On Friday October 23, the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) released its “Use of Force” report covering a four-year time period from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2019. The Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) with the Department of Justice (DOJ) mandates that APD compile the report once a year. The 74-page Use of Force report shows the findings from APD’s Internal Affairs Division as they looked into the department’s use of force for the 4-year time period.

This blog article highlights major statistics relating strictly to APD and is not to be consider at all reflective of the city’s overall crime problem. For example, the city recorded 82 murders in 2019 and FBI statistics revealed that Albuquerque has the dubious distinction of having a crime rate 194% higher than the national average. Other statistics not reported include types of injuries sustained, “Unique Show of Force” cases, Police Service Dog activations and Tactical Activations. The link to the entire use of force report is here:

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

RATIONAL FOR LOOKING AT 4 YEAR TIME PERIOD

The 4-year time period of January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2019 was selected for two major reasons:

First: Refined data collection methods have allowed for updated and more accurate data, even retroactively. As of October 2019, APD’s Internal Affairs Force Division (IAFD) completed a thorough review of 304 cases, largely from 2017. Findings and revisions from this dataset have been incorporated into [the] updated report.

Second: The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and City of Albuquerque Court-Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) specifies exactly what information should be included in APD’s Use of Force Annual Reports. The use of a multi-year data set provides a better basis for defining these use of force measures, variables and analytic processes. Examining four years’ worth of data, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 allows for examination of trends and longitudinal patterns, which can inform best practices.

(Page 3 of Use of Force report)

Katharine Jacobs of APD’s Internal Affairs Division had this to say about the report:

“We’re able to start looking at this longitudinally, looking for trends and the goal was to look at force in the bigger context.”

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

The following definitions are provided to help understand the data reported:

A “Use Of Force Case” involves an incident with one or more individuals, one or more police officers, and one or more uses of force.

A “Show Of Force Case” involves one or more individuals, one or more police officers, and one or more displays of weapons, but no actual use of force during that incident.

A “Use Of Force Type Or Show Of Force Type” is the specific application of a force type or types in a Use of Force or Show Of Force incident. For example, one police officer may display or use several kinds of force (e.g., display handgun, or empty hand techniques and ECW) with one individual during one encounter. Therefore, the number of “Use Of Force Types” or “Show Of Force Types” will be higher than the number of individuals involved in Use Of Force or Show Of Force Cases.

NUTSHELL OF MAJOR APD STATISTICS FOR 2016, 2917, 2918, 2019

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Use of Force report has upwards of 56 bar graphs and charts and 8 maps in the 73-page report. Below are the combined totals in the top 8 blogger “consolidated” categories for the years 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019. The calculations for the 7 categories are based on the raw numbers gleaned from the various bar graphs in the report.

Civilian deaths in 4 years involving APD shootings: 19
Number APD arrests: 58,251
APD “use of force” incidents (Empty hand, TAZER, gun discharge): 2,395
APD “show of force” incidents (Handgun, rifle, TAZER): 1,087
APD firearm discharges: 65
Number of times APD officers displayed a hand gun: 524
Number of times APD officers displayed a rifle: 212
Times APD used “electronic control weapon” (TAZER): 365
Estimated total “calls for service” generating “case numbers” 312,000 to 375,000
(Combined number of cases generated by all 6 area commands)

HIGHLIGHTS OF REPORT

Following are major highlights gleaned from the report and bars graphs used:
According to the use of force report for the 4-year period, the “use of force” and “show of force” incidents by APD increased each year for the years 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

The report stated 98% of the violations of use of force incidents were in policy, but there still was an increase in use of force for the 4 years.

Approximately 88% of individuals involved in a use of force are arrested. (Page 53 of use of force report.)

63% of individuals involved in a “force event” are between the ages 20-36.

When it comes to race and ethnicity:

1. 72% of individuals involved in a combined “show of force” and “use of force” events are white. (page 46)
2. 53% of individuals involved in strictly “use of force” events are Hispanic (page 49 of use of force report)
3. “Black and Native American individuals appear to be over-represented in “shows of force” and “uses of force.” However, statistical testing designed to compare expected (proportional) and actual values was completed and, due to small numbers, no conclusive results could be found as to Black and Native Americans.
Since certain demographic categories returned small expected values, statistical testing is inappropriate. Setting aside the percentages, the actual numbers are relatively small for Black and Native Americans. For instance, 11 Black individuals were involved in shows of force in 2017.

It is inappropriate to conclude that minority populations are over-represented; however, this is not an impossibility either. In short, while these percentages may look disproportionate, because of relatively small numbers of individuals of minority races involved in force events, it is impossible to say for sure if they are or are not statistically disproportionate.”

(page 47 and 48 of use of force report.)

95% of individuals involved in use of force incidents did not exhibit “limited or no English language proficiency”. (Page 52 of report)

Sexual orientation was reported as unknown in 78% of force events. (Page 44 of report).

Use of force incidents saw the biggest jump from 2018 to 2019 with a 23% increase. Notwithstanding the increase, overall, the report states that “use of force” and “show of force” are “an extremely rare occurrence ” during the 4 years reported upon.

From January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2019, about 1 per 500 to 1 per 1,000 “calls for service” and “officer-initiated actions” (OIA) involved APD using force.

From January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2019, between 4-5% of arrests involved police “use of force.”

An overwhelming majority of “use of force incidents” across all 4 years were found to be compliant with APD use of force policy.

In 2019 there were 605 uses of force and 163 shows of force with 10 uses of force incidents found to be out of policy or 1.6% of the total.

When it came to officer-initiated actions, such as spotting a stolen car, or witnesses a disturbance, APD officers used force a mere 212 times out of more than 242,000 incidents.

APD has improved in two critical areas monitored over the last four years:

1. Supervisory and investigative staff are better tracking if officers are using their on-body recording devices. In 2016 this indicator was incomplete for over 50% of officers involved in force cases. As of 2019, fewer than 2% of officers involved in force cases are missing the data.

2. APD officers are more often capturing force events. As of 2019, over 88% of officers involved in a force events recorded the encounter in full. Every year 2016 through 2019 has seen an increase in the percentage of officers recording force events in full.
(See page 19 of use of force report)

Standoff Mode Makes up 98% “electronic control weapon” (ECW) use by APD. . As far as ECW use, drive-stun mode, or placing the ECW directly on the individual, alone is used in less than 2% of applications.

(Page 34 of report)

The malfunction of body cameras was reported as a major a concern. In 2016, more than half of officers involved recordings in force cases were incomplete. In 2019, more than 88% of those events were fully recorded.

The Southeast Area Command, the area south of I-40 and east of I-25 had the most dispatched calls for service. APD saw a 130% increase in calls for service in Southeast Area Command, more than any other area command.

The Southeast Area Command experiencing more force incidents than other area commands for the reason that it receives a higher volume of calls for service and more calls more frequently associated with force incidents.

There are 4 major call types associated with use of force:

Disturbance
Family dispute
Suspicious person
Suspicious vehicle

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

According to the report:

“It is unclear what may be driving the increase in use of force incidents from 2017 to 2018 and again from 2018 to 2019. … More proactive policing strategies, better reporting of force incidents and other initiatives may account for this increase. Additionally, four years of data is insufficient to draw conclusions about trends over time; the fluctuations may be simply ‘regression to the mean.’”

(Page 17, Use of Force report.)

STATISTICAL HIGHLIGHTS FOR CALLS FOR SERVICE 2016-2019 BY AREA COMMAND

All computer-aided dispatches (CADs) deemed as “calls for service” are tabulated in the report. The report then narrows to focus on only those CAD calls which generate a case number. Final call types, rather than original call types, are considered.

A call for service does not include calls such as sending crime scene technicians, requesting tow trucks, etc. A call for service does not include “be on the lookout” (BOLO) calls, traffic stops or other officer-initiated action (OIA). Data from 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 are included for each of the six area commands served by APD, Foothills, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest and Valley.

The use of force report provides vertical bar graphs to dispatched calls for service for each of the 6 areas command for the years of 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 that do not provide exact total or the raw numbers are and just the bar graphs. Based on the bar graphs provided the following numbers can be “gleaned” or projected for each area command for the time period of January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2019:

FAR HEIGHTS (FH) Area Command: Between 50,000 to 60,000 calls for service each year.

EDITORS NOTE: The Far Heights Area Command, also known as the or Foothills Area Command, is bordered by San Antonio NE to the north, the Sandia Foothills to the east, Kirtland Air Force Base to the south, and Eubank Boulevard to the west. This Command Area has some of the lowest crime rates in the City.

NORTH EAST (NE) Area Command: Between 77,000 and 90,000 calls for service each year.

EDITORS NOTE: The Northeast Area Command is bordered by Albuquerque city limits to the north, Eubank Boulevard to the east, Interstate 40 to the south, and Interstate 25 to the west. This Area Command has a more recent history of increasing crime rates in the city, especially residential break-ins and robberies.

NORTH WEST (NW) Area Command: Between 40,000 and 50,000 calls for service each year.

EDITORS NOTE: The Northwest Area Command is bordered by Albuquerque city limits to the west and north, the west bank of the Rio Grande to the east, and Interstate 40 to the south. This Command Area has some of the lowest crime rates in the City.

SOUTH EAST (SE) Area Command: Between 85,000 and 105,000 calls for service each year.

EDITORS NOTE: The Southeast Area Command is bordered by Interstate 40 to the north, Eubank Boulevard to the east, Kirtland Air Force Base and Albuquerque city limits to the south, and Interstate 25 to the west. This Area Command has an extensive history of having the highest crime rates in the city.

SOUTH WEST (SW) Area Command: Between 40,000 and 50,000 calls for service each year.

EDITORS NOTE: The Southwest Area Command is bordered by Interstate 40 the north, the Rio Grande to the east, the South Valley to the south, and Albuquerque city limits to the west.

VALLEY AREA (VA) Command: Between 70,000 and 80,000 calls for service each year.

EDITORS NOTE: The Valley Area Command is bordered by the Albuquerque city limits to the north and south, Interstate 25 to the east, and the Rio Grande, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, and the North Valley to the west. This Area Command has an extensive history of having the second highest crime rates in the City.

(See page 10 of use of force report for bar vertical bar graphs.)

RACE IS NOT DETERMINING FACTOR IN THE INCREASE IN USE OF FORCE NUMBERS NOR CALLS FOR SERVICE

While the use of force report shows a much higher number of “use of force cases” in the Southeast Area Command where larger numbers of people of color live the, data reflects that it’s because the SE Area Command has the highest number of calls for service and it has nothing to do with race.

APD Data Analyst Katherine Jacobs said when looking at demographics, the sample sizes are too small for differences among races to be significant and explained it this way:

“It would appear that African Americans and Native Americans are perhaps over represented when it comes to uses of force; we did run some statistical testing to find if that’s statistically significant and its inconclusive. … When you norm it against calls for service, when you look at it as a ratio, its fairly comparable across all area commands. … We don’t have a large enough sample size to determine if certain populations are overrepresented.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/1510440/apd-use-of-force-increased-from-2017-to-2019.html

NUMBER OF ARRESTS

Arrest is defined as “the taking of one person into custody by another. To constitute arrest there must be an actual restraint of the person. The restraint may be imposed by force or may result from the submission of the person arrested to the custody of the one arresting the person. An arrest is a restraint of greater scope or duration than an investigatory stop or detention. An arrest is lawful when supported by probable cause.”

The number of arrests for the four years of 2016-2019 are as follows:

2016: 14,022 total arrests made
2017: 13,582 total arrests made
2018: 15,471 total arrests made
2019: 15,151 total arrests made

TOTAL NUMBER OF ARREST MADE BY APD: 58,226

(Page 14, Use of Force Reports)

FORCE INCIDENTS IN CONTEX OF NUMBER OF CALLS OUTS

“Given how much interaction APD officers have with the public in a given year, as measured by the volume of calls for service, officer-initiated actions and arrests, force events are an extremely rare occurrence. From the years of 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, roughly 1 per 500 hundred to 1,000 calls for service and officer-initiated actions are associated with a use of force. Between 4% and 5% percent of arrests are associated with force.”

Following is the breakdown of statistics for each year:

2016:
Dispatched Calls: 422,471
Officer Initiated Actions (OIAs): 45,672
Custodial Arrests: 14,022
Force Incidents: 524

2017:
Dispatched calls: 429,598
Officer Initiated Actions (OIAs): 55,856
Custodial Arrests: 13,582
Force Incidents: 570

2018
Dispatched calls:410,538
Officer Initiated Actions (OIAs): 70,151
Custodial Arrests: 15,471
Force Incidents: 643

2019
Dispatched calls: 370,036
Officer Initiated Actions (OIAs): 70,903
Custodial Arrests: 15,151
Force Incidents: 768

TOTAL APD FORCE INCIDENTS: 2,505

(Page 15, Use of Force report)

GENERAL FINDINGS OF “USE OF FORCE”

There are a variety of the types of use of force techniques represented in the report statistics and they include Empty Hand, Solo Takedowns, Team Takedowns, electronic control weapons (ECW), Impact 44 mm, Pain Compliance, Hand – Feet Impact, Police Service Dog Apprehension – Bite, Firearm (officer involved shooting), Impact – Beanbag, OC Spray, NFDD, Improvised Weapon, Empty Hand Takedown, OC Vapor and Baton Takedown.

Empty hand techniques, takedowns and ECWs are consistently the most overwhelmingly used type of force with the others often used reported in single digit numbers. ECW – Painting and Display Handgun Comprise 77% of Shows of Force.

(Page 26, Use of Force report)

STATISTICAL HIGHLIGHTS USE OF FORCE:

“EMPTY HAND TECHNIQUES” (EHT) are defined as strikes, grabs, kicks, takedowns, distraction techniques and proper arrest techniques to control an actively resistant individual. EHTs increased steadily each year for the 4 years. Empty hand technique takedowns and Electronic Control Weapon (ECW) , ie TAZERS are consistently the most used type of force and increasing steadily over the 4 years:

2016: 414 police EHTs
2017: 331 police EHTs
2018: 458 police EHTs
2019: 762 police EHTs.

TOTAL TIMES APD USED EMPTY HAND TECHNIQUES: 1,965

“ELECTRONIC CONTROL WEAPON” (ECW) is a weapon, including those manufactured by TASER International, designed primarily to discharge electrical charges into an individual that will cause involuntary muscle contractions and override the individual’s voluntary motor responses. Following is the number breakdown of ETW incidents for the 4 years:

2016: 60 police using ECWs
2017: 94 police using ECWs
2018: 105 police using ECWs
2019: 106 police using ECWs

TOTAL TIMES APD USED ECW: 365

“FIREARM DISCHARGE” is defined as “when the trigger is pulled on a firearm and releases a projectile”. Following is the number breakdown of “fire arm discharge” incidents for the 4 years:

2016: 8 APD firearm discharges
2017: 19 APD firearm discharges
2018: 23 APD firearm discharges
2019: 15 APD firearm discharges

TOTAL APD FIREARM DISCHARGES: 65

(Page 27 Use of Force Report)

NUMBER OF OFFICERS INVOLVED IN FIREARM DISCHARGES

The Court Approved Settlement Agreement ( CASA) requires APD to track and report all critical firearm discharges and discharges at animals. Changes in APD reporting no longer collect beanbag weapon discharges. Beanbag weapons are considered a less-lethal use of force. The numbers of accidental discharges for 2016 and 2017 have decreased in this revised report as accidental beanbags are no longer included. While both the number of officers and unique incidents increased from 2016 to 2018 with regard to officer-involved shootings, it is worth noting they decreased in 2019.

Below are the number of officers involved in a firearm discharge as well as the number of unique firearm discharges for the years 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Firearm Discharges Count of Officers:

2016
Accidental: 2
Animal: 2
Officer Involved Shooting in Vehicle: 1
Officer Involved Shooting Individual: 7

2017
Accidental: 2
Animal: 2
Officer Involved Shooting in Vehicle: 0
Officer Involved Shooting Individual: 19

2018
Accidental: 0
Animal: 2
Officer Involved Shooting in Vehicle: 1
Officer Involved Shooting Individual: 22

2019.
Accidental: 1
Animal: 2
Officer Involved Shooting in Vehicle:
Officer Involved Shooting Individual: 15

(Page 35 of Use of Force Report)

“SHOWS OF FORCE” STATISTICS FOR DISPLAY HANDGUN, RIFLE USE AND ELECTRONIC CONTROL WEAPON (EWC)

“Shows of force” include the categories of drawing a handgun, pointing a rifle, electronic control weapon (ECW) painting which consists of unholstering and pointing an ECW at an individual while activating the ECW’s laser dot to show that the weapon is aimed at the individual and displaying a bean bag.

Displaying a handgun “ECW- Painting” and comprise 77% of “Shows of Force”.

STATISTICAL HIGHLIGHTS FOR APD POLICE DISPLAY HANDGUN OR RIFLE

“DISPLAY HANDGUN” is defined as drawing and exhibiting a firearm as part of a warning tactic, typically accompanied by appropriate verbalization. Following are the 4-year numbers:

2016: there were 107 police Display Handgun incidents
2017: there were 124 police Display Handgun incidents
2018: there were 143 police Display Handgun incidents
2019: there were 150 police Display Handgun incidents

4 YEAR TOTAL TIMES APD DISPLAYED HAND GUN: 524

(See page 29 of use of force report)

Following are the 4-year numbers the number of incidents where police displayed a rifle:

2016: there were 18 police display rifle incidents
2017: there were 76 police display rifle incidents
2018: there were 54 police display rifle incidents
2019: there were 64 police display rifle incidents

4 YEAR TOTAL TIMES POLICE DISPLAYED RIFLE: 212

ELECTRONIC CONTROL WEAPON PAINTING (ECW Painting) is the act of unholstering and pointing an ECW at an individual and activating the ECW’s laser dot to show that the weapon is aimed at the individual. ECW Arcing is activating an ECW without discharging the probes, sometimes done as a warning to an individual. Following are the 4-year numbers:

2016: 91 police ECW Painting display incidents
2017: 138 police ECW Painting display incidents
2018: 122 police ECW Painting display incidents
2019: 140 police ECW Painting display incidents

4 YEAR TOTAL ECW PAINTING DISPLAY INCIDENTS: 351

(Pages 28, 29 Use of Force report)

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

MAJORITY OF INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED IN USE FORCE UNARMED

According to the report, the majority of individuals involved in a use of force incident are not armed. It may appear surprising that many individuals are not armed during a use of force it is important to recognize many officers are electing to not use a weapon either. This finding speaks to APD officers’ ability to use force in proportion during rapidly-changing and unpredictable situations and to respond with an appropriate level of force. Following is the 4-year breakdown:

2016
Unknown: 162
Armed: 63
Unarmed: 183

2017
Unknown: 11
Armed: 103
Unarmed: 308

2018
Unknown: 44
Armed: 121
Unarmed: 340

2019
Unknown: 43
Armed: 97
Unarmed: 472

(Page 54 of use of force report)

OVER 81% OF “USE OF FORCE APPLICATIONS” DO NOT INVOLVE A WEAPON

According to the report over 81% of “use of force applications” do not involve a weapon. Following is the 4-year breakdown:

2016
Involved a Weapon: 101
No Weapon: 732

2017
Involved a Weapon: 198
No Weapon: 558

2018
Involved a Weapon: 211
No Weapon: 726

2019
Involved a Weapon: 196
No Weapon: 1,058

(Page 54 of use of force report)

INDIVIDUALS HOSPITALIZED AFTER INJURY DURING FORCE EVENT

Following is the 4-year breakdown of individuals hospitalized after injury during force event:

2016: 224 total cases, or 55% of total force cases, Number of individuals injured: 228
2017: 256 total cases, or 62% of total force cases, Number of individuals injured: 265
2018: 290 total cases, or 59% of total force cases, Number of individuals injured: 297
2019: 345 total cases, or 57% of total force cases, Number of individuals injured: 349

(Page 55 and 56 of Use of Force Report)

CASES WITH OFFICERS INJURED

Following is the 4-year breakdown of APD officers injured during force event:

2016: 100 cases, number of officers injured: 135
2017: 108 cases, number of officers injured: 125
2018: 120 cases, number of officers injured: 146
2019: 156 cases, number of officers injured: 189

(Page 61 OF Use of Force Report)

19 CIVILIAN DEATHS IN OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTINGS

Over the last four years, 19 individuals have died during a use of force by APD police offices. 18 of the cases were an “officer-involved shootings.” The remaining individual’s death was attributed to “toxic effects of methamphetamine and cocaine and effects of conducted energy device” by the Office of the Medical Investigator. All of these individuals were white males ranging in age from 18 to 59. Each of the individual suspects was armed.

2016: 4 deaths
2017: 4 deaths (3 officer involved shooting, 1 drug related determined by medical examiner)
2018: 7 deaths
2019: 4 deaths

TOTAL DEATHS FROM USE OF FORCE BY APD: 19

(Page 58 of Use of Force Report)

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

APD’s Use for Force number a very small part the overall picture when it comes to the City’s crime rates.

FBI statistics reveal that Albuquerque has the dubious distinction of having a crime rate 194% higher than the national average. Albuquerque has been on the forefront of the trend on violent crime increasing for the last 5 years and homicides have more than doubled. In 2014, the city had 30 homicides and each year thereafter homicides increased and in 2019 the city had 82 homicides, the most in the city’s history. As of October 9, the city has had 58 homicides.

On Monday, September 21, the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) release statistics that overall crime in the city is down slightly by 5% across all categories in the first six months of 2020 as compared with the first six months of 2019. The good news is APD reported that crime has decreased 15% since 2018. The bad news is that in some cases, the improvements this year were minuscule.

The city’s crime statistics will be reported in another future blog article.

NOTHING ON APD’S INTERACTION WITH MENTALLY ILLL

On April 10, 2014, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Civil Rights Division, submitted its scathing 46-page investigation report on an 18-month civil rights investigation of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD). What differentiates the DOJ’s investigation of APD from the other federal investigations and consent decrees of police departments in the country is that the other consent decrees involve in one form or another the finding of “racial profiling” and use of excessive force or deadly force against minorities.

When it came to APD, a significant amount of the force incidents reviewed was used against persons with mental illness and in crisis. The April 10, 2014 United States Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation found a “culture of aggression” within APD and dedicated a significant amount of the force review against persons with mental illness and in crisis and APD’s specific responses to suspects that were having mental illness episodes. The investigation found APD’s policies, training, and supervision were insufficient to ensure that officers encountering people with mental illness or in distress do so in a manner that respects their rights and is safe for all involved.

Least anyone forget, during the last 10 years, there have been 32 police officer involved shootings and the city has paid out $61 million dollars in settlements to family’s who have sued APD for wrongful death. A significant number of those lawsuits involved the mentally ill. The most memorable APD Use of Deadly Force case was the killing of homeless camper and mentally ill James Boyd in the Sandia foothills in April, 2014 where both SWAT and the K-9 units were dispatched. The Boyd case was settled for $5 million paid to his family for his wrongful death and two SWAT officers were charged and tried for murder ending in a deadlock jury and no acquittal and the charges later dropped against both police officers.

The Use of Force Reports are absolutely critical for the community to evaluate whether the mandated reforms under the CASA are being implemented and working, especially when it comes to APD’s interactions with the mentally ill. When you read and review the entire “Use of Force Report” for the years of 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 a major omission in the report is that there are no statistics regarding APD’s crisis intervention incidents and interactions with the mentally ill, especially by the SWAT unit.

A major concern is that the current report fails to elaborate or explain much other than hard statistics compiled in the various categories mandated by the settlement. The report fails to include data to what to what extent use of force instances were out of compliance with policy, how many officers were disciplined for use of force and if any policy or training changes were made.

The consolidated four-year report does report an increase in the percentages of use of force cases that involved unarmed victims without offering any possible explanation for the increase other than the officers did not use their weapons. APD’s Compliance Bureau in conjunction with the Force Division of APD Internal Affairs should be able to provide more analysis and not just the regurgitation of statistics with vertical bar graphs that are difficult for the public to understand.

The use of force report for the 4 years should also contain a report regarding APD’s interactions with the mentally ill, the number of times the SWAT unit was deployed over the last three years to deal with “crisis intervention” and well as the training of APD officers in crisis intervention.

A link to a related blog article is here:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2019/03/27/apd-use-of-force-report-fails-to-report-on-crisis-intervention-incidents-involving-men

Late Friday afternoon, October 23, in a very dramatic and hard fall from grace, former Albuquerque Police Department (APD) Department Spokesman Simon Drobik was accused in an APD Internal Affairs Investigation (IA) of repeated time card fraud from January to May of 2020. Ironically announced in a APD press release by an APD Spokesman, the IA investigation found Drobik violated several policies and was paid tens of thousands of dollars in overtime that he did not actually work. In July, Drobik was about to be fired from APD when he retired amid the IA investigation. Drobik had been with APD for 21 years.

APD Internal Affairs investigators are saying Drobik committed rampant fraud, possibly at a criminal level. APD says Drobik was “gaming the system” by working private security at local businesses known as chief’s overtime while he was on regular duty. He is also accused of negotiating his way out of taking service calls and showing up late and leaving early along with dozens of other violations during a five-month period at the beginning of the year.

According to the APD press release, the IA investigation found that Drobik committed the following violations:

Not reporting to duty on time
Not notifying supervisor when leaving post
92 time sheet violations
54 instances of negotiating to not take calls for service
38 instances of being on-call while working Chief’s Overtime
26 violations of reporting hours worked of chief’s overtime
3 instances of leaving prior to end of a work shift

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/apd-releases-results-of-investigation-into-former-spokesperson/

DEFENSE ATTORNEY QUICK TO CONDEMN

Simon Drobik has hired prominent criminal Defense Attorney Sam Bregman to represent him. Not at all surprising and in typical Defense Attorney Bragman style, Bregman boldly proclaimed to the press:

“[The allegations are] absolutely false. … Officer Drobik never, ever cheated on a time card. He worked overtime due to being ordered to do so by a deputy chief, and every bit of his time was approved by a deputy chief. … APD is now trying to throw him under the bus. … If this goes any further, we plan on fighting it in a courtroom. … And we believe this is actually just a cover-up on the part of this administration for their structural inaccuracies in the police department.”

NOT THE FIRST TIME INVESTIGATED

On Friday, April 12, 2019, it was reported that the APD Civilian Police Oversight (CPO) Agency recommended the dismissal of APD Public Information Officer Simon Drobik as well as his former supervisor for overtime pay abuse. The CPOA investigators found that throughout 2018 Drobik violated personnel policies more than 50 times by getting paid simultaneously for being on call as a spokesman and working “chief’s overtime”. Chief’s Overtime pay is a program in which private businesses or organizations pay for sworn officers to provide security.

The CPO Agency investigation found that in 2018, Drobik was paid $192,973 making him Albuquerque’s highest-paid employee in 2018. The investigation also found that his supervisor was one of the city’s top 11 paid wage earners.

On April 30, 2019, then APD Chief Michael Geier announced that he was not taking any disciplinary action against Simon Drobik but announced changes were being made to APD overtime and Chief’s overtime. At the time APD Chief Michael Geier decided that instead of terminating Drobik, he placed him on administrative assignment and required him to report directly to Deputy Chief of Staff Elizabeth Armijo . Confidential sources have also confirmed that then Chief Geier and the Keller Administration contemplated promoting Simon Drobik to a commander position in order to pay him more as a justification for the pay he was being paid as a spokesman.

In the Friday, October 23, 2020 press release, APD implicated Drobik’s supervisor former Deputy Chief Elizabeth Armijo for failure to approve overtime, implicated former APD Chief Michael Geier and implicated former APD Chief of Staff John Ross. According to APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos, Deputy Chief of Staff Armijo will be disciplined, although he would not say what that discipline will be at the time. He also said that former Chief of Staff John Ross will not be disciplined in that he was relieved of his position when Geier was forced to retired by Keller, otherwise John Ross would have been disciplined.

For successive years, as APD Spokesman, Drobik was routinely among the highest earners in the city and ranked No. 1 among all city employees in 2018 by being paid $192,973. In 2019, Drobik was ranked as the 7th highest wage earner in 2019. When Drobik retired in July 2020, he had already collected $106,607 for the year when his base pay rate was listed as $31.50 per hour, or $65, 520 according city records ( $31.50 per hour X 2,080 hours a year= $65,520).

APD NOT THE ONLY AGENCY LOOKING AT DROBIK, THERE ARE OTHERS

On June 24, New Mexico State Auditor Brian Colon notified Mayor Tim Keller he had designated the city for a special audit after receiving complaints about police overtime processes and payments, and internal controls within APD. In the June 4 letter to Mayor Tim Keller, State Auditor Brian Colon wrote:

“The Office of the State Auditor (OSA) received allegations raising concerns regarding the practices of the City of Albuquerque (“City”) related to police overtime processes and payments, as well as internal controls. … With respect to these concerns, the OSA hereby designates the City for a special audit in order to examine the City’s compliance with applicable laws, regulations, policies, and procedures.”

The link to State Auditor Brian Colon’s letter to Mayor Tim Keller is here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ljrCSMdpDxyCV-1iPPYFoZwLVdohfw0L/view

State Auditor Brian Colón said the IA findings validated his own investigation which he said is ongoing and said:

“My mind is at ease that those resources to do that audit were well-placed, because there is a problem, and we’re going to get to the bottom of it whether it’s an individual or whether it’s further reaching… … It is fair to say that we still have work to do … and it may not be limited to one officer.”

State Attorney General Hector Balderas office is also conducting an investigation into Drobik’s overtime time card practices and providing assistance to the State Auditor’s Office.

MEDINA PART OF THE PROBLEM

The October 23 new release quoted Interim APD Chief Harold Medina as saying:

“This investigation revealed structural problems that failed to hold this officer accountable. … Supervisors should be held to the highest standards. Only then, will we achieve true accountability for taxpayer money. … We’re cleaning up the mess that was left behind and making real changes so that these kinds of wrongdoing don’t happen.”

ABQReport columnist and retired APD SGT. Dan Klein says that Interim Chief Harold Medina, who returned to APD in 2017, is actually part of the mess he says he wants to clean up. Klein had this to say:

“Medina has been deputy chief of police since December 2017; he had to know what was going on with Drobik. … He was there for both investigations . So why didn’t Medina address it before now? He was second in command at APD, it was his responsibility to act, yet Medina will have everyone believe that he knew nothing until now? Medina is either lying or he’s a fool. But he is now chief. God help us.”

The IA investigation covers Drobik’s overtime claims only from this year. But in 2018, Drobik said that he was a consultant and an actor for the movie El Camino, which started filming in Albuquerque in November 2018. The filming lasted nearly 50 days. The movie was released in October 2019.

Klein wants to know if any of the investigations are looking at whether Drobik was paid as an APD officer while working on the film.

“Did APD’s investigation into Drobik ask the question? Did he commit any violations while working for Vince Gilligan on the movie El Camino?” Klein said. “Did Drobik receive pay from city taxpayers for on-duty work, while consulting and appearing in the movie El Camino?”

A link to a related story in ABQ Reports is here:

https://www.abqreport.com/single-post/apd-calls-simon-drobik-a-crook

ANOTHER “OVERTIME OVERHAUL” ANNOUNCMENT

After the CPOA investigation of Simon Drobik, then APD Chief Geier called for overtime policies to be revamped. Geier ordered then-deputy chief Michael Smathers, now First Deputy Chief, to create a wide-ranging proposal to reduce overtime spending. The proposal included capping each officer’s total number of overtime hours to 25 hour of overtime per week. It also included developing ways for supervisors to identify which officers were working the most overtime and to put a halt to excessive overtime.

APD Spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said on October 23 that APD has drafted a policy to overhaul overtime practices and it will go through a standard policy review process. According to the APD news release:

“[Interim] Chief Medina said he will issue a Special Order on Monday to take effect immediately while the policy is reviewed. Unlike previous efforts to reform overtime, this proposed policy will address weaknesses in supervision and increase discipline for violations.”

DROBIK NOT THE ONLY ONE PAID EXCESSIVE OVERTIME

At the end of each calendar year, City Hall releases the top 250 wage earners. The list of 250 top city hall wages earners is what is paid for the full calendar year of January 1, to December 31 of any given year. The City of Albuquerque updated the list for the year 2019.

In 2018, the breakdown of the 250 top paid city hall employees revealed that all were paid between $100,000 to $192,937.23. In 2018, there were 140 Police Officers on the list of 250 top wage earners.

In 2019, the breakdown of the 250 top paid city hall employees showed they were paid between $107,885 to $193,666.23. In 2019 there were 160 sworn APD police in the top 250 wage earners.

The excessive pay numbers in APD, especially to patrol officers, can be attributed directly to overtime paid to APD employees.

https://www.petedinelli.com/2020/05/28/9864/

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Using the words of former APD Sergeant Dan Klein, APD Interim Chief Harold Medina is both a liar and a fool, especially when Medina says:

“This investigation revealed structural problems that failed to hold this officer accountable. … Supervisors should be held to the highest standards. Only then, will we achieve true accountability for taxpayer money. … We’re cleaning up the mess that was left behind and making real changes so that these kinds of wrongdoing don’t happen.”

Mayor Tim Keller should be downright embarrassed over the remarks made by Harold Medina as Interim Chief. During his 23 year career with APD, Harold Medina has been involved in two separate police officer involved shootings. In one shooting, in a church, he shot and killed a 14-year-old boy having a psychotic episode. In the other shooting, then APD Lieutenant Medina authorized the use of deadly force against 26-year-old military veteran holding a gun to his head suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder who was threatening to kill himself. Medina has denied that he was the officer in charge at the scene. The APD Commander Michael Geier was on the “use of force” review committee when the veteran was killed and Geier said at the time Medina should have been disciplined, but Medina was not. It’s shameful that Medina would say now “Supervisors should be held to the highest standards” yet Medina himself was never held responsible for his own actions that resulted in two innocent people dead.

There was nothing “left behind” as Medina proclaims. The police overtime abuse has been going on for years. Medina has been part of the very problem for the last full 3 years. Mayor Tim Keller was warned repeatedly about the overtime abuse going on not only with Drobik but within APD itself. On May 29, when former Chief Michael Geier issued a special order capping the amount of regular time and over time that officers can work to 65 hours a week, Keller himself gave his blessing to the plan and even went so far to say it would go a long way to curb the abuse. It did not because it never was fully implemented.

Keller was also warned when State Auditor Brian Colon said “there is a problem, and we’re going to get to the bottom of it whether it’s an individual or whether it’s further reaching.” In other words, Drobik is not the only one the State Auditor and the New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas are looking at for potential criminal charges. What Mayor Tim Keller and his Interim Chief Harold Medina should be very worried about is just how far up the APD chain of command does the criminal activity go. Does it go all the way up to the Chief’s Office command staff or even the Mayor’s Office?

That is not as farfetched as it may seem given that the force resignation of former Chief Geier clearly showed how much micro managing was going on within APD by Mayor Tim Keller and CAO Sarita Nair. It is more likely than not they both knew what was going on with Drobik, and from a management stand point, they could have approved the overtime abuse themselves or at a minimum did nothing to curb it or stop.

New Mexico State Auditor Brian Colon has shown that he understands and appreciates the limitations of his office by asking Attorney General Hector Balderas to assist with the probe of APD for any and all overtime abuse by APD. The authority of the State Auditor is that of performing audits for waste, fraud and abuse involving taxpayer money. However, the State Auditor does not have any authority to prosecute for criminal acts uncovered by the audits and the Auditor’s office needs to rely on the Attorney General or the District Attorneys to bring criminal prosecutions for fraud discovered.

Once the special audit is completed, State Auditor Brian Colon no doubt will be able to smoothly transfer the full audit to New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas for possible criminal prosecution. Once the audit is transmitted to Attorney General Balderas, a special grand jury needs to be convened to determine what criminal charges, if any, should be filed.

FOUR VERY AMBITIOUS “WOULD BE GOVERNORS” ON COLLISION COURSE

It’s ironic that the Mayor Tim Keller, the former New Mexico State Auditor who made his name as a “white knight” crusader fighting “waste fraud and abuse” of taxpayer money, and used that reputation to become Mayor, chose to ignore the prior audits of APD overtime abuse. What is even more ironic is that Keller is very much at the mercy of both New Mexico State Auditor Brian Colon and Attorney General Hector Balderas, with the threesome of Keller, Balderas and Colon all having served as State Auditor essentially swapping the job back and forth with each other. The fact that Keller and Colon ran against each other for Mayor is also not lost on anyone in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

No Mayor wants to face the prospect that criminal activity is found within a Police Department they are supposed to oversee and manage, especially a department under a federal court approved settlement agreement brought on for excessive use of force and deadly force and a finding of a “culture of aggression”. No doubt Mayor Tim Keller realizes if APD is hit with indictments of “waste, fraud and abuse” for overtime time fraud, it will likely add a major obstacle to his re-election chances in 2021 along with the skyrocketing violent crime rates Keller promised to bring down when he ran in 2017.

Keller has made it known that he is seeking a second term as Mayor 2021 and he has privately told many that his ultimate goal is to be Governor of New Mexico after he serves 2 terms as Mayor of Albuquerque. Brian Colon is also made it known he is running for Attorney General in 2022 and sources say he is even raising money for the run. If Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is in fact tapped to be a cabinet Secretary under a President Joe Biden as many speculate, Lt. Governor Howie Morales will become Governor. If that happens, Keller, Balderas and perhaps Colon may see the best opportunity to run for Governor in 2022 against a Governor Howie Morales.

Notwithstanding, the paths of the 4 most politically ambitious people in the same age group, and same party who see themselves as “would be governor” and the future of the Democratic party are about to collide, sooner rather than later. It will not be pretty if that indeed happens.

Politically ambitious defense attorney and former Democratic Party State Chairman Sam Bregman who is representing Simon Drobik is also said to be talking about running for New Mexico Attorney General in 2022 against State Auditor Brian Colon. That is a blog article better left for the future.

STAY TUNED AS THINGS IN NEW MEXICO POLITICS ARE GET INTERESTING.

Links to related news coverage are here:

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/apd-releases-results-of-investigation-into-former-spokesperson/

https://www.abqjournal.com/1510247/internal-investigation-found-former-apd-spokesman-was-gaming-the-system.html

On October 22, the Chicago Tribune published the below Associated Press article written by political reporters Bill Barrow and Zeke Miller. It is one of the better analysis of the debate. The article, with one minor edit listing the order of the seven takeaways, is followed by a link to the article, a CNN poll and further commentary and analysis.

SEVEN TAKEAWAYS FROM THE FINAL 2020 PRESIDENTIAL

President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden met for the second and last time on a debate stage Thursday after a previously scheduled town hall debate was scrapped after the Republican incumbent became one of the millions of Americans to contract coronavirus.

For Trump, the matchup at Tennessee’s Belmont University was perhaps the final opportunity to change the dynamics of a race dominated, much to his chagrin, by his response to the pandemic and its economic fallout. For Biden, it was 90 minutes to solidify an apparent lead less than two weeks before the election.

Here are key takeaways:

1. TRUMP TONES IT DOWN

Three weeks after drawing bipartisan criticism for his frequent interruptions and badgering of his Democratic rival, Trump adopted a more subdued tone for much of the debate.

Trump took to asking moderator Kristen Welker for the opportunity to follow up on Biden’s answers — “If I may?” — rather than just jumping in, and he thanked Welker repeatedly to boot.

From the first question, this debate seemed different from round one, when Trump’s incessant interruptions and flouting of time limits derailed the 90-minute contest from the outset.

Sure, there still were digs.

“We can’t lock ourselves up in a basement like Joe does,” Trump said, reprising his spring and summer attacks on Biden staying at his residence rather than campaigning in-person amid the pandemic.

Biden smirked, laughed and shook his head. He mocked Trump for once suggesting bleach helped kill coronavirus.

The two men had a lengthy back-and-forth about their personal finances and family business entanglements.

But on the whole, voters at home got something they didn’t get on Sept. 29: a debate.

It marked a recognition by Trump that his bombastic side was a liability with the seniors and suburban women voters who have flocked from the GOP to Democrats.

2. COVID-19 STILL A DRAG FOR TRUMP

Trump’s difficulty articulating a defense of his handling of the coronavirus remains a drag on his campaign. The opening topic of the debate was entirely predictable — Trump has received variations of the same question in interviews and has rarely delivered a clear answer.

Asked to outline his plan for the future, Trump instead asserted his prior handling was without fault and predicted a rosy reversal to the pandemic that has killed more than 220,000 Americans.

“We’re rounding the turn, we’re rounding the corner,” Trump claimed, even as cases spike again across the country. “It’s going away.”

Biden, who has sought to prosecute Trump’s handling of the virus in his closing pitch to voters, came prepared. “Anyone who’s responsible for that many deaths should not remain as president of the United States of America,” he said.

Biden added: “He says we’re, you know, we’re learning to live with it. People are learning to die with it.”

3. TRUMP ATTACKS OBAMACARE, AGAIN

Trump and Biden each sought to position himself as the defender of American’s health care, keenly aware that it ranked among the top issues for voters even before the coronavirus pandemic struck the nation.

But Trump’s efforts to repeal and undermine the Obama-era Affordable Care Act proved to be a liability, as Biden hammered his efforts to strip coverage from tens of millions of Americans and his lack of a plan to cover those with preexisting conditions.

Biden, by contrast, fended off Trump’s attack that his plan to reinforce the Obama-era law with a “public option” amounted to a step toward socialized medicine by relying on his well-established public persona — and his vanquishing of Democratic primary rivals with more liberal health care policies.

“He thinks he’s running against somebody else,” Biden said. “I beat all those other people.”

4. TRUMP’S INDIRECT PERSONAL ATTACKS

Aiming to alter the trajectory of the race, Trump returned to a tactic that he believes boosted him to the Oval Office four years ago — staccato personal attacks on his opponent.

Trump repeatedly leveled unsupported allegations against Biden and his son Hunter in an attempt to cast his rival and his family as corrupt.

“I don’t make money from China, you do. I don’t make money from Ukraine, you do,” Trump said.

Trump offered no hard proof for his assertions, and he has a record of making claims that don’t withstand scrutiny.

When the Democrat sought to change the subject from the president’s attacks on his family to issues more relatable to voters, Trump fired back with the charge that Biden’s canned line reflected him being “just a typical politician,” mockingly adding, “Come on, Joe, you can do better.”

Both candidates struggled to explain why they weren’t able to accomplish more while in office, falling to the familiar tactic of blaming Congress for its inaction.

A larger question may be whether voters are moved at all, especially those undecided voters whom both candidates are trying to win over, especially given that more than 47 million Americans have already cast ballots.

5. WHITE MEN AND RACE

With centuries of institutional racism coming to a head in 2020, it’s been a bit of disconnect to see a 74-year-old white Republican and a 77-year-old white Democrat battle for the presidency. Trump and Biden did little to dispel that disconnect.

Welker offered both multiple opportunities to talk directly to Black Americans. Both men said they understood the challenges Black citizens face, but the segment amounted mostly to them blasting each other.

Trump blamed Biden as an almost singular force behind mass incarceration, especially of “young Black men.” Trump declared himself “the least racist person in this room” and repeated his claim that “nobody has done what I’ve done” for Black Americans “with the exception of Abraham Lincoln, possible exception.”

Biden, incredulous, called Trump a “racist” who “pours fuel on every single racist fire.”

Polls suggest many young voters of color do not support Trump but aren’t particularly enthusiastic about Biden either. It’s unlikely their final debate altered that view.

6. CLIMATE

Trump and Biden faced off on global climate change in the first extensive discussion of the issue in a presidential debate in 20 years.

Biden sounded the alarm for the world to address a warming climate, as Trump took credit for pulling the U.S. out of a major international accord to do just that. Trump asserted he was trying to save American jobs, while taking credit for some of the cleanest air and water the nation has seen in generations — some of it a holdover of regulations passed by his predecessor.

Biden, tapping into an issue of particular importance to his base, called for massive investment to create new environmentally friendly industries. “Our health and our jobs are at stake,” he said.

Biden also spoke of a transition from the oil industry, which Trump seized upon, asking voters in Texas and Pennsylvania if they were listening.

7. FOREIGN POLICY MAKES A CAMEO

Biden finally got a chance to talk a little foreign policy. But only a little. The former vice president loved the topic in the early months of the Democratic presidential primary, but the general election has been dominated by the pandemic and other national crises.

He used it to hammer Trump’s cozy relationship with North Korea’s authoritarian leader Kim Jong Un. “His buddy, who’s a thug,” Biden said, arguing that Trump’s summit with Kim “legitimized” a U.S. adversary and potential nuclear threat.

Trump defended his “different kind of relationship … a very good relationship” with Kim, prompting Biden to retort that nations “had a good relationship with Hitler before he, in fact, invaded the rest of Europe.”
It certainly wasn’t a deep dive into a pool of complex issues.

The link to the Chicago Tribune is here:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/election-2020/ct-trump-biden-final-debate-takeaways-20201023-sunjbxxs5rbvdidymcl3znwuby-story.html

BIDEN WON THE DEBATE ACCORDING TO CNN POLL

According to a CNN Instant Poll of debate watchers, former Vice President Joe Biden was viewed as winning the debate. Overall, 53% of voters who watched the debate said that Biden won the matchup, while 39% said that President Donald Trump won.

Viewers once again said that Biden’s criticisms of Trump were largely fair. 73% said they were fair, 26% unfair. Those polled were split over whether Trump’s attacks on Biden were fair at 50% saying yes and 49% saying.

That’s a more positive outcome for Trump. In a CNN Instant Poll after the first presidential debate, just 28% said they thought the President had won the debate, and 67% called his criticism of Biden unfair.

The final debate did not do much to move impressions of either candidate. Favorable views of Biden before the debate stood at 55%, and they held steady at 56% in post-debate interviews. Likewise, Trump’s numbers held steady, with 42% saying they had a favorable view of the President in interviews conducted before Thursday’s debate and 41% saying the same afterward.

CRITICAL ISSUES

Thursday’s debate watchers preferred Trump over Biden on the economy with 56% saying they think Trump would better handle it as opposed to 44% who say Biden would.

The poll divided about evenly between the two on foreign policy with 50% preferring Biden to 48% preferring Trump.

Biden held a wide edge as more trusted to handle the coronavirus at 57% for Biden to 41% for Trump)

Biden held a wide edge as more trusted as to climate change with 67% for Biden to 29% for Trump.

Biden also held a wide edge on the issue of dealing with and racial inequality in the US with 62% for Biden to 35% for Trump.

Biden was also largely seen as offering a better plan for solving the country’s problems with 54% for Biden to 42% for Trump.

Voters split over who seemed to be the stronger leader with each garnering 49% each.
Although Thursday’s event was far less contentious than the first presidential debate, Biden was far more apt to be seen as directly answering the moderator’s questions with 62% said he did and only 31% said Trump answered the moderator’s questions.

BREAKDOWN OF GENDER, AGE AND INDEPENDENTS

The CNN poll reflected that women were more likely than men to say that Biden did the better job in the debate with 60% of women saying Biden won and 35% saying Trump won Trump
Among men, 47% said Biden won while 44% of men said Trump won.

Among Independents, Biden won 55% to Trumps 36% Trump as did moderates with 56% for Biden to 37% for Trump.
White voters with college degrees gave Biden 64% to Trumps 29% Trump.

Among those 65 and older, the verdict was a split decision with 46% saying Biden won, 43% Trump won and 10% saying they both did equally well.

Younger voters broadly saw Biden as the winner with 66% to 27% for Trump among those under age 45.

The link to the full CNN news story is here:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/22/politics/cnn-poll-final-presidential-debate/index.html

EARLY VOTING SHATTERS RECORDS

“As of Friday, October 23, with just 11 days left before the election at least 50 million voters have cast ballots in the 2020 election, according to Michael McDonald, an Associate Professor of Political Science at University of Florida who specializes in elections, and the U.S. Elections Project. That figure accounts for over a third of all votes cast in the 2016 presidential election at 36.5% with less than two weeks to go until Election Day.

With over 6.3 million votes cast, Texas surpassed 70% of its total 2016 voter turnout.”

A link to the full story is here:

https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2020/10/22/millions-of-americans-have-already-voted

COMMENTARY

One major take away from watching the final debate is that being able to cut off the microphones had an impact on the debate. Both men were at least halfway civil to each other. The debate was a healthy discussion of the issues. Voters for the first and very last time were able to see just how far apart both Biden and Trump are on the issues. It may not matter at all, given the fact that the number of those who have voted early the outcome of the election may have already been decided. Further, voter turnout will hit a historical high, perhaps even as high as 65% signaling that many voters understand full well what is at stake in this election.

Please VOTE!

On Wednesday, March 18, Mayor Tim Keller declared a Public Health Emergency and signed the “Declaration of Local State of Emergency Due to Novel Corona Virus COVID-19”. The ordinance gives the Mayor authority to close places of big gatherings and gives the Mayor power to close city facilities, relocate city staff and divert funding around to deal with a crisis. The mayor can invoke specific powers such as reallocating city resources to combat the epidemic and ordering the closure of streets, day cares and places of “mass assembly” like theaters and sports venues. Under the ordinance, the Mayor even has the authority to close streets.

For the last 7 months, Mayor Tim Keller has been conducting almost daily press briefings on the city’s efforts to deal with the corona virus and attempting to keep up with Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s briefings on the state level. The corona virus pandemic has also allowed Mayor Keller to take his public relations efforts to even higher levels to deal with the pandemic and to announce city initiatives and inform the public. The best example of the new level of public relations is that Keller and his Department Directors conduct “virtual town hall” meetings. The town hall meetings are sophisticated telephone conference calls to thousands to provide to the public information and to answer the public’s questions regarding what the city is doing when it comes to the pandemic.

DRAMATIC SURGE IN CASES

As of October 22, there have been a total of 950 deaths and 38,715 cases reported statewide with 827 new infections with 20,332 reported recoveries and 1,039,372 negative tests. As of October 21, 202 people are hospitalized in New Mexico for COVID-19. According to Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s Office, 80% of adult general hospital beds and 71% of adult intensive care unit beds are occupied in hospitals throughout the state. This includes those who are hospitalized for COVID-19 and other illnesses.

The City’s and the County’s case numbers are now soaring. On October 21, Albuquerque reported 292 new cases, one of its highest daily counts to date. Ryan Mast, director of the city’s Environmental Health Department, said last week’s infections totaled 1,185, compared with 589 the week before and said numbers are rising elsewhere around the country.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1509486/state-sets-another-record-for-daily-virus-cases.html

SURGE AT JAIL AND HOMELESS SHELTER

Bernalillo County’s latest surge has included outbreaks at the county jail. The Metropolitan Detention Center announced 48 new virus cases among inmates and two among staff, which puts the facility at 354 active cases among inmates and 49 infected staff members out of work.

Albuquerque’s Westside Homeless Shelter is also dealing with a very serious outbreak. According to the city, 125 residents and five staff members have been infected with COVID-19. The city has closed the homeless shelter to incoming people while current residents are tested and isolated.

CITY ANNOUNCES CRACKDOWN

On Wednesday, October 21, Mayor Tim Keller and City officials held a news conference to discuss plans to enforce the city’s emergency order after the city’s COVID-19 cases doubled in the last week. Keller announced that the city will be taking new steps to help control the spread of COVID-19 and will be working with the state and use other city staffers, including the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) to help with the enforcement. The city plans on conducting an enforcement blitz, focusing on different parts of the city based on zip codes.

With the dramatic increase in cases, the city wants to remind businesses, especially grocery stores, that they have to have special hours for senior citizens and people who are at high risk. The public health order requires retail stores and bars is to close by 10 p.m. Even though that’s an order from the state, the city will now help to enforce it. Keller added that restaurants could soon get a red sticker for not following COVID-safe practices, as well as restricting non-residents from city buildings.

https://www.koat.com/article/mayor-keller-to-give-covid-19-update/34440970

During the October 21 press conference, Keller had this to say:

“We are going to be drastically ramping up enforcement … under the existing public health order. There’s nothing new here; we have just got to make sure we do a better job of actually following that public health order.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/1509486/state-sets-another-record-for-daily-virus-cases.html

KELLER GETS THE MESSAGE FROM GOVENOR MLG

Noncompliance of the public health order can result in a criminal citation. Violations of the public health order is a misdemeanor and the penalty is a $100 dollar fine and can escalate to six months in jail or both. Businesses can also receive a $5,000 fine if cited.

A KRQE News 13 investigative report found that the city has only issued four citations and none in the past few months despite the governor pushing for cities and local law enforcement to begin citing people for failing to wear masks, mass gatherings, and businesses breaking the rules.

https://www.krqe.com/health/coronavirus-new-mexico/city-of-albuquerque-announcing-new-round-of-covid-19-enforcement/

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has criticized the City’s enforcement action. Education, not punishment, has always been the main message for Mayor Keller. During the October 21 press conference, Keller defended the city’s response enforcing the public health order so far, calling it the best response in the state.

According to the city officials, since April it has have handed out 227 warnings. Since April, the city has responded to 19 occupancy issues but in October, the number rose to 32 with the increase likely caused by the weather impacting outside dining.

While the Governor is encouraging people to stay home, and have shut down state-run museums and historical sites, Keller said Albuquerque-run museums and the ABQ BioPark will remain open. He said they will continue to ensure COVID-safe practices will be implemented to keep everyone safe

ANNOUNCED ENFORCEMENT ACTION

Plans will be focusing on places people tend to go to and making sure businesses are following the occupancy rules. The city will be monitoring parks, ensuring there are no groups larger than five, and making sure people aren’t participating in sports that require a large group. The city is also considering restricting people from out of state from public buildings by requiring proof of residency.

Keller had this to say about the city’s enforcement action:

“We are working on, with our state partners, on a targeted enforcement blitz … Like any sort of blitz operation, like DWIs, we don’t want to share all those specific details, but we are going to let you know we are going to be drastically ramping up enforcement. Big box stores, and chains, chain restaurants especially, we’ve had a lot of complaints about load violation there. ”

Keller also reminded young people to avoid gathering in crowds or parties and said:

“We all remember high school and college, but this is an example of the kind of thing that’s happening in Albuquerque. These sort of COVID parties. This is a dangerous idea.”

https://www.krqe.com/health/coronavirus-new-mexico/city-of-albuquerque-announcing-new-round-of-covid-19-enforcement/

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Since the very beginning, Keller has been emphasizing “educating the public” over “aggressive enforcement”. It obvious you can not force anyone to become educated.

The general public has a tendency to resist anything perceived as an infringement on their civil rights with many believing the corona virus is simply not a serious public health crisis.

We are not “turning the corner” when it comes to the pandemic but going around in circles thanks to Trump. Please, wear the damn mask. Your life and the life of others depends upon it. You have no constitutional rights or civil rights if you are dead. If you vote early and pass for any reason before election day, your vote still counts. Please vote for Joe Biden for President so we can have real leadership to defeat this damn pandemic.

City finances have been totally upended as a result of the corona virus pandemic. The virus has impacted the city economy and in turn the city gross receipts tax returns have declined. Under normal circumstances, the Mayor submits a proposed budget on April 1, the city council conducts hearings, makes adjustments and enacts a budget that becomes effective July 1.

On March 16, 2020, the New Mexico Department of Finance Local Government Division authorized New Mexico municipalities to submit their last year’s fiscal budget for 2019-2020 budget as their fiscal budget for year 2020-2021 until reliable tax revenue projections could be determined. That is exactly what the City Council did. On April 13, 2020, on a unanimous vote of 9-0, the Albuquerque City Council enacted R-20-31 enacted an interim operating budget for fiscal year 2020-2021. The budget resolution enacted was a “bare bones budget” consisting of only 7 pages of line item appropriations for each of the city departments with no explanation or elaboration on the actual use of the millions appropriated.

On Thursday September 3, and after a 6-month delay, Mayor Tim Keller held a press conference to release the long anticipated proposed budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. The new fiscal year began on July 1, 2020 and ends June 30, 2021. Mayor Keller’s total proposed budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year was $1.15 Billion which is slightly more than the 2019-2020 budget by about $50 Million. The budget is a 266-page document that gives a detail budget for each of city departments. The City Budget is a “performance based” budget where each department prepares an analysis and listing of accomplishments from the previous years. Not surprising, public safety and APD continued to be a top priority for the 3rd year in a row for the Keller Administration.

The link to the 2020-2021 proposed adjusted budget is here:

https://www.cabq.gov/mayor/documents/final_fy21-budget-presentation-_09032020.pdf

COUNCIL ENACTS 2020-2021 BUDGET Of $1.1 Billion

Since its introduction on September 3, the Albuquerque City Council has been conducting hearings on the proposed budget and made significant changes including major cuts to the original proposed budget. The budget hearing concluded on Thursday, October 18 and the final budget was forwarded to the City Council for final adoption.

On Monday, October 19, on an 8-0 vote, with City Councilor Don Harris absent, the Albuquerque City Council enacted the 2020-2021 fiscal year budget with little debate. The newly enacted budget totals $1.1 Billion dollars for second year in a row and for that reason is considered a zero-growth budget. The fiscal year began on July 1 and will end June 30, 2021.

HIGHLIGHTS OF ADOPTED BUDET

The major highlights of the adopted budget include:

CITY COUNCIL GUTS “ALBUQUERQUE COMMUNITY SAFETY” DEPARTMENT

The approved City Council budget guts Mayor Keller’s budget plan for a new “Albuquerque Community Safety” (ACS) department. The ACS as originally presented was to have social workers, housing and homelessness specialists and violence prevention and diversion program experts. They were to be dispatched to homelessness and “down-and-out” calls as well as behavioral health crisis calls for service to APD. The new department was to connect people in need with services to help address any underlying issues. The department personnel would be dispatched through the city’s 911 emergency call system. The intent is to free up the first responders, either police or firefighters, who typically have to deal with down-and-out and behavioral health calls.

The City Council approved budget slashes Keller’s proposed $7.5 million budget to $2.5 million for fiscal year 2021. The City Council removed virtually all of the positions originally proposed by Keller. Cut from Keller’s proposed budget for the new department were 83 employees and $5 million in staffing costs. The staffing cut include 53 security personnel, 9 parking enforcement employees and 6 people from the city’s crossing guard program. The City Council’s budget gives the department a mere 13 positions. The positions include 7 civilian employees from the APD Crisis Outreach and Support Teams, and 3 Family and Community Services Department staffers which include one social worker and 2 people who respond to homeless encampments.

APD BUDGET INCREASE

The Albuquerque Police Department (APD) continues to be the largest budget department in the city with the city council approving a $212 million budget. The approved budget is an increase of 3% from last budget year with nearly $32 million coming from the city’s federal coronavirus relief money.

The new budget for APD contains $10 Million from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and “Operation Legend”. The CARES Act funding is earmarked to hire 40 new APD police officers.

The approved budget funds a total of 1,678 full time positions that includes 578 civilian staff and funding for 1,100 sworn police. Currently, APD has 980 sworn police.

The APD approved budget includes:

$2.5 million to support the hiring of 100 new officers, which factors in existing vacancies and savings from retirements and other separations.
$5.2 million for continued work to comply with the Court Approved Settlement Agreement with the Department of Justice.
$627,000 to acquire electronic control weapons that have an audit trail to monitor usage and compliance with use of force policies.
$594,000 to purchase on-body cameras, as required by the CASA and state law.
$500,000 for the Violence Intervention Program, including restorative justice programs, which has a track record of dramatically reducing violence in cities across the nation.”

The Fiscal Year 2020-2021 approved general fund budget for APD contains a line item of $29,280,000 for “PD-PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY”. The funding is funding for the Compliance Bureau which has 61 sworn police assigned to the APD divisions associated with the Department of Justice Consent Decree reforms and enforcement.

GARBAGE AND RECYCING RATES INCREASE

The city council approved a garbage and recycling collection rate increase raising rates by $2 instead of the $1.55 as was originally requested by the Keller Administration. The monthly residential rate will now be $17. The rate increase is needed to allow the Solid Waste Department to increase its workload maintaining medians, clearing illegal dump sites and more.

NO JOBS LOST, BUT NO RAISES

The City employs upwards of 6,000 full time employees. With the decline in city revenues and the pandemic, the Keller Administration and the City’s Finance Department was very concerned that there would be a need for layoffs and furloughs in order to balance the budget. On Friday, April 17, the Keller Administration announced that the City of Albuquerque had a projected budget shortfall that could last through 2021. The City’s Chief Financial Officer Sanjay Bhakta said preliminary estimates indicated the city would bring in $600 million in revenue this fiscal year, down from the $627 million projected.

According to Bhakta, the city took steps to lessen the impact of the budget crisis by implementing the following:

The city imposed an aggressive hiring freeze with the exception of public safety
All travel for the remainder of the year was canceled
All city contracts with vendors are being reviewed and cut if necessary
The mayor has ordered his department heads to find cost-saving measures

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/city-of-albuquerque-faces-budget-shortfall-due-to-covid-19-crisis/5703446/

The 2020-2021 enacted budget was able to avoid layoffs and furloughs in order to balance the budget. The city received $150 million through the CARES Act and is continuing to spend down the balance before the December 30 deadline. City officials credited the $150 million in federal assistance for preventing layoffs and furloughs.

Under the 2020-2021 adopted city council budget, municipal workers will not get a cost-of-living raise. Notwithstanding no raises, the city budget is providing a one-time payment to help each city employee to offset increases in health care insurance coverage.

REACTION TO ENACTED BUDGET

City Council Budget Chairman Isaac Benton had this to say about the enacted budget:

“I think it’s a good budget. It’s mostly, largely, what the mayor proposed. He proposed a good budget. … We’ve tweaked it somewhat, but I think we’re all going the same direction, and that’s a good thing.”

The enacted budget will now go to Mayor Keller for his approval. Keller for his part had this to say:

“We worked closely with City Council throughout this difficult, unprecedented budget cycle. … This financially-sound budget focuses on investing in fighting violent crime, supporting families and small businesses through the pandemic, and strengthens our commitment to public safety with a new cabinet-level department that we will be able to build up over time.”

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/albuquerque-city-council-passes-fy-2021-budget-head-to-mayor-kellers-desk/5899775/?cat=500

https://www.abqjournal.com/1508853/city-council-oks-11b-budget.html

ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY

The most critical functions of the Albuquerque City Council are the oversight authority over city finances, all appropriations, the job performance of the various departments and enacting a balanced budget. The oversight authority includes having public hearings on the city’s budget to allow public the opportunity to give input on how the city spends taxpayer money. Further, the budget process is critical to force all city departments to justify their budgets and to adjust department’s budgets as the need mandates it.

A PUBLICITY STUNT FOR A SERIOUS PROBLEM

Mayor Tim Keller secured considerable news coverage nationally back in June when he called the Washington Post on a Sunday to first announce the new “Albuquerque Community Safety” (ACS) department. No one should be surprised at Tim Keller for wanting a national story given his penchant for news coverage, promoting the city and running for a second term.

The new department as originally proposed by Keller was to have 192 employees. Keller cut it to 100 positions and then the City Council gutted it to 13 positions. The projected budget went from $10.9 Million when it was announced by Keller with great fanfare to a Keller proposed budget of $7.5 Million. The City Council has now gutted it to $2.5 Million in the approved budget.

The Albuquerque City Council has caught onto Keller’s publicity seeking ways and is now demanding a more thought-out approach when it comes to creating and funding a whole new department. Now that the new department has been pared down to 13 employees, it really is not a city department.

Mayor Keller must be faulted for the sloppy manner in which his new department was first proposed. The lesson Keller needs to learn is that just because you come up with a great idea that you know will generate press, you need to make sure all the groundwork is in fact done and nothing in the planning and preparation can be left to chance.

People are onto it now that Keller thinks all he has to do is hold a press conference, flash his trademark smile, and all his desires and wishes will materialize. City government just does not work that way. Keller needs to put in the hard work, as does the CAO and department heads to get anything done. You cannot build an entire new city department on a “lick and a promise”, which is exactly what Keller tried to do with his new Community Safety Department. People want results, not public relations.

DOJ CONSENT DECREE STILL HUGE DRAIN ON CITY RESOURCES

In 2017, Candidate Tim Keller campaigned to be elected mayor on the platform of implementing the DOJ mandated reforms, increasing the size of the Albuquerque Police Department, returning to community-based policing and promising to bring down skyrocketing crime rates. To that end, the Keller Administration began implementing an $88 million-dollar APD police expansion program increasing the number of sworn police officers from 898 sworn positions f to 1,200, or by 302 sworn police officers, over a four-year period.

Since Mayor Tim Keller has taken office, APD has added at least 116 sworn police officers to the force. Last year’s 2019-2020 fiscal year budget provided for increasing APD funding from 1,000 sworn police to 1,053. The approved budget funds a total of 1,678 full time positions that includes 578 civilian staff and funding for 1,100 sworn police. Currently, APD has 980 sworn police.

The Albuquerque City Council also plays a crucial oversight role of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) including controlling its budget. Another critical responsibility of the City Council is to demand that APD be in compliance with the Department of Justice (DOJ) Court Approved Settlement Agreement mandated reforms. The Court Approved Settlement Agreement was negotiated to be fully implemented within 4 years and after a full two years of compliance, the case is supposed to be dismissed.

The City Council approved 2020-2021 police budget contains $5.2 million ear marked for continued work to comply with the Court Approved Settlement Agreement with the Department of Justice. The city has already paid the federal monitor $4.5 Million over the last six years. The $212 million dollar plus APD budget also includes another $800,000 more to be paid to the Federal Monitor whose only function is to compile data.

It has now been 6 years since the settlement with the DOJ was negotiated. The biggest complaint of all the DOJ consent decrees in the country is implementation and enforcement “go on and on” for years, costing millions in taxpayer dollars. The approved $29,280,000 for “PD-PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY contained in the 2020-2021 budget for Professional Accountability and the 61 sworn police assigned to enforce the CASA reforms reflects the continuous drain on city finances and resources that could be better utilized for essential services. The amount demands a full explanation as to why complete compliance with the CASA has not been achieved by the APD command staff after a full 6 years.

CONCLUSION

After 3 years of the Keller Administration, the Albuquerque City Council is finally acting like a governing body with enactment of a responsible balanced budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. The real question is, how long will it last? The Federal Monitors 12 report on the DOJ reforms is due to be filed in early November. It is genuinely hoped that the City Council take a far more active role in reviewing the report and demand far more accountability from APD management and determine exactly why the CASA reforms have not been achieved by the APD command staff after a full 6 years.

Election day is Tuesday, November 3. On the reverse side of the ballots are 18 District Court Judges that are up for retention. For that reason, let’s talk about Judicial retentions and in particular the need to vote to retain DISTRICT JUDGE CHRISTINA ARGYERES.

IT’S PERSONAL

I have been a license attorney in New Mexico for 42 years, mostly as a trial attorney, including being felony and violent crimes prosecutor for 15 years and being an appointed Administrative Law Judge for 7 years. During my legal career, I have been in private civil law practice and have also served as Bernalillo County Chief Deputy District Attorney, a Deputy City Attorney and Chief Public Safety Officer for Albuquerque.

Throughout my entire 42-year legal career, I have paid very close attention to who has been appointed and elected to the 2nd Judicial District Court, Bernalillo County. I know the importance and the need to have district judges that can be fair and impartial. Judges must do their very best to apply the law, resist political pressures and see that justice is served in a fair and impartial manner. The legal profession and the quality of our judges is very personal to me, especially this election year, and to my son Mark Dinelli who is also an attorney.

It is for the below reasons that I ask that my readers of www.PeteDinelli.com vote to retain District Court Judge Christina Argyres.

DISTRICT COURT JUDGE CHRISTINA ARGYRES THE PERSON

It is extremely important for voters to know the people they elect to the bench. A person’s background and their life experiences and what contributions they make to our community are always indicative of the type of judge they become and who they are on the bench.

I have known Judge Christina Argyres and her family for over 30 plus years. Her father, Pete Argyres was the owner of the Town House Restaurant, an iconic and historic place in Nob Hill. That was the place for politicians and business people of all walks of life to congregate. Pete passed away a few years ago before Christina made it to the District Court bench, but he did see his daughter get appointed and win her Metropolitan Court Judgeship.

Both Pete and Mary Argyres, Christina’s mother and father, were immigrants from Kalamata, Greece, located in the southern Peloponnese. They came to America in search of the American Dream. Pete and Mary became American Citizens, very much like Lorenzo and Rachael Dinelli who came before them many years before to the New Mexico Territory in 1900.

Pete and Mary Argyres instilled in their 3 children their very strong work ethic that if you work hard, follow the rules, you can accomplish anything in the United State. They also instilled a duty to give back to the community and the true meaning of family.

In particular, Pete and Mary Argyres instilled in their children the basic principles of honesty and integrity. They also instilled in their children the meaning of compassion and to always do the right thing in life, especially when it comes to people, and never believing you are any better than anyone else. These are all basic and critical traits that are required to be a competent and effective judge, a judge that can see both sides of an issue and make rulings.

This election is especially important to Judge Christina Argyres because her mother Mary passed away a few weeks ago from her long battle with dementia, a battle where Judge Argyres was a health care provider.

District Court Judge Christina P. Argyres is a true embodiment of all she was taught and that her parents represented and she has earned retention to the bench.

DISTRICT COURT JUDGE CHRISTINA ARGYRES THE PROFESSIONAL

Judge Christina Argyres is a Valley High School graduate and UNM graduate. She went on to further her education and earned a Master’s Degree from Harvard University. She then decided to go to law school and graduated from Ohio Northern School of Law.

Following her graduation from law school , Christina worked at the United States Attorney’s Office here in Albuquerque. She later became a Public Defender. She then started her own practice and traveled throughout the state defending individuals who were accused of wrongdoing. Judge Christina Argyres has more than 20 years of combined experience defending and representing people and presiding as a Judge in field of criminal law.

While defending and helping others to better their lives, she decided the biggest impact she could make in the lives of others was to become a Judge. After going thru a lengthy judicial selection process, Governor Bill Richardson appointed Christina to the Metropolitan Court Bench in June, 2010. Two years later, an opening occurred in the District Court and Christina took the opportunity to better serve the public.

Christina has been on the District Court Bench since January 2013 and has presided over thousands of cases in the Criminal division.

She is also the presiding Judge of a Specialty Court geared specifically to Veterans who find themselves in the judicial system. Judge Argyres has been a speaker at National Drug Court conferences and has shared her knowledge and experience in dealing with Veterans by teaching other Jurisdictions and other Courts within New Mexico how to run this specialized program. The program success has been measured by the achievements of the graduates who are inspired to give back to the community and lead productive lives.

VOTE TO RETAIN DISTRICT COURT JUDGE CHRISTINA ARGYRES

Argyres is a straight shooter and holds both sides accountable. Her hard work, dedication and tenacity makes her the type of person we want to keep on the bench.

Please join me this election on November 3 or before with early voting and say YES to keep Judge Christina P. Argyres on the District Court.