The Piercing Truth

This is right from the dictionary and seems to describe Albuquerque, Berry and Schultz. Fascism (f ash ,izem) noun An authoritarian right wing system of government and/or social organization. (in general use) extreme right wing, authoritarian, chauvinistic and/or intolerant views or practices. Fascism tends to include a belief in the supremacy of one group over another, national, ethnic, especially social strata or monetarily; a contempt for democracy, an insistence on obedience to a powerful leader, and a strong demagogic approach. Compliments of one of our Eyes

Jul 3, 2008

Crossing the Line

Last year County Commissioner Teresa Cordova used her influence to get her son's English grade changed from an F to a D. Without the change Commissioner Cordova's son would have spent another year attending Rio Grande High School (ABQ Journal - Subscription). At the time Cordova claimed that she was only reacting as a parent not an elected official. Last month the voters reacted to her excuse sending her packing in the Democratic primary.

Commissioner Cordova clearly used her influence to spring her little boy from high school abusing her authority and the public's trust. For all of that, her actions while unethical were not illegal. Our Eyes are telling us about another parent who's trying to protect their son in a similar fashion. In this case, the line might be more than just an ethical breach.

For some time now the La Cueva neighborhood has been experiencing a rash of vandalism. It's become quite an issue for the Northeast Substation - so much so that additional patrols have been regularly sent into the area and officers are being encouraged cruise through the neighborhood whenever they have an opportunity.

Even with the extra patrols and the emphasis placed on the neighborhood, the vandalism was continuing. Like in any good neighborhood, the residents started looking out for each other. Eventually, their vigilance paid off. Our Eyes tell us that the neighbors managed to spot a group of juveniles egging a property. They followed the hooligans to a second home where they used their vehicles to block the driveway and called the police.
(Sidebar)
Folks, it's always dangerous to follow criminals somewhere and attempt to keep them in any sort of custody. There's a reason why we pay and train professionals to do this kind of thing. Even the most timid of suspects can surprise you and ruin your whole day. Acts like this fall under the heading of don't try this at home.
(End Sidebar)
While waiting for the police to arrive, one of the afore mentioned hooligans came out of the residence with his phone (of course) and told folks from the neighborhood to leave because nothing was going to happen to him anyway. This is where things got interesting.

Because there's potential criminal activity involved, we're going to withhold the names of the two APD officers involved (for now). The first officer is the father of juvenile with the phone - he holds the rank of lieutenant, and works in one of the other area commands. We'll call him Lieutenant A. The second officer involved is a P2C rookie probational officer, assigned to the Northeast Area Command and the officer dispatched to the scene where the juvenile hooligans were being detained. We'll call this second officer, Officer H.

When Officer H arrived on the scene he was greeted by a juvenile with a phone, some adults with their cars blocking the driveway, and Lieutenant A on the boy's cell phone. Apparently, in addition to speaking with his son, Lieutenant A had a conversation with the angry residents of the La Cueva neighborhood in which he instructed them to remove their vehicles or they would be charged with false imprisonment. When Officer H arrived the lieutenant asked to talk to the rookie.

Our Eyes tell us that the lieutenant who identified himself to Officer H on the phone insisted that there was a problem with the investigation. Of course, there hadn't been an investigation... yet. To his credit the rookie officer interviewed all of the parties and decided that the evidence indicated that the juveniles involved be charged with criminal damage to property.

This where the trouble really began. After some calls and emails to various officers in a number of positions, Officer H was instructed to change his report from a criminal damage report to an informational report. The suspects from the original report were to be re-identified as interviewed. In other words, as the hooligan (or maybe we should say alleged hooligan, or even better, alleged interviewee) said - nothing was going to happen.

We can understand a parent trying to take care of their kids. It's a natural, basic instinct that sometimes leads parents to cross a line that they latter regret crossing - one that can have some rather unpleasant consequences. Just ask Commissioner Cordova whose interference in her son's grades no doubt cost Cordova her seat on the County Commission. It's quite possible that Lieutenant A's decision to get involved in his son's situation may have crossed a line of a criminal nature.

There's a big difference between prosecutorial discretion and interfering in an investigation. It's illegal for a police officer to use his position to fix tickets for friends, so you can bet it's illegal to interfere in an investigation - that's crossing a line.

49 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well Kirby got fired for less, and Sergeant Armijo got nothing when he took his kid away in his unit from trouble downtown. Just depends who u are or who you know.

Armijo was protecting his kid, Kirby was protecting a friend.

Hope Lieutenant A has the same connections as Sergeant A.

Anonymous said...

Lets see how the 5th floor takes care of ths one. If the Lt is a friend of Chief Schultz, it will be covered up. If Schultz does not like the LT, he will hammer him. Simple as that!

Anonymous said...

The real story here is that APD is reallocating scarce resources to protect rich people's homes from being egged (which is not even real damage unless it manages to somehow break a window) while ignoring the rampant property crime in the rest of the city.

Good old APD, always protecting the rich white folks first.

Anonymous said...

Give me some names!

ched macquigg said...

unfortunately; there is an obvious choice of outcomes;

Officer H will go public and accept the consequences, which are guaranteed to be unpleasant, at least for a while.

(There are consequences to bravery;
or everyone would be brave.)

Or officer H will decide to let someone else take the arrows.

If Officer H steps up, he should have his union, and their lawyers, and his fellow officers who are not corrupt,and or cowards, and the public

(who should know a hero when they see one; and should behave accordingly)

standing conspicuously beside and behind him.

we'll see, I guess
which if any of these things happen.

Anonymous said...

I can understand reminding the officer that he cannot file charges because the crime is probably a misdemeanor that happened outside of the officer's presence. (unless there is video evidence or the value of the damage is over $1000 - but we are talking about eggs here). But the report should still indicate the crime as being "criminal damage" and all of the juvi's should be listed as "interviewed" per SOP.

Fellow officers, does that sound right to you? or am I missing the boat on this one?

Having said that, I do agree that it is not right to step in and throw around your rank. And false imprisonment?? Gimmie a break! The citizens had a lawful purpose in stopping a detaining the kids. Lastly, if it were my son. . . he would be making some major restitution for the damage to those neighbor's homes and challenging the officers by name-dropping in an effort to have influence over the investigation.

Anonymous said...

This place is almost beyond belief. You just can't make this S_IT up.

Anonymous said...

Who is the LT??

Anonymous said...

This LT and the P 2/C's SGT need to be dealt with harshly. Let that P 2/C learn to do his job with honesty and integrity...

Just like Sgt Marky-Mark "The Downtown Pimp" Garcia...needs to be harshly dealt with for his intimidation and threatening of officers due to the contract vote, for his numerous sexual harrassment and discrimination issues, and his inappropriate on-duty conduct while scamming on drunk college girls downtown. His arrogance and "I'm smarter and better than you" attitude has damaged and tainted the careers of many of the officers who have been unlucky enough to bid to his squad.

Apparently these supervisors are no longer there to lead...just to take care of themselves.

Anonymous said...

nothing will happen unless TJ decides to write a story. Then Ray Boy will investigate!!

Anonymous said...

This is ridiculous. this neighborhood has been plagued by this hoodlums. Guaranteed it was eggs this time, and they have been the ones causing the damage in the neighborhood. False imprisonment, give me a break.. it is called PARKING ticket.. 10 dollars, blocking a private driveway. This Lt needs to be demoted. Watch, this p2/c will take the heat for the wrongdoings of the brass, just like Armijo did with that state cop, low man on the totem pole gets it in the a--.

Anonymous said...

Hmmmmm this is a good one... it totally is not out of character for someone of rank to be pulling this type of crap. Let me tell you a story. Me, being a supervisor with an agency other than APD, got a phone call one night from my daughter. As she spoke, I heard her say.. hmmm a a nnaaaa blllllla fhfhhhhf rtrrrr APD. So now that I knew she was drunk and it was obvious that APD had popped her for being a minor in possession, I asked her to hand the phone to the nearest APD officer. I was put in contact with Sgt. Medina who told me where they were at. I responded and found my daughter was not where she said she would be ( typical teenager scam) I then asked what was going to happen and the Officers were hesitant but responded that she would have to be cited for M.I.P. I was relieved and told them that was a good thing because I wasn't leaving until they did. When her court date came up, I told her to plead guilty and she would accept what ever punishment they gave her. They sent her to the MIP class and completed her 90 days without another incident. I was glad to do it because it was a wake up call for her.

Maybe Lt. A should take note. If your kid lives in a fantasy world where he thinks he will not get in trouble because you will bail him out, wait until he deals with me and my agency WHERE YOU HAVE NO STROKE WHAT SO EVER! Cause when he spouts out, " My dad's a Lt. with APD. " I will take a picture of the " OH SHIT!" look on his face when I tell him , "That means absolutely nothing to me."

Have a great Day Lt. A.!!:) is that short for Lt. A**hole???

Anonymous said...

Advising citizens to wait for law enforcement is extremely good advice, but it would seem that just like the Elton John Richard case, citizens in Albuquerque are just getting fed up with criminal activity. Lucky for the Lt. s son, no one was armed and trigger happy. Living in the big city, kids need to think about things like that. Lt.A, words of advice, your kid needs a good spanking.

Anonymous said...

I feel sorry for the rookie cop. No matter what he does, it will be wrong.

Anonymous said...

Lt. Ed Ade

Anonymous said...

Who instructed officer H to change his report?

Anonymous said...

Sgt Garcia and Sgt Heh said they would quit and hang up their belts if the contract benefiting the rookies passed.

Well the contract passed and the rookies benefited but the Sgts who said they would quit still need to benefit all of us and quit.

friggen liars!

I hope Lt. Ade is loved by Ray boy cause he will have a reckoning otherwise.

Anonymous said...

Sgt armijo didn't get kicked out of DWI u dunb sh&@ and no this isn't him. I do work in DWI. If you don't have even half of the story right you need to shut your fuki#@ mouth, oh I forget, its APD. To the first poster, misdemeanors committed out of your presence, its called a criminal summons, we do it all the time, or you should be.

Anonymous said...

If your talking that Sgt Heh was pressuring people over the contract, I hope you had the guts to give IA a statement and if you didn't, you shouldn't be posting it here.

Anonymous said...

"Sgt Armijo is a piece of shit and got kicked out of DWI." Speaking from experience or were you 16'd by him?

Anonymous said...

Gee maybe this is the same P2/c that went to Sgt Barboa's house when his wife shot the place up last month and no one got booked. It's close to the same beat so maybe it's the same boy taking the call

Anonymous said...

White boy is just one more entitled, punk-ass, jock @ La Cueva, thinks he an get away with everything and anything 'cuz daddie's a cop. Well Lt. you better take that smart-ass kid of yours and teach him a life lesson NOW before he gets in over his head. It's egging houses now, but further on down the path that he is obviously on, he'll hook up with some skank or homie that just wants to off his ass 'cuz daddie's a cop.

Anonymous said...

"Sgt Armijo is a piece of shit and got kicked out of DWI." Speaking from experience or were you 16'd by him?

July 4, 2008 2:33:00 PM MDT

haha good one armijo has indeed booked his share of 34's a feat to be proud of, or reckoned with im not quite sure. thanks for the laugh.

Anonymous said...

it's obivous that some of these folks are cops and they know the score...the kid should get the same treatment as anyone else but
whoever said that some will take him out cause his dads a cop is right too.
Normal kid when the parent doesn't do his job.

Anonymous said...

32 years and sgt. armijo is still working harder than most rookie officers. armijo dislikes lazy 34s. it's incredible that the lowest amongst us has something to say about him.

Anonymous said...

32 years on the job? get a life

Anonymous said...

"32 years and sgt. Armijo is still working harder than most rookie officers." My question for you is...why do you assume it's a rookie officer posting comments about Armijo? The rookies don't even have any idea who he is unless they happened to get assigned to him. No, whomever has a grudge against him, knows his history with the dept. Good or bad.

Anonymous said...

yea leave armijo alone he hasn't arrested any officers in years!

Anonymous said...

Leave him alone, look at the losers who retire and come back here. They have just as many years on. GET A LIFE!!!!!

Anonymous said...

ummmmm thats not true, Armijo has booked a couple in the last couple years and the charges were thrown out by the D.A.'s office less than 24 hours later. Anyone who takes their son out of another agencies car and uncuffs the guy then throws him in his car??? It's time to retire. 32 years?? It might be obvious that Armijo is one of those that thinks the badge is who he is and not what he is. The kind of guy who wants people to recognize who he is when he walks through the mall. Get a grip. people don't respect us and it is because of people like Armijo who have probably done some really good things in his career, but will now be known as the Sgt. who sprung his kid from a DWI. Think about what your doing before you do it. A good rule of thumb is this, IF YOU HAVE TO THINK TWICE ABOUT, YOU PROBABLY SHOULD NOT BE DOING IT! I listen to people talk when I am out and guess what, they talk about us. I have heard it many times and it doesn't matter if it's Kirby, Lt. A. or Armijo, we are all judged the same because we wear a badge. Blue, Brown or Black uniforms don't matter, it always turns out to be, " Cops do what ever they want." So like I said, Armijo. Lt. A. or Kirby have all done something that they can be proud of, but instead of making the right choice and as ol' Chief Ray would say, " Let the courts figure it out." They showed their kids and friends that they can , " Do what ever they want." and because of that, I get the stares that should be directed towards them. And the "White Boy" comment, Armijo's kid wasn't white and he got off? Typical response from someone who hasn't figured out that this is about rank, not race.

Anonymous said...

See now its the comments like the one from Viking that give me faith that this blog isn't just a waste of space. There is intelligence out there still in the pages of this entertaining and informative blog.

Anonymous said...

Lt ED Ade should know better than to change a report. He acts like a total company man. Lets see what Schultz does about this!

Anonymous said...

Sgt. Armijo is a great supervisor and he knows a lot about. Of knowledge

Anonymous said...

Maybe if APD’s DWI unit didn’t consist of immoral and unethical slobs, you wouldn’t have the issues going on of other officers being called that their family members and friends are being pulled over and in turn being let off the hook.

Anonymous said...

he knows a lot about. Of knowledge????????WTF?

Anonymous said...

Wow all these comments are a lil outta hand, its ok but I don't know if we think before we type.

Anonymous said...

You are right. There's probably only a few. But, just like the law, you are guilty by association, and when there are cheating, unethical, dirty people representing APD and the DWI unit, what does that say about APD and that unit?

Anonymous said...

WE know officers were out at the other incident mentioned -- where is the report Gary B?

Anonymous said...

To the above poster, why don't you put yourself in Armijos shoes, would you give up your job and retirement for another cop when you have PC to make an arrest. Me, hell no, Iam not jeopardizing my job for anything. A domestic is a little different than other calls Cops respond to if you have a victim, its tough. I can't wait to have the poster accept total responsibility for ALL calls involving Cops.

Anonymous said...

come on Gary come clean, we still love you man.

Anonymous said...

Is this really the best you can bring up? I mean in the midst/aftermath of violations and misconduct by POLICY MAKERS you're taking issue with some rookie Lt. and his kid. Keep up the good work Ray and Mike the Eye is behind you apparently.

Anonymous said...

yeah, sure, we still love you man... you are so trustworthy who wouldn't

Anonymous said...

Ray who? Mike who?

Anonymous said...

I used to work with the guy and I can attest that it is true "Sgt. Armijo knows a lot about..... Of knowledge" --- Yep that about sums it up, and said about as well as he could himself.

Anonymous said...

yeah bro-- ask her how she managed to miss her head and avoid getting booked - you lame A$$

Anonymous said...

lt abe needs to be disciplined. the 5th floor is a joke. the chief is a good salesman, pretending to be "one with the officers". dc calloway is only a puppet. they are both pieces of shit.

abe needs to be demoted. but im sure being a good ol boy will help

Anonymous said...

APD sounds like a train wreck, get some leadership in there before it gets any worse....

Anonymous said...

Well, APD officers ARE good at making what scene say what THEY want it to. Just look at the evidence room.

There was stuff there that was stolen and compromised the cases. Kait Arquette's things from her desk weren't returned to her family - even though her death was a "random drive-by". (How could you have a box of evidence from that?)

APD needs to be wiped clean and started over again.

Anonymous said...

APD isn't the only one changing reports. BCSO brass is ordering some deputies involved in the Triple to change reports. This is fact. Another killer will get off thanks to Marcantel's excellent investigations!!! and Darren's backing.