On Sunday June 14, and during a June 15 press conference, Mayor Tim Keller announced plans to create a new Public Safety Department. The new department will be responsible to send trained professionals to respond to certain calls for service in place of armed APD police officers or firefighters. Although Keller did not disclose the estimated cost of creating the new department, he did provide sufficient information on the personnel needs for the department. This blog article is a discussion of the new department and a projection of the yearly cost of the new department.

The Albuquerque Community Safety Department as envisioned will have social workers, housing and homelessness specialists and violence prevention and diversion program experts. They will be dispatched to homelessness and “down-and-out” calls as well as behavioral health crisis calls for service to APD. The new department will 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.

In a Sunday, June 14 interview Keller said “down and out” calls usually end with someone going to jail or to a hospital. According to Keller:

“And the determiner of [whether a person goes to jail or a hospital] is either firefighter or police [officer]. … Neither of them should be making that initial call, unless it’s a situation of violence. … We’re just expecting them to solve every individual’s problem, and I think that’s totally unfair to them and their training. … We should have trained professionals do this, instead of folks with a gun and a badge. But in general, that’s what we have to fix.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/1466317/mayor-proposes-public-safety-department.html

Mayor Tim Keller, despite the change in the national conversation and calls for police departments to be defunded, said his goal is still adding 100 police officers every four years to the point APD is fully funded with 1,200 sworn police. APD currently has 985 sworn police officers after the graduation of the July APD Academy class. In a Channel 4 interview, Keller had this to say:

“We have to adequately fund violent crime law enforcement, and that means we got to get those other officers, but here in Albuquerque, we can do things– like, we’re trying to shift towards diversion programs, towards violence intervention programs. … All of these are essentially, many ways, decriminalizing sort of the interaction between the police and individuals. And so trying to have more civilian interactions and trying to invest in communities, trying to invest in upstream issues like education and poverty, we absolutely have to do a better job at that.”

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/mayor-keller-goes-1-on-1-to-discuss-policing-in-albuquerque/5758739/?cat=500

On June 15, Mayor Keller and Chief Administrative Officer Sarita Nair held a press conference to discuss details of the new Public Safety Department. It was reported that very few details had been worked out and the new department is still in the planning process. The Keller Administration said rough estimates suggest the new Community Safety Department will need 32 people for each its 6 area commands, staffed around the clock, to respond to tens of thousands of calls a year.

Links to related news articles are here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1466317/mayor-proposes-public-safety-department.html

https://www.abqjournal.c

ESTIMATED COST ESTIMATE FOR PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT

By Mayor Keller’s own admission, the new department will have 32 people for each its 6 area commands, or a total of 192 employees at a minimum, ostensibly working 3 separate 8 hour shifts to be able to respond 24 hours a day, 7 days a week as proposed, with none to have law enforcement powers of arrest and no training as paramedics like firefighters.

POLICE OFFICER PAY VERSUS SOCIAL WORKER AND MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL PAY

The use of social workers and other type of mental health professionals to respond to calls on things like homelessness, addiction, and mental health is something that has been successful and done for a while in other communities. (See article “Everyone benefits when police departments hire social workers” in Postscript.)

Many proponents of community policing also have the philosophy that trying to make social workers out of police officers just does not work. In cities that have started to use social workers, the pay earned by social workers is comparable to what police are paid.

Starting pay for an APD Police Officer immediately out of the APD academy is $29 an hour or $60,320 yearly. (40 hour work week X 52 weeks in a year = 2,080 hours worked in a year X $29 paid hourly = $60,320.) Police officers with 4 to 14 years of experience are paid $30 an hour or $62,400 yearly. (40-hour work weeks in a year X 52 weeks in a year = 2,080 hours worked in a year X $30 paid hourly = $62,400.) Senior Police Officers with 15 years or more experience are paid $31.50 an hour or $65,520 yearly. (40 hours work in a week X 52 weeks in year = 2,080 hours worked in a year X $31.50 = $65,520.)

The average Social Worker (MSW) salary in Albuquerque, NM is $60,903 as of July 27, 2020, but the range typically falls between $54,845 and $67,461. Salary ranges can vary widely depending on many important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills, the number of years a person has spent in the profession.

https://www.salary.com/research/salary/benchmark/licensed-clinical-social-worker-salary/albuquerque-nm

The average Psychologist ( Ph.D) salary in New Mexico is $94,840 as of July 27, 2020, but the range typically falls between $85,334 and $106,510. Salary ranges can vary widely depending on the city and many other important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills, the number of years you have spent in your profession.

https://www.salary.com/research/salary/benchmark/psychologist-phd-salary/nm

The Department will also require the hiring of a cabinet level Director. Mayor Keller pays his Department Director an average of $116,000 a year.

Based upon the average salaries paid and the number of projected employees need for each area command, the projected employee costs would be:

32 employees, divided into working three 8 hour shifts for 6 area commands = 192 total. (32 employees X 6 area commands)

Each one of the 6 APD area commands would likely need at least 1 psychologist paid an average salary of at least $85,334, to supervise the social workers and mental health experts for a total salary cost of: $596,040 ($94,840 (average Ph.D, salary) X 6 positions).

The remaining 186 positions, divided into working three 8 hour shifts for 6 area commands would likely be trained social workers licensed and certified to deal with the mentally ill or drug addicted and paid and average salary of $54, 845 for a total salary budget of $10,201, 170.

Total estimated personnel budget:

6 psychologist position salaries: $596,040
186 Social Worker positions: $10,201,170
Department Director: $116,000

TOTAL: $10,913,210

The $10,913,210 dollar is only the personnel costs. At least another 10% to 15% or $1.8 million, will need to be added on top of that figure for retirement contributions, city benefits that the city pays for employees and office and equipment needs.

PUBLIC SURVEY ANNOUNCED FOR NEW DEPARTMENT

On August 13, a KOAT TV report stated the new Public Safety Department will include trained professionals like social workers, violence prevention and diversion program experts who will all be able to respond and help first responders with a community safety response. According to the city, the intent of the new department is to help the city’s first responders focus on crime, fires and medical emergencies, while sending trained professionals to respond to calls on things like homelessness, addiction, and mental health. The hope of the new department is to cut down on 911 response times. The department is expected to have a hard start late next year.

A link to the KOAT TV story is here:

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-city-leaders-asking-for-input-to-shape-role-of-new-community-safety-department/33600496

The Keller Administrations is seeking public input with an on line survey, 13 question survey. The survey is asking the people of Albuquerque what they want the department to look like.
The public survey includes the following questions:

1. Do you support adding the Community Safety department as a third 911 emergency response option (Police, Fire/Emergency Medical Services, and Community Safety)?

2. What do you think the Community Safety department should do to improve safety in our community? (Multiple choice)

3. In addition to responding to 911 calls, the Community Safety department will be providing follow-up and connecting community to services. What types of services should the Community Safety department connect individuals/families to?

4. What types of issues would be appropriate for Community Safety responders to address without law enforcement? Know that police officers and emergency medical services can be called for back up at any time. Express your comfort level for each issue.

5. What types of issues would be appropriate for a police officer and a Community Safety responder to address together? Express your comfort level for each issue.

6. What supplies and equipment do you think Community Safety responders should carry? (Select all that apply)

7. In the case that an individual is trying to harm themselves or harm others and a Community Safety responder is unable to de-escalate the situation, what do you think is an appropriate response from a Community Safety responder? Express your comfort level for each potential response.

8. What percent of current police calls would you expect the Community Safety department to be able to handle?

9. In which ZIP Code do you live? (enter 5-digit ZIP Code; for example, 87106)

10. What gender do you identify as?

11. What is your age?

12. Which race or ethnicity best describes you? (Select all that apply)

13. Additional comments:

The link to the survey is here:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ABQACS

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Mayor Keller is creating and entirely new city department that is on equal footing with all the other 19 city departments, including APD and AFRD, that have hundreds of employees and separate functions, tasks, and services. Mayor Tim emphasized that the city will not divert money from core police work or the Department of Justice (DOJ) reform efforts that the APD has been undertaking for the last 6 years. According to Keller:

“We can do this with the existing budget, because these groups – our Homeless Advisory Council, our Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council, One Albuquerque Kid’s Cabinet – they have all been working and talking about this issue for several years.”

What is painfully obvious is that the groups that have been working on this issue for several years have not figured out what it will cost and how will it be paid for by the taxpayer. When Mayor Tim Keller says “There is a huge portion of our community that doesn’t necessarily want two officers showing up”, it is doubtful the same people will want others dressed in white coats to do the same thing.

If that is indeed the case, the city will have to divert considerable resources to hire trained mental health care professionals, social workers and crisis intervention councilors to assume the responsibilities and handle the calls for service that were before handled by APD officers and Firefighters. It is highly doubtful if the Keller Administration can accomplish implementation within the existing budget given the current financial situation of the city as a result of the covid pandemic and the decline in gross receipts tax revenues.

At this point, the proposed Department of Public Safety ostensibly is a department that is a solution to reduce APD’s calls for service involving mental health calls and to transfer such calls to another civilian department with mental health experts to deal with those in crisis. In other words, the Public Safety Department as envisioned at this point does not address behavioral health care long term counseling nor solutions, but only involves “pickup and delivery” of people in crisis to take them either to jail or to a hospital.

In order to be successful, the Mayor’s new department needs to deal with the city’s long-term behavioral health system needs and programs that are desperately needed now and in the future.

In the meantime, you are encouraged to take the survey at this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ABQACS

For a related blog article see the below link “Political Plagiarism Is The Highest Form Of Flattery; Keller’s Public Safety Department A “Pick Up And Delivery” Service To Reduce APD Calls For Service”:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2020/07/29/10669/

POSTSCRIPT

Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP) is a nonprofit group of law enforcement professionals who advance solutions to public safety issues. On July 23, 2019, the blog published an article written by retired and former Alexandria Police Department Chief Mike Ward who spent 40 years in uniform and retired as the chief of the in Kentucky.

Following is the article:

TITLE: EVERYONE BENEFITS WHEN POLICE DEPARTMENTS HIRE SOCIAL WORKERS

How one Kentucky agency refocused its officers, saved money — and earned new respect from the community.

By Chief Mike Ward (Ret.)

“I’m a big proponent of community policing and have been for years. But it’s my opinion that community policing has failed in one particular area: we have tried to make social workers out of cops, and it just doesn’t work. We’re not wired that way. Social workers do the best social work. Partnering with them didn’t work in our community because there were communication barriers and logistical problems.

Traditionally, social workers don’t make a lot of money, so we hired them at the same starting salary as we would hire an officer. I bought them a small car for about $16,000, but I didn’t have to put an additional $15,000 worth of equipment in the car like I would for officers. It costs my agency $10,000 in weapons, uniforms, body armor, etc, to outfit one new police officer. I probably spent less than $1,500 on jackets, polo shirts, plus a portable radio for the social workers, and I think I bought them a pair of boots for the winter.”

The link to the article is here:

https://medium.com/@JustSolutions/everyone-benefits-when-police-departments-hire-social-workers-34d536f8802a

This blog article reports on the November 19, 2019 murder of Jacqueline Vigil, age 55, the mother of two New Mexico State Police officers. Vigil’s slaying became Albuquerque’s highest profile unsolved homicide for 8 months until the FBI stepped in to help. APD never made an arrest in the case, but the FBI made 5 arrests.

This blog article is an in-depth report how the murder investigation became embroiled in a turf battle to claim credit for solving the case. The backdrop is a Presidential election year with Mayor Tim Keller and Chief Michael Geier engaging in political gamesmanship and winding up with egg on their faces.

For 8 months, the murder of Jacqueline Vigil was reported as unsolved by the Albuquerque Police Department (APD). It has now been reported that a suspect had been identified in January, 2020 by the APD homicide unit, a fact never disclosed to the family by APD. In August, it was finally disclosed to the family by the New Mexico United States Attorney but only after a Presidential Press conference where the husband of the victim was used for public relations to offer a $25,000 reward for someone already identified and in custody since January.

DETAILS OF MURDER REVEALED IN FBI AFFIDAVIT

In the early morning of November 19, 2019 at 5:00 am, Jacqueline Vigil, the mother of two New Mexico State Police officers, was murdered in her car as she tried to leave her home for the gym. At the time, two violent criminal suspects were roaming the area casing the neighborhood for something to steal. The murder shocked the city to its core in that there was no obvious motive for the killing. Rumors ran rampant that the murder was about retaliation against law enforcement involving the victims two sons.

According to the FBI, information was obtained from multiple sources, including APD homicide detectives and special agents with the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office that lead to identifying Luis Talamantes as the prime suspect in the murder of Jacqueline Vigil. Talamantes is identified as a member of Juaritos Maravilla, a street gang operating in Albuquerque.

In a sworn affidavit filed in a pending immigration case to support criminal charges against Talamantes, FBI Special Agent Bryan Acee provides a detailed account of Luis Talamantes activities in Albuquerque. Talamantes was in the United States illegally. For two months he engaged in a crime spree that ended with the killing of Jacqueline Vigil. After killing Vigil , Talamantes fled New Mexico and was picked up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in San Antonio, Texas after the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) received a number of Crime Stoppers tips.

FBI Agent Acee reported what happen that fatal day to Jacqueline Vigil. At 5:00 am on November 19, 2019, Vigil was leaving her garage in her car when she apparently noticed a vehicle parked on the street behind her blocking her exit. She hit her car’s horn, alerting her husband, Sam Vigil, who was in the house. By the time he went outside, he saw the vehicle speeding away. Sam Vigil found his wife of 18 years slumped over in the driver’s seat dead and he called 911.

FBI Agent Bryan Acee wrote in his affidavit:

“On this particular morning, Jacqueline Vigil suffered the tragic misfortune of opening her garage door and backing her car onto her driveway at the same time defendant was lurking nearby as he was looking for items to steal. … Talamantes approached the driver’s side door and likely tried to open the car door. Because the vehicle was in reverse, the doors were locked and Talamantes could not open the door. For reasons unknown, Talamantes stood just outside Jacqueline Vigil’s driver side window, leveled his pistol at her head, and pulled the trigger. Jacqueline Vigil was struck in the head and succumbed to her wounds.”

Seconds after Jacqueline Vigil was shot at close range killing her, the assailants sped away from her home so fast they blew a tire on their Jeep Cherokee. Around the corner from the Vigil home where the shooting occurred, and in the dark, and while Vigil’s husband, paramedics, police and others responded to the crime scene, Talamantes and his accomplice realized they had no spare tire for the Jeep. They stole a tire from a parked vehicle, changed out the flat, and made getaway without getting caught. APD found the blown-out tire, seized it and processed it for evidence including for fingerprints.

Notwithstanding all the evidence gathered, APD never made an arrest. The evidence gathered in the case by APD includes witness statements and ballistics that matched a bullet casing from the scene of the homicide to a casing found days later outside Talamantes’ Jeep Cherokee. There are several recorded phone calls that includes one where Talamantes “confessed” to an inmate at the Metropolitan Detention Center later the day of the killing. Talamantes told a jail inmate over the phone that he “had messed up and what happened was not supposed to happen.” He also allegedly confessed to someone else, saying he had “blacked out” during the incident and was going to San Antonio, Texas, to “lay low.”

FBI INVOLVEMENT IN PROSECUTING CASE

In July, the Albuquerque FBI violent crimes task force partnered with APD’s homicide unit and the office of Bernalillo County District Attorney Raúl Torrez to investigate Vigil’s murder. According to an FBI affidavit, “specific violent crimes [including] a string of firearm-related crimes that occurred in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in and around the time of the [Vigil] homicide” were being investigated. The FBI investigation “focused on firearm-related crimes perpetrated by a group of repeat offenders who are affiliated with a violent southeast Albuquerque gang … [known as the Juaritos Maravilla].”

On August 11, Luis Talamantes, age 33, was to be sentenced for the illegal reentry into the Unites State for 4TH time. The United State Attorney’s Office sought a continuance because of new evidence that Talamantes was involved with the killing of Jacqueline Vigil. On August 19, Luis Talamantes was identified in federal court records as the primary suspect in Jacqueline Vigil’s murder.

According to the court filings in U.S. District Court in San Antonio, Texas, Talamantes has been in federal custody in Texas since late January on felony immigration charges for his fourth illegal reentry into the United States from Mexico. The husband and family of Jacqueline Vigil were not told until August that Luis Talamantes had been identified as a suspect in January and that he was in custody. APD never told the Vigil family that Talamantes had been in custody since January. The family were eventually told by United States Attorney John Anderson in August.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1487909/suspect-idd-in-slaying-of-mother-of-2-state-police-officers.html

OTHERS CHARGED

Federal criminal complaints have been filed against Talamantes’ two sisters, a nephew and an alleged criminal gang associate. All 4 are being held in federal custody on charges relating to immigration crimes, firearms and drugs. Charges for illegal re-entry into the United Sates have been filed against Talamantes’ sisters, Elizabeth Zamora and Veronica Villela-Romero. Zamora is also charged with drug and firearms offenses. Zamora, who has been deported from the United States to Mexico twice since 2007, is alleged to have helped her brother Talamantes flee to San Antonio, Texas, after the murder. Zamora’s criminal complaint alleges that Talamantes was deported to Mexico for the third time in early September 2019, but returned “a few days later” to live with his sisters in Albuquerque.

Villela-Romero is also accused by Bernalillo County sheriff’s investigators of intimidating a witness in Vigil’s homicide. Zamora’s son, Ricardo Barron Jr., is charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana and knowingly leasing, renting, using or maintaining a place for the purpose of manufacturing, distributing or using any controlled substance. The fourth defendant, Eduardo Aguilar, aka “Lalo,” is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1488580/4-associates-of-suspect-in-vigil-slaying-face-federal-charges.html

PENDING SENTENCING IN IMMIGRATION CASE

Based on his criminal history, Talamantes is facing a federal sentence ranging from 4 years to 5 years in federal prison for illegal reentry. The United States Attorney’s office is requesting the Federal judge to deviate from federal sentencing guidelines and impose a sentence of 20 years in prison in light of the Vigil homicide. Talamantes’ federal sentencing has been postponed until September

Luis Talamantes felony criminal record includes arrests in Colorado and Albuquerque for domestic violence, criminal damage to property, aggravated stalking, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, receiving stolen property, shooting at a dwelling or occupied building and commercial burglary, with convictions dating back to 2006. Talamantes has served time in both state and federal prison.

https://www.koat.com/article/vigil-suspect-had-been-deported-75-days-before-killing/33671737

Luis Talamantes has not been charged by state or federal prosecutors in Albuquerque for the murder of Jacqueline Vigil but such charges are highly likely after Talamantes is sentenced in the immigration case. Bernalillo County District Attorney Raul Torrez has pledged to file murder charges against Talamantes, yet APD has not sent his office the completed case.

SEVEN MONTH DELAY IN NOTIFYING FAMILY SUSPECT INDENTIFIED

It was reported that the family of Jacqueline Vigil, including her husband Sam B. Vigil and their two sons, who are NM State Police Officers, were never told by APD that Luis Talamantes had been identified back in January as the primary suspect in the homicide nor that Talamantes had been in federal detention in Texas for months. Sam Vigil said he would get regular calls from APD reminding him detectives were working the case but he was left “with that anxiety that not enough was being done.” According to Vigil, it was in July when the FBI-led Operation Legend took over the investigation that he began to see progress.

On Wednesday, August 19, Sam Vigil received a phone call from U.S. Attorney for New Mexico John Anderson. Vigil was told by Anderson that Luis Talamantes, had been picked up and arrested back in January based on a number of anonymous tips to Albuquerque Police Crime Stoppers in the weeks after the November 19, 2019 murder of Jacqueline Vigil.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1488197/sam-vigil-says-maybe-now-he-can-sleep-better.html

OPERATION LEGEND

On December 18, 2019 at a news conference in Detroit, Michigan, US Attorney General William Barr announced that the Department of Justice (DOJ) was initiating a major crackdown aimed at driving down violent crime in 7 of the nation’s most violent cities in the country. Albuquerque was one of those cities. The other 6 cities are Detroit, Baltimore, Cleveland, Kansas City, Memphis and Milwaukee.

All 7 cities have violent crime rates significantly higher and above the national average. AG Bar dubbed the initiative “Operation Relentless Pursuit”. The federal agencies that were identified to participate and be involved were the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the U.S. Marshals Service.

While US Attorney General William Barr was having his press conference in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. Attorney for New Mexico John Anderson had his own in Albuquerque and explained what the money will mean for Albuquerque and said:

“We are committed to bringing the weight of federal charges against the most dangerous violent criminals plaguing our city. … We will deploy all the tools at our disposal to bring an end to the plight of gun violence in our city.”

Full implementation of “Operation Relentless Pursuit” was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After the passage of six months, “Operation Relentless Pursuit” was renamed and called “Operation Legend”. It was on Wednesday, July 21, 2020 President Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr announced during a White House news conference that 35 federal agents were being sent to Albuquerque as part of “Operation Legend” with the very same 6 other cities sent law enforcement agents to deal with violent crimes.

The murder of Jacqueline Vigil was highlighted during the July 21 Presidential Press conference. Sam Vigil, Jacqueline’s husband, spoke emotionally and recounted during the press conference the day his wife was killed. It was reported that no arrests had been made in the murder at the time, but federal authorities offered a $25,000 reward.

Sam Vigil said:

“It’s been eight months and there have been no arrests at all. … There are other victims in Albuquerque that are in the same boat.”

Immediately after President Trump’s press conference, U.S. Attorney for New Mexico John Anderson, who was present, said the goal of the operation is to reduce gun violence in Albuquerque and had this to say:

“Any effort to compare Operation Legend to what’s going on in Portland is baseless and misguided. … There is no connection between those two. The federal law enforcement resources that are being deployed are directed at reducing gun violence; they are not directed at arresting or controlling protesters; they are not being directed at restricting anyone’s right to protest. … They are not being directed at immigration enforcement, and they are not being directed at protecting statues. It’s limited to the exclusive goal of eliminating the scourge of gun violence.”

Jim Langenberg, the FBI special agent in charge of the Albuquerque Division, added that if there’s a crime, there has to be a federal link like firearms, carjacking, drugs or gang structure. In other words, there must be a federal crime. What was made clear is the law enforcement personnel would not be attending local protests dressed in military garb as was the case in Portland Oregon.

The FBI said federal agents will be working in plainclothes alongside APD and BCSO for pre-existing task forces. Those task forces could be the joint task force “Operation Relentless Pursuit,” which aims to take high-profiled criminals off the streets. It’s an initiative U.S. Attorney General William Barr established in Albuquerque in 2019.

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/new-information-on-federal-officers-role-in-operation-legend-in-albuquerque/

MAYOR KELLER AND APD CHIEF GEIER REACT TO “OPERATION LEGEND”

In a statement reacting to Operation Legend announcement by President Trump, Mayor Tim Keller said Trump was ready to incite violence in Democratic cities and is forming a reelection strategy “built on gaslighting immigrants and people of color ” and said:

“We always welcome partnerships in constitutional crime fighting that are in step with our community, but we won’t sell out our city for a bait and switch excuse to send secret police to Albuquerque. Operation Legend is not real crime fighting; it’s politics standing in the way of police work and makes us less safe. … There’s no place for Trump’s secret police in our city. … If this was more than a stunt, these politicians would support constitutional crime-fighting efforts that work for our community, not turning Albuquerque into a federal police state.”

https://www.dailylobo.com/article/2020/07/update-trump-announces-operation-legend-is-being-expanded-to-albuquerque

APD Chief Michael Geier said:

“We coordinate with our federal law enforcement partners every day. … What is being described is not real crime-fighting; it’s politics standing in the way of police work.”

MAYOR KELLER AND CHIEF GEIER REACT TO TALAMANTES INVESTIGATION AND ARREST

On August 19, Mayor Tim Keller and Chief Michael Geier released the following statements reacting to the arrest and custody Luis Talamantes.

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller statement

“This senseless murder shook Albuquerque because we all felt the loss of Jacqueline Vigil. We vowed to bring the killer to justice and to continue the fight against violent criminals in our city. For many months we have been aware that we were making real progress on the case but couldn’t comment publicly, or push back on a lot of myths being said about our police department. We are fortunate that APD has been doing the hard work over the last nine months to identify a suspect and ensure he was locked up and not able to commit additional crimes while they investigated the murder. We are all calling again on the prosecutors to move this case forward swiftly so the killer is brought to justice for the harm he has caused to our community.”

APD Chief Michael Geier statement

“For the last nine months, our homicide detectives used many of their investigative tools, including our aggressive tracking of guns used in crimes, to build a case, and track down the suspect in Texas. We also benefited from Crimestoppers and productive tips from concerned citizens, to assist detectives. While we haven’t been able to publicly discuss this investigation, I hope the people of Albuquerque realize that we don’t give up on victims of violent crime.”

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/suspect-identified-in-the-killing-of-jacqueline-vigil/5832784/?cat=500

KELLER SAYS “GET IT IN WRITING”

On August 18, in a press conference, Mayor Tim Keller discussed a wide range of topics dealing with crime, including Operation Legend. The city was offered financial help to combat crime if it participated in Operation Legend. Mayor Keller had the city decline the help because he did not believe Operation Legend is in line with the “values” of the city.

During the August 18 press conference, Mayor Keller said he is not aware of any federal agent doing anything out of line with the city’s values and said:

“The federal government can do what they want to do and not tell the mayor about it. … So, I’m just saying I have not heard anything, but that’s all I can speak to. I can’t speak for those organizations.”

Keller said he is willing to work with federal agencies if he has something in writing that states that their objective aligns with the city’s values.

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/keller-discusses-wide-range-of-topics-connected-to-crime-in-albuquerque/5831954/?cat=500

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Pathetic. Keller says that ‘Operation Legend” is “not in line with the values of the city.” What the hell does Mayor Keller mean by that statement? The purpose and value of law enforcement is to keep people safe and arrest and prosecute violent criminals. The August 19 statements issued by Mayor Tim Keller and APD Chief Michael Geier regarding the FBI actions against Luis Talamantes can only be described as them wiping the egg off their faces for embarrassment of not being able to do what the feds did for the city: arrest a violent felon.

Instead of thanking the FBI and the United State Attorney’s Office in the immigration case, Keller and Geier were far more interested in making sure APD got all the credit for the work they performed. It would have been just as easy to thank the feds and said APD was delighted to have helped and outline what APD did to help. Instead, the statements came across as petty for not being able to take credit for making arrests in the case.

It is painfully obvious that Mayor Tim Keller is very sensitive as to who should get credit when he said that Luis Talamantes was:

“identified and arrested as a result of the work of APD homicide detectives long before Operation Legend and the U.S. Attorney got involved . … For many months, we have been aware that we were making real progress on the case but couldn’t comment publicly, or push back on a lot of myths being said about our police department.”

It is also very pathetic that APD Chief Michael Geier felt it was necessary to educate the public that APD does not give up on violent crime victim’s even though APD’s clearance rate is an embarrassment. Unsolved and pending homicide cases is essentially a message to victims’ families that APD is not up to the task of doing its job.

When Mayor Tim Keller and Chief Michael Geier issued both of their press releases regarding the arrest and prosecution of Luis Talamantes, it would have been decent for them to acknowledge that their fears they expressed of “Operation Legend” simply have not materialized. The City and APD are in fact benefiting from the additional and traditional federal resources that have been sent to combat crime.

The Talamante investigation and arrest makes it clear that “Operation Legend” is not a “bait and switch excuse to send secret police to Albuquerque” as Mayor Keller asserted. “Operartion Legend” is indeed “real crime” fighting contrary to what Chief Geier asserted. When federal law enforcement makes an arrest, it’s the federal criminal justice system that kicks in. The federal penalties and sentencing are much stiffer than the state. Federal help also brings new resources to the crime fighting effort, such as the FBI’s $25,000 reward for information about the murder of a Jacqueline Vigil

REALITY IS NOT MYTH

The reality is that Albuquerque is not Portland. If anything, the protests in Albuquerque have subsided significantly. Those protests that do occur are peaceful and there are no armed troops on the streets of Albuquerque to quell protests like that in Portland for 50 straight days. Simply put, the city needs help from the federal law enforcement to deal with its high crime rates.

CLEARANCE RATES

The problem for Keller and Geier is that it’s no myth but a sobering reality that for the past two years during their time at the helm of APD, the homicide clearance percentage rate has been in the 50%-60% range. According to the proposed 2018-2019 APD City Budget, in 2016 the APD homicide clearance rate was 80%. In 2017, Mayor Berry’s last year in office, the clearance rate was 70%. In 2018, the first year of Keller’s term, the homicide clearance rate was 56%. In 2019, the second year of Keller’s term, the homicide clearance rate was 52.5%, the lowest clearance rate in the last decade.

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/detectives-investigating-overnight-homicide-in-ne-albuquerque/

HOMICIDE RATES

What is also no myth is that the city’s homicide rates have continued to spike during Mayor Tim Keller’s term in office. In 2018, during Mayor Keller’s first full year in office, there were 69 homicides. In 2019, during Mayor Keller’s second full year in office, there were 82 homicides. Albuquerque had more homicides in 2019 than in any other year in the city’s history. The previous high was 72, in 2017 under Mayor RJ Berry. Another high mark was in 1996, when the city had 70 homicides.

https://www.petedinelli.com/2019/11/21/city-matches-homicide-record-high-of-72-murders-mayor-keller-forced-to-defend-policies-makes-more-promises-asks-for-more-money/

As of August 22, there have been 50 homicides reported in Albuquerque for 2020. With 50 murders thus far for 2020, the city is on track to match or exceed the all-time record of 80 homicides in one year or come very close to it by the end of the year.

VIOLENT CRIME RATES

What is no myth is that the city’s violent crime rates continue to increase during Keller’s term. In 2017, during Mayor RJ Berry’s last full year in office, there were 7,686. There were 4,213 Aggravated Assaults and 470 Non-Fatal Shootings. In 2018 during Mayor Keller’ first full year in office, there were 6,789 violent crimes There were 3,885 Aggravated Assaults and 491 Non-Fatal Shootings.

In 2019, the category of “Violent Crimes” was replaced with the category of “Crimes Against Persons” and the category includes homicide, human trafficking, kidnapping and assault. In 2019 during Keller’s second full year in office, Crimes Against Persons increased from 14,845 to 14,971, or a 1% increase. The Crimes Against Person category had the biggest rises in Aggravated Assaults increasing from 5,179 to 5,397.

https://www.petedinelli.com/2020/08/18/two-police-shootings-within-5-hours-3-homicides-within-24-hours-city-again-on-track-to-breaking-homicide-record/

HEIGHT OF CRUELTY TO KEEP FAMILY IN DARK IN ORDER TO USE THEM AS POLITICAL PROPS

The murder of Jacqueline Vigil was without a doubt was one of the most vile and heinous murders seen in Albuquerque in recent memory. However, there is absolutely nothing more disgusting than a politician and prosecutors such as Trump and Barr and United States Attorney John Anderson to use victims of crime or victim’s family as props to score political points, especially for a President of the United States exposing them to the glare of the national media.

That is exactly what happened on July 21, 2020 when President Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr, with United States Attorney for New Mexico John Anderson present, announced during a White House news conference that 35 federal agents were being sent to Albuquerque as part of “Operation Legend”. When Sam Vigil, the husband of Jacqueline Vigil, was asked to speak and talk about her murder, he was not told before he spoke that a suspect had been in custody since January.

Trump and Barr have no decency. It is doubted that they had any real empathy nor can understand the pain the Jacquelin Vigil family was going through. Exposing the Vigil family to the national news spotlight at the White House, having them recount the murder of a love one without telling them a suspect was in custody and to announce funding and law enforcement initiatives was just plain cruel.

United States Attorney for New Mexico John Anderson was underhanded and equally cruel when he also did not tell the Vigil family that Talamantes was in custody with Anderson in all likely knowing full well his office would be taking action against Talamante in his immigration case. It is now obvious that the $25,000 reward offered by the FBI in the Vigil case was nothing more than a fraud for the benefit of the press. Rewards are not offered when a suspect is identified and in custody.

What was also cruel was for APD not tell the family that they had identified back in January a primary suspect in the homicide and that person had been in federal detention in Texas for months. The family of Jacqueline Vigil did not have to be told the name, but could have been given far more assurances than they had as they wanted and hoped for justice to be served. It is highly likely that the family could have been entrusted with far more information than normally under such circumstances given the fact that Jacqueline Vigil’s two sons are New Mexico State Police Officers and they family was fully aware of the importance of confidentiality.

CONCLUSION

Mayor Tim Keller has already made it known he intends to seek a second 4-year term in 2021. As has been the case in the last 3 elections for Mayor, in 2021 crime rates will likely be the biggest determining issue in the race. Voters will no doubt decide if Mayor Tim Keller has in fact failed to deliver on his campaign promises to reduce high crime rates. Voters will be deciding if Keller deserves another 4 years. Mayor Keller no doubt will be using the Covid 19 epidemic as an excuse for his need for another 4 years to finish what he started.

Going forward, Mayor Tim Keller and Chief Michael Geier would be wise to forgo press releases trying to take credit for cases and concentrate on APD’s Homicide Unit. Keller and Geier need to work on increasing APD’s clearance rate, arrest rate and sending the cases over to the District Attorney’s office for prosecution. Otherwise, they will be wiping egg off their face once again when other agencies are able to do what APD in incapable of doing: getting violent criminals off the streets of Albuquerque. In otherwords, Keller and Geier both need to knock it off with their political gamesmanship in that at this point, people want results not press releases.

Longtime political observers of Former Vice President Joe Biden are saying his acceptance speech on August 21 for President of the United States to the 2020 Democratic National Convention was the very best in his 50 years of public service. Following is the acceptance speech:

“Good evening.

Thank you. And may God bless you. And may God protect our troops.

A link to full video can be seen here:

https://cs.pn/2E3qHlt

On Friday, December 8, 2017, one week after Tim Keller was sworn in as Mayor, he announced he was eliminating several high-ranking executive positions that former APD Chief Gordon Eden had created. APD’s executive staff historically has consisted of only 4, the APD Chief and 3 Deputy Chiefs. Among the positions eliminated by Mayor Keller were the position rank of Major and an Assistant Chief position. Keller at the time said that APD was “top-heavy,” which was straining crime-fighting efforts of APD and added:

“Making these changes is an immediate step towards reforming the department to support more officers in the field for community policing efforts, while staying on top of the Department of Justice improvements … With a department that is stretched so thin, there’s no reason to have a top-heavy bureaucracy.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/1104325/apd-to-drop-highranking-executive-positions.html

Mayor Keller appointed as Interim Chief, and later made him permanent, APD Chief Michael Geier. Returning to the historical number of 3 Deputy Chiefs, Eric Garcia, Harold Medina and Rogelio Banez were appointed Deputy Chiefs.

APD EXECUTIVE STAFF PAY UNDER FORMER MAYOR BERRY

For purpose of comparison, following were the annual salaries paid to APD Executive Staff under former Republican Mayor Richard Berry who left office on December 1, 2017:

1. APD Chief Gordon Eden was paid $166,699.

2. Assistant APD Chief Huntsman was paid $132,435.

3. APD Deputy Chief’s were paid $115,000.

4. APD Deputy Chief Jessica Tyler (APD Academy Director) was paid $105,514

https://www.petedinelli.com/2017/01/19/its-good-to-be-on-the-kings-payroll-unless-youre-an-overworked-beat-cop/

KELLER CREATES HIS OWN VERSION OF A TOP-HEAVY APD BUREAUCRACY

After two and a half years in office, Mayor Tim Keller has created his own version of a “top-heavy executive staff bureaucracy” now consisting of a Chief, First Deputy Chief, Second Deputy Chief, 3 Deputy Chiefs, an APD Chief of Staff and a Deputy Chief of Staff, doubling the size of the traditional APD Executive Staff from 4 to 8.

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 2019 there were 7 major employees, including the Chief, that comprised the APD Executive Staff all who report to Mayor Keller and Chief Administrative Officer Sarita Nair. The list of 250 top paid employees in 2019 earning pay ranging from $117,076.80 to $183,378 in the Chief’s Office for 2019 were:

1. Chief Of Police Michael Geier, yearly pay: $183,378.60.

2. Deputy Chief Arturo E. Gonzalez, yearly pay: $140,498.63.

3. Deputy Chief Eric J. Garcia, yearly pay: $140,144.28.

4. Deputy Chief Harold Medina, yearly pay: $136,040.20.

5. Deputy Chief Jon J Griego, yearly pay: $134,522.59.

6. APD Chief of Staff John Ross, yearly pay: $129,304.68.

7. APD Deputy Chief of Staff Elizabeth Armijo, yearly pay: $117,076.80.

TOTAL 2019 SALARIES PAID APD EXECUTIVE COMMAND STAFF: $980,965.78.

APD EXECUTIVE SALARY INCREASES AND NEW POSITIONS

Mayor Tim Keller has created the positions of First Deputy Chief, Second Deputy Chief, APD Chief of Staff and APD Deputy Chief of Staff with significant raises given to all those appointed.

A city employees total yearly pay is calculated by taking the hourly pay rate multiply by 2080 hours representing 52 weeks at 40 hours a week. The August 18, 2020, City of Albuquerque Pay Rate Report for the Albuquerque Police Department reflects the following hourly and yearly pay for 7 in the Chief’s upper command staff brass as follows:

1. Chief Of Police Michael Geier, yearly pay: $183,378.60

2. First Deputy Chief Harold Medina, yearly pay: $145,017.60 ($69.72 per hour X 2,080 hours a year)

3. Second Deputy Chief Michael Jay Smathers, yearly pay: $143, 000.00 ($68.75 per hour X 2,080 hours a year)

4. Deputy Chief Jon J. Griego, yearly pay: $139,235.20 ($66.94 per hour X 2080 hours a year)

5. Deputy Chief Eric J Garcia, yearly pay: $139, 235.20 ($66.94 per hour X 2,080 hours a year )

6. Arturo E. Gonzalez, Deputy Chief, yearly pay: $139,235.20 ($66.94 per hour X 2,080 hours a year)

7. APD Chief of Staff John Ross, yearly pay: $139,235.20 ($66.94 per hour X 2,080 hours a year)

8. APD Deputy Chief of Staff Elizabeth Armijo, yearly pay: $118, 331.20 ($56.89 per hour X 2,080 hours)

TOTAL 2020 SALARIES PAID APD EXECUTIVE COMMAND STAFF: $1,007,433.00

Link to pay listing:

https://publicreports.cabq.gov/ibmcognos/bi/?perspective=classicviewer&pathRef=.public_folders%2FTransparency%2FTransparency%20Report%20-%20Graded%20employees%20v2&id=i0CD502A48E274256A9B4229E90490C66&objRef=i0CD502A48E274256A9B4229E90490C66&action=run&format=HTML&cmPropStr=%7B%22id%22%3A%22i0CD502A48E274256A9B4229E90490C66%22%2C%22type%22%3A%22report%22%2C%22defaultName%22%3A%22Transparency%20Report%20-%20Graded%20employees%20v2%22%2C%22permissions%22%3A%5B%22execute%22%2C%22traverse%22%5D%7D

JUNE 15 JUAN DE OÑATE STATUE PROTEST

“La Jornada” is a series of bronze statues in front of the Albquqeruque Museum which features conquistador Juan de Oñate, but does not identify him. It was accepted into the city of Albuquerque’s public art collection in 2005. The work of Reynaldo “Sonny” Rivera and Betty Sabo, the sculpture drew controversy during its planning stages, with critics arguing 20 years ago that it was disrespectful to Native Americans. The city, as part of the same project, also commissioned Native American artist Nora Naranjo-Morse to create an adjacent land art installation called “Numbe Whageh.” Together, the sculptures cost the city taxpayer upwards of $800,000.

On June 15, a man was shot in Old Town over the “La Jornada” (The Journey) sculpture in front of the Albuquerque Museum. The June 15 event was originally scheduled to be “prayer vigil” for the removal of the Juan de Oñate statue from the Albuquerque Museum. The prayer vigil erupted into a protest riot and a shooting occurred during the protest for the removal of the figure of Juan de Onate de Salazar in the sculpture.

During the protest, there were 5 to 6 heavily armed New Mexico Civil Guard members, some dressed in military camouflage, present trying to “protect” the sculpture. It was reported that the shooting occurred when at least 3 of the protesters attacked a person identified as Steven Baca who was walking away from them. Steven Baca was struck in the head with a skateboard and Baca drew a gun, shot numerous times, with one shot hitting one of the protesters. The shot protester was rushed to the hospital and was listed in critical but stable condition. The shooting and violence resulted in the City taking the single figure of Onate in the sculpture grouping down.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1465984/city-faces-new-calls-to-remove-ontildeate-sculpture-2.html

The Albuquerque Police Department (APD) was severely criticized for not stepping in earlier to prevent the protest from escalating from a peaceful protest to a violent confrontation as what happened.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM TACTICAL PLAN

After more than a two month delay, APD finally released the plan detailing when the APD Emergency Response Team (ERT) were allowed to intervene during the June 15 protest. Such plans are referred to as TACT Plans. The ERT team are police officers outfitted with riot gear given the responsibility to take control of gatherings of people that escalate into confrontations, violence or a riot. The link to the ERT TACT plan is here:

https://www.scribd.com/document/472053424/APD-Emergency-Response-Team-Event-Action-Plan#from_embed

The ERT plan was prepared by Lt. Joseph Viers and was signed off by Police Chief Michael Geier a full 10 days after the protest yet it was supposedly drafted days before the June 15 event. The directives spelled out in an APD Event Action Plan provides in part as follows:

“ERT will only engage if there is a threat to life or if major property damage occurs. Damage to the statue will be considered minor property damage and will not elicit an ERT response. Any threat to the Albuquerque Museum will be considered major property damage due to there being high value historical items inside that cannot be replaced.”

During the June 15 protest, APD used tear gas to disperse the crowd. The Event Action Plan lays out when officers should deploy gas, including in the case of a “lethal situation” and states:

“If gunfire or other life-threatening situations arise, ERT is authorized to deploy gas immediately to clear crowds and enable officers to withdraw to positions of cover. All ERT members will be dressed with rifle plate armor and carriers.”

Deputy Chief Harold Medina said during a news press conference that protecting the Juan de Oñate statue was “not worth damaging relations with the community for years to come.” During news conferences held by APD command staff about both the Oñate protest and an earlier incident Downtown in which people smashed business windows hours after a peaceful march, APD officials said a major concern was that if officers’ step in and made arrests for “minor” property damage, the situation could escalate unnecessarily.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1485044/apd-plan-limited-intervention-in-onate-protest.html

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

The APD Executive Command Staff in the Chief’s Office are being paid the most they have ever been paid in the history of APD. Further, tens of thousands in raises have been handed out to them by Mayor Tim Keller since he took office 2 and a half years ago. Chief Geier is being paid $16,679.60 more than former Chief Gordon Eden, the First and Second Deputy Chiefs are being paid upwards of $12,600 more than the Assistant Chief under Chief Gordon Eden, and all 3 Deputy Chiefs are now being paid $24,000 more than the Deputy Chiefs under former Chief Gordon Eden.

The salaries and raises given APD’s executive staff in the Chief’s Office can only be describe as pure greed. Mayor Tim Keller and Chief Administrative Officer Nair are blind to the appearance and the images created when Deputy Chiefs are paid so much, actually bicker and complain over 3 or 4 thousand dollars in pay, while so many citizens have lost their jobs and struggling during a pandemic. Then there is the matter of APD command staff failing to get a handle on the City’s skyrocketing crime rates which suggests that the APD Executive Staff are not worth what they are being paid to do their jobs, especially given the fact that the majority of the executive staff are return hires to APD and worked their way up the ranks under former APD Chiefs Schultz and Eden.

GREED AND AMBITIONS OF MEDINA

APD Deputy Chief Harold Medina has gone from being paid $136,040.20 in 2019 to now being paid $145,017.60 a year after repeatedly complaining to Chief Geier and CAO Nair he was paid less than the other Deputy Chiefs. City Hall insiders are also noting that Deputy Chief Harold Medina has increased his “media presence” and conducting press conferences and news briefings on occasion with those normally reserved for Chief of Police Michael Geier and even Mayor Tim Keller.

It is no secret at city hall that Chief Administrative Officer Sarita Nair is very much involved with the day to day management of APD and that Deputy Chief Harold Medina have developed a strong working relationship with CAO Nair. According to sources 1st Deputy Chief Harold Medina will do whatever he is told to do by CAO Nair and Mayor Tim Keller.

Confidential APD command staff are also reporting that Deputy Chief Harold Medina is making it known to them that he intends to be the next Chief of APD sooner rather than latter or once Mayor Tim Keller is elected to a second term in 2021 and after APD Chief Michael Geier retires for a third time before or after the 2021 election. (See related blog article below.)

$800,000 MUSEUM SCULPTURE EXPENDABLE PUBLIC RELATIONS

More than one confidential source has reported that Mayor Tim Keller was in constant contact with CAO Sarita Nair during the June 15 Onate Statue protest at the Albuquerque Museum and were particularly concerned to what extend the Onate statute should be protected and if it even should be protected at all. Mayor Keller had already been informed that the Albuquerque Museum Board of Directors had decided a week earlier that the Onate statue was to be removed and stored until a decision could be made what to do with the statue. As a work of art, the Onate statue is worth upwards of $100,000 and when combined with the other statues, the exhibit originally cost the city $800,000 paid for by voter approved bonds.

According to APD confidential sources, it was Deputy Chief Harold Medina who made sure that the tactical plan for the June 15 Onate Statue Protest signed off by Chief Geier 10 days after the protest gave instructions as to what and how city property, particularly the Onate statue was to be protected, or in this case, not protected. What is extremely disturbing is that the tactical plan did not consider the Oñate statue by renowned artist Sonny Rivera, city property worth thousands and paid by the taxpayer, to be property worth protecting. In essence APD, and in particular APD Deputy Chief Harold Medina was fine with protesters armed with pickaxes and chains taking down the statue, so long as they didn’t try to set the museum on fire.

Neither Nair nor Keller have prior management experience with any law enforcement department and have no experience with tactical plans nor how they are implemented. If Keller and Nair were directly involved and gave instructions on how they wanted Medina and APD to handle the June 15 protest, they infused politics in the management of APD and so did Deputy Chief Harold Medina.

It appears Deputy Chief Harold Medina’s doing the bidding of CAO Sarita Nair has paid off with a $9,000 pay raise as he pursues his ultimate goal of becoming APD Chief of Police once and if Chief Geier retires for a third time from law enforcement.

For a related blog article see:

Who Is In Charge At APD?; Answer: CAO Sarita Nair; Politics Is No Way To Run APD

On August 17 and August 18 the following articles written by Dan Klein were published by ABQ Report. Both articles are related and address the ongoing controversy within APD regarding the goings on within the offices of APD Chief Michael Geier and the internal affairs investigation of APD Chief of Staff John Ross.

APD’S BLUE WALL OF COWARDICE
August 18, 2020|

Dan Klein

“– He-men cops fail to aid a secretary.

There is a blue wall of cowards on APD’s 5th floor. They will enforce rules on everyone below them, but when it comes to their peers they cower, bicker and hide. And where is Mayor Keller?

https://www.abqreport.com/single-post/2020/08/17/APD-continues-to-crumble-around-an-inept-mayor

CHIEF GEIER EXPLAINS JOHN ROSS PAY RAISE

In his July 20 memo sent to Internal Affairs Professional Standards, Chief Geier explains the pay to raise by saying Ross had asked for a “small bump” in pay, which Geier interpreted to mean “a few thousand dollars annually.” According to Geier:

“[Ross] thought he could be elevated to the same pay level as a Deputy Chief but I explained that would not be feasible due to our existing rank structure and our compensation and classification process. … I also told him that Deputy Chief Harold Medina was already upset that two other Deputy Chiefs were already getting paid more than him due to a longevity agreement from the last administration. [When I signed the memo, I] did not remember seeing the actual amount of the raise being listed on his memo or did not look at it with any scrutiny since I trusted John.”

Geier said he was surprised when he learned from the city’s website that Ross was making almost $140,000 a year, about $5,000 more than Deputy Chief Harold Medina. Geier wrote internal affairs:

“I sign a lot of documents and am very busy at times and it is possible I missed it. … However, I reminded him of our initial conversations about the possible implications of receiving such a large raise and the appearance of impropriety.”

Ostensibly what happened is the John Ross took the salary increase memo to CAO Sarita Nair and was given a significant pay raise at the rate of a Deputy Chief. CAO Nair appears to not have contacted Chief Geier to confirm his approval of the raise relying on the personnel documents that had Geier’s signature stamp.

APD CONTINUES TO CRUMBLE AROUND AN INEPT MAYOR; APD RUN BY CAO SARITA NAIR

August 17, 2020
|
By Pete Dinelli

–The transfer of Paulette Diaz from the 5th floor Offices of APD’s Main Office as Chief Geier’s Administrative Support to the Animal Control Department smacks of political retaliation against a whistle blower.

Things are only getting worse with Sarita Nair trying to run APD with mixed messages and politics. Mayor Tim Keller is more concerned with public relations and being well liked and lacking any real substance in reducing our high crime rates. Mayor Tim Keller needs to get a grip on the fact that its time to thank Chief Geier for his work and to find a new Chief who is willing to run a department without interference, and if that person can’t do the job, move on to someone who can.

https://www.abqreport.com/single-post/2020/08/17/APD-continues-to-crumble-around-an-inept-mayor

Albuquerque’s long hot summer of violent crime continues as the body count continues to rise along with the hot temperatures. Within the span of 5 days, there were 2 police officer involved shootings and 3 homicides, with a total of 5 dead. This blog article is a discussion of all 5 shootings with Commentary and Analysis.

TWO POLICE OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTINGS

The two police shootings are the fifth and sixth by the Albuquerque Police Department so far this year. The Multi Agency Task Force is investigating both shootings. The two previous officer involved shootings that were the shooting of Orlando Abeyta, who police say was waving what turned out to be a BB gun at an East Central bus stop, and Valente Acosta-Bustillos, who police said swung a shovel at them during a welfare check that turned into an arrest.

Links to news coverage are here:

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/apd-investigates-officer-involved-shooting-on-west-side/5822779/

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/apd-investigating-officer-involved-shooting-in-taylor-ranch/

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/new-mexico/articles/2020-08-11/albuquerque-police-fatally-shoot-2-imen-n-separate-incidents

JOSE VALLEJO SHOOTING

During a five hour period between Monday night, August 10, and early Tuesday morning, August 11, Albuquerque police officers shot and killed two men in separate incidents.

The first incident began around 8 p.m. with a neighbor dispute in a West Side neighborhood near Taylor Ranch. Police identified the man who was killed as 48-year-old Jose Vallejos. Residents of a quiet West Side neighborhood near Taylor Ranch reported that two men who lived next to each had been fighting for years. On Monday night, around 8:15 pm, officers were sent to the area because a caller said his neighbor had pointed a firearm at him.

Deputy Chief Harold Medina in a news conference at the scene shortly before midnight said officers arrived on scene and there was some kind of altercation. According to Medina, at least 3 officers were on scene with shots fired but he did not know how many fired shots. At least one APD officer fired a gun and Vallejos was struck at least once. Vallejos died on scene and a firearm was located nearby. Medina said:

“Officers were given the information that one of the neighbors was armed with a firearm and to compound the problem there was a young child that was positioned between the two feuding neighbors. … It’s unknown if anyone else fired any type of firearm.”

Medina did not know how old the child was or what relationship they had to those involved in the fight. The child was talking on the phone with 911 during the incident and was not hurt.

KEN REISS SHOOTING

The second police officer involved shooting occurred around 1 a.m. on August 11 following a call out about a home invasion in a University-area neighborhood of Southeast Albuquerque at the 2700 block of Garfield, near Vassar SE. According to Deputy Chief Harold Medina, a homeowner called 911 and told the dispatcher that he had opened fire on multiple people after they broke into his home. When officers arrived, they found a man a few houses away and the man fired at police. Median said at least one officer shot back, hitting him. No officers were injured. The man was taken to the hospital, where he died.

https://www.krqe.com/news/crime/albuquerque-officers-investigate-police-shooting-south-of-unm/

APD has identified the police killed near the University of New Mexico as 50-year-old Kenneth Reiss, the same individual who called police about a home invasion. Ken Reiss was part-owner at Carraro’s & Joe’s Place located in the UNM area. Reiss has no known criminal history outside of a few traffic violations and was extremely well liked by his neighbors and patrons of his restaurant.

Kat Schroeder, a longtime friend of Reiss, said Reiss was not the kind of person to shoot at police and said:

“I’ve never known him to carry a gun. We had lengthy conversations about violence and society and police – he was not a violent person, and would not jump to violence in any situation. I watched him handle violent situations with a cool head.”

CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS IN REISS SHOOTING

According to APD, when officers arrived at the scene, Reiss fled and officers chased him and that is when they say the Reiss shot at them. The officers then fired back. Reiss was taken to the hospital where he later died. According to news reports, Police say Reiss fired at officers before they shot back and that nobody else was found in the area. However, neighbors say they heard a man and woman yelling “get out of here” before gunfire rang out, two shots at first and then numerous shots that followed 10 minutes later when APD arrived.

Linda Johnson, a neighbor, said she saw Reiss right before officers arrived. She said Reiss was holding a gun at the time and appeared very distressed and out of sorts. Johnson said:

“He saw people coming down the street and I think his adrenaline was going, he was so terrified, he was delusional or didn’t see that they were the police because why would you call the police and then run away with a gun in your hand.”

Johnson and other neighbors confirmed what police said in their initial report that Reiss shot at police first before they opened fire.

https://www.krqe.com/news/crime/police-identify-man-killed-in-officer-involved-shooting-in-southeast-albuquerque/

Joshua Rodgers, who lives across the street from where Reiss was killed, said his doorbell camera caught the entire interaction. Rodgers claims that in the video, you can see Reiss hide behind a vehicle moments before officers’ approach on foot. As the officers move past the vehicle, they spot Reiss behind it and all point their guns, saying “show us your hands” but never identifying themselves as police.

Rodgers had this to say:

“He wasn’t being aggressive; he was just cowering. … I don’t fully believe he knew they were cops. I think he was just confused.”

Rodgers said police opened fire and then, as Reiss can be heard screaming, police yell “drop it” repeatedly. “Then four more shots – and no more screaming,” Rodgers said.

AFFIDAVIT OF SEARCH WARRANT IN REISS SHOOTING FOUND BY NEIGHBORS

On August 15, the Albuquerque Journal reported that a search warrant affidavit was left by APD in the home of Kenneth Reiss on Reiss’ couch. Leaving a copy of the search warrant and affidavit at a place searched is standard operating procedure when no is at the property to be searched. The affidavit was found by friends who went to his home after he didn’t show up to work. The police affidavit, ostensibly sworn to under oath, lays out the police account of the events.

According to the search warrant:

“Reiss called 911 around 12:30 a.m. and said two people broke into his home in the 2700 block of Garfield SE, near Girard, and he had shot them both.
…
The caller, [identified as Ken Reiss] told dispatch that he still [had] his gun in his hand, and that there had been a fight over the previous weekend over a woman. … Ken advised dispatch that the woman was still in his house.”

The dispatcher then could hear Reiss talking to someone saying “by the car, get down” and “get behind the car right now, don’t worry about that.”

Additional shots were fired by this male subject toward officers. In response to being shot at, the officers returned fire. … Reiss was taken to the hospital where he died.”

At the time of the execution of the search warrant, APD found no one inside Reiss’ home and no one was found injured in the area, but there were bullet holes in the door, window and casings outside the home.

The links to Journal news stories are here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1485291/police-shoot-kill-two-men-in-separate-incidents-overnight.html

https://www.abqjournal.com/1485689/friends-id-nob-hill-bartender-as-man-slain-by-police.html

THREE MURDERS IN 24 HOUR PERIOD

On Friday, August 14, three people were killed in Albuquerque in separate incidents over a 24-hour period with a fourth person fighting for his life .

Fire Arm Murder

A woman arrived at a fire station in northeast Albuquerque with a man who had been shot. Police said the man died as a result of his injuries and they are now investigating the incident as a homicide. The Albuquerque Police Department cleared the scene a little after 5 a.m. but they spent hours outside AFR Station #5, near Central and Pennsylvania. Police said the woman drove the man to the station overnight, and they are still trying to determine where the shooting happened. Police said there is no suspect information to release at this time.

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/police-investigate-after-man-dies-at-albuquerque-fire-station/5826797/

Second Gunshot Victim In Critcal Condition

A second gunshot incident occurred around 10 p.m. where a man was shot on the 7800 block of East Central. Albuquerque Police Department spokesman Daren DeAguero said the man was transported to University of New Mexico Hospital, where he was in critical condition. In a news release late Friday, APD reported that no suspect was in custody in that incident.

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/apd-investigates-3rd-homicide-in-less-than-24-hours-/5827678/?cat=500

Stabbing Murders

At about 7 p.m APD responded to a domestic dispute at the Chelsea Village apartments near Louisiana and Montgomery NE. Police found a man and woman with stab wounds at an apartment. The woman died at UNMH and the man is in critical condition from the stabbing. According to APD Spokesman Sgt. Tanner Tixier:

“Initial dispatch information stated that a female had shown up to the AFR Station with a wounded male victim in her vehicle. … That male victim eventually died as a result of his injuries.”

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/apd-woman-dies-after-being-stabbed-/5827601/?cat=500

APD has not released the names or ages of any of the victims, nor have they released suspect information.

ABQ’S HOMICIDE STATISTICS UNDER MAYOR TIM KELLER

On Thursday, July 2, 2020 APD officials held a press conference to release the Albuquerque crime statistics for 2019. A synopsis of the homicide statics during Mayor Tim Keller’s tenure is as follows:

HOMICIDES

In 2018, during Mayor Keller’s first full year in office, there were 69 homicides.

In 2019, during Mayor Keller’s second full year in office, there were 82 homicides. Albuquerque had more homicides in 2019 than in any other year in the city’s history. The previous high was 72, in 2017 under Mayor RJ Berry. Another high mark was in 1996, when the city had 70 homicides.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1405615/apd-reports-record-82-homicides-for-2019.html#:~:text=Gilbert%20Gallegos%2C%20a%20police%20spokesman,high%20was%2072%2C%20in%202017.

With the 3 reported homicides on August 14, there have been 45 homicides reported in Albuquerque for 2020.

HOMICIDE CLEARANCE RATES

For the past two years during Mayor Keller’s tenure, the homicide clearance percentage rate has been in the 50%-60% range. According to the proposed 2018-2019 APD City Budget, in 2016 the APD homicide clearance rate was 80%. In 2017, under Mayor Berry the clearance rate was 70%. In 2018, the first year of Keller’s term, the homicide clearance rate was 56%. In 2019, the second year of Keller’s term, the homicide clearance rate was 52.5%, the lowest clearance rate in the last decade.

VIOLENT CRIMES

In 2017, during Mayor RJ Berry’s last full year in office, there were 7,686 VIOLENT CRIMES. There were 4,213 Aggravated Assaults and 470 Non-Fatal Shootings.

In 2018 during Mayor Keller’ first full year in office, there were 6,789 violent crimes There were 3,885 Aggravated Assaults and 491 Non-Fatal Shootings.

https://www.petedinelli.com/2019/11/21/city-matches-homicide-record-high-of-72-murders-mayor-keller-forced-to-defend-policies-makes-more-promises-asks-for-more-money/

In 2019, the category of “Violent Crimes” was replaced with the category of “Crimes Against Persons” and the category includes homicide, human trafficking, kidnapping and assault.

In 2019 during Keller’s second full year in office, Crimes Against Persons increased from 14,845 to 14,971, or a 1% increase. The Crimes Against Person category had the biggest rises in Aggravated Assaults increasing from 5,179 to 5,397.

POLICE OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTINGS

Homicide rates do not include in the count criminal suspects who are shot at killed by police in the line of duty. Nonetheless, the number of police officer involved shootings resulting in death is a reflection violence in the community and how it may be dealt with by a law enforcement community. Following is a break down for the last 5 years and do date for 2020:

2013: 9
2014: 6
2015: 1
2016: 1
2017: 0
2018: 0
2019: 4
2020: 4 (As of August 18)

A list of names and years since 2007 is here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Albuquerque_police_shootings

CITIZENS SATISFACTION SURVEY

The “Citizen Satisfaction Survey” is a research study commissioned by the City of Albuquerque to assess residents’ perceptions of the overall quality of life in Albuquerque, satisfaction with City services, and issues relating to crime, safety, and the economy. On January 21, the City of Albuquerque released the results of the 2019 study. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4% points and the poll was conducted by Research & Polling Inc.

The results of the Public Perception Survey conducted by Research and Polling released in January, 2020 are as follows:

83% of those surveyed said more police officers are needed to make the city safer.
73% of residents surveyed said they felt that crime has had “a negative or very negative impact” on business in Albuquerque.
67% of those surveyed believe that crime rates in Albuquerque are getting worse.
66%, or two thirds, of residents surveyed say crime has had a negative impact on their quality of life.
28% of those surveyed said police officers needed additional oversight, rules and reforms.
27% of those surveyed believe that crime rated in Albuquerque is about the same.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

The police officer shooting of Kenneth Reiss is the most troubling of all the 5 fatalities. This is not the first time the city has seen APD dispatched to respond to a call for help at a residence and those who are seeking or needing help wind up being shot by police. Police have every right to defend themselves and use deadly force whenever they believe they are facing and immediate danger of great bodily harm to themselves or others.

What makes the Reiss shooting troubling is what is contained in the affidavit for search warrant when it says:

“Reiss called 911 around 12:30 a.m. and said two people broke into his home in the 2700 block of Garfield SE, near Girard, and he had shot them both.
…
The caller, [identified as Ken Reiss] told dispatch that he still [had] his gun in his hand, and that there had been a fight over the previous weekend over a woman. … Ken advised dispatch that the woman was still in his house.”

Based upon the accounts of what happened, the 911 call made by Reiss was clearly a Priority 1 call which means that there was an immediate threat of great bodily injury or death and APD . APD in fact arrived at the residence within minutes.

What needs to be determined is if the 911 dispatcher made any effort to order or direct that Ken Reiss and the unidentified woman to stay in the home and what efforts were made by the dispatcher to calm Reiss down. No doubt the 911 called was taped and it will reveal far more than what is in the affidavit. Instead, Reiss took it upon himself to leave the home assuming the risk to his own life and perhaps the life of the unidentified woman.

CONCLUSION

With 3 more murders recorded on August 14 with a total of 45 murders thus far for 2020, the city is on track to match or exceed the all-time record of 80 homicides in one year or come very close to it by the end of the year. Currently, APD has 950 sworn police or 250 short of what was promised by Mayor Keller. Keller’s 4 violent crime initiatives appear to have had very little impact on reducing violent crime.

Voters are very fickle and unforgiving when politicians make promises they do not or cannot keep. When 73% of residents surveyed said they felt that crime has had “a negative or very negative impact” on business in Albuquerque, 67% of ABQ residents think crime is getting worse, 66%, or two thirds, of residents surveyed say crime has had a negative impact on their quality of life, it is an assured bet that no amount of data collection, public relations or nuance programs are going to turn public perception around any time soon.

Mayor Tim Keller has already made it known he intends to seek a second 4-year term in 2020. As has been the case in the last 3 elections for Mayor, in 2021 crime rates will likely be the biggest determining issue in the race. Voters will no doubt decide if Mayor Tim Keller has in fact failed to deliver on his campaign promises to reduce high crime rates. Voters will be deciding if Keller deserves another 4 years with Mayor Keller no doubt using the Covid 19 epidemic as an excuse for his need for another 4 years to finish what he started.