attorneys to prove police misconduct and their client’s cases and damages.

The “no settlement policy” worked and the City would often prevail when it went to court saving the taxpayers millions of dollars.

Even when the city did not prevail, judgments awarded by juries were often significantly less than what plaintiffs were seeking.

Plaintiff attorneys absolutely hated the no settlement policy and so did the court’s because it is a lot easier to settle a case than try a case before a jury.

With the abolishment of the “no settlement” policy, the City Attorney’s office has now acquired the reputation of just settling cases for the sake of settling and the city has become an easy mark to settle cases for large amounts of taxpayer money.

Can you just imagine what $63.3 million dollars could have been used for when it comes to public safety, senior citizen centers, libraries, and quality of life amenities?

BEHIND CLOSED DOOR SETTLEMENT

Civil settlements are reached behind closed doors.

The general public is seldom given much of an explanation of how amounts are arrived at and why, even though it is the taxpayer who is footing the bill.

No doubt the parties to the lawsuits and their attorneys are fully aware of the terms and conditions of settlements, but the public all to often are left with speculation and left to pay the bill.

The City Attorney is required to submit “quarterly” litigations report to the Albuquerque City Council and disclose all settlement amounts.

What should be included in the litigations reports are the actual terms and conditions of the settlements and how those settlement amounts were arrived at and agreed to by the parties.

CONCLUSION

What is needed is as City Attorney is an aggressive, seasoned trial attorney with an insurance defense background that understands “risk management” litigation without concern for party affiliation and who can be approved by the city counsel.

Rob Perry before he became CAO was the City Attorney and was a “plaintiff’s lawyer” who made sure the “no settlement” policy was scraped.

Perry served on the risk management committee and was involved with approving all the city settlements.

It was like putting a wolf in charge of the hen house.

Rob Perry made sure Republican political operatives such as David Toureck and Jessica Hernandez became city attorney.

This in one appointment Keller better get right or nothing will change and the city will continue to just settle cases to avoid trials.

The City Attorney’s Office also needs to get back into the Courtroom and start acting like trial attorneys and not ATM machines funded by taxpayers.

The following article was published January 31, 2018 in ABQ Reports (Dennis Domrzalski) and is a very good read.

The author Stephan Helgesen is a retired U.S. diplomat and now political analyst and author.

Mr. Helgesen has written eight books and over 750 articles on politics, economics and social trends. He can be reached at: stephan@stephanhelgABesen.com

SEE ABQ REPORTS https://www.abqreport.com/

What happened to us? We’re now a land of low expectations
January 31, 2018
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BY Stephan Helgesen

We didn’t start out with low expectations. As a matter of fact, our forefathers had so many hopes and dreams that they didn’t have room for them all in their prairie schooners as they trekked from Missouri to New Mexico. Somewhere along the way, and over the years, we’ve come to expect much less from ourselves, our leaders and our country.

Our wagons have gotten stuck in the ruts of ennui and we have learned to live with mendacity, malfeasance and mediocrity. We have ‘readjusted’ our sights, dumbed down our requirements for our children and our elected officials and made excuses for failing grades, high crime and general unaccountability. This, I’m sad to say, is most apparent in many of America’s flagship cities like Albuquerque where we’re lagging behind in the major indices of employment, GDP, industrial and commercial competitiveness, education, security, etc.

The ailments are obvious, so much so that it’s getting a little boring to keep repeating them, but if we don’t keep our collective eye on the ball (the truth about our society), we’re never going to solve our problems. Albuquerque is full of talented, decent, law-abiding people – people with imagination and drive, with optimism and can do attitudes. Many are generous, kind and compassionate, but they’re suffering right along with everybody else. At some point, we’ve become the living embodiment of the Pareto Principle (the 80/20 rule).

Those hearty souls are the 20%, working hard to help the other 80% cope with escalating crime and deteriorating family situations, from addiction to alcohol, hard drugs and marijuana. We’ve come to expect that our cars in our own driveways will be stolen, that dead bodies will show up behind big box stores or in our residential neighborhoods with horrifying regularity. We don’t even raise an eyebrow when 40 lb. bags of marijuana show up at a middle school, and when the chances of going free from a DUI arrest are better than those of being convicted (55% to 45%), something’s wrong – very wrong.

Our lowered expectations and disenchantment with our society is often expressed by our poor participation in the election process. The concept of universal suffrage (the right to vote) is one of the most precious pillars of our democracy and something absent in many countries around the world, yet we either take it for granted, are resigned to our fates or are too lazy to get off our duffs and pull a lever on a voting machine.

The right to speak our piece is being challenged these days by political correctness and by peer pressure and by individuals and groups that see their rights as more important than ours. Every American deserves to live in a safe, clean and functioning environment, and we in New Mexico are no different from anyone else. Our difference is that we don’t fight back hard enough against those things that threaten our way of life. We buckle under and become apologists for our situation. We call drug abuse, alcohol abuse, child and spousal abuse ‘social diseases.’ By removing personal responsibility from people, we turn them into victims instead of guaranteeing them an active role in their own lives.

America is a patchwork quilt of interconnected communities, many with the same problems and opportunities. Unfortunately, these communities don’t always communicate with each other. If we truly wish to raise our expectations and find common solutions to our problems then we had better get busy talking to one another.